How to Be a Good Manager?

One of the most important aspects of being a good manager is communication. Managers experience several communication challenges, such as misunderstandings and assumptions, that decrease the quality of employee performance and create performance gaps. To avoid communication gaps, managers should not assume that employees know what the organization expects them to do. Instead, they should explain the requirements of different tasks clearly and guide employees accordingly.

Poor communication facilitates the development of negative attitudes in employees, which leads to poor performance and low productivity. On the other hand, proper communication creates a positive attitude in employees, which strengthens their relationship with their managers. According to Zemnguliene, effective communication involves the passage of messages that clearly stipulate an organization’s expectations of employee performance and behavior.

A manager should develop appropriate ways of communicating with employees. Such methods should facilitate communication of concise, clear, and informative messages to employees. An important aspect of communication is feedback. A good manager allows employees to give feedback in order to ensure that communication is effective and serves the intended purpose. Managers should strive to give clear and concise guidelines and directions to employees regarding the completion of tasks. Otherwise, communication gaps emerge.

An important aspect of good communication is behavior formation. Daniels and Daniels argue that proper communication leads to the development of a positive attitude towards task completion, which enhances the performance and achievement of goals. Chaiken and Maheswaran reiterate the importance of effective communication by arguing that clear and concise communication between managers and employees creates trust and empowers employees to complete tasks without communication gaps.

The importance of attitude development is evident from the discourse of Jeff Johnson, who argues that task performance and contextual performance are important measures of employee performance. As such, it is the role of a manager to give clear guidelines that facilitate effective execution of tasks and the development of positive attitudes that increase organizational value. Communication facilitates the achievement of results, motivates employees, facilitates the development of positive attitudes, and gives an organization a competitive advantage by increasing its organizational value.

Poor communication causes misunderstandings, conflicts, stress, absenteeism, burnout, and high employee turnover. Each member should fully understand his/her role in the process of achieving organizational goals in order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings at the workplace. Good communication eliminates barriers to high performance by creating communication satisfaction. Three important aspects to consider when analyzing the effect of communication on performance include supervisory communication, feedback, and communication climate. These aspects determine employee motivation, performance, and employee retention. Good managers should be considerate, compassionate and should be good communicators.

Quality of organizational communication has several implications on the role of managers in the achievement of organizational success. First, it determines employee turnover and retention. Managers should possess knowledge of the importance of proper communication and its effect on the achievement of organizational goals. The importance of effective communication is reiterated by Malcolm X, who defined communication as a process of exchanging thoughts, feelings, and ideas between people based on the concept of understanding. Mangers have the responsibility to ensure that messages reach recipient s in forms that are clear and easy to understand.

One source of the communication gap is the diversity of employees. A diverse cultural team possesses different linguistic forms, language perception, cultural and historical presumptions, and varying interactive routines. To overcome these communication barriers, managers should strive to develop communication strategies that encompass the diversity of their teams.