Not All Managers are Natural Leaders
According to Dr. Robert Jeffrey Sternberg, “Leadership is not something you are born with and is not an inherited trait. It’s something you decide to do. Good leadership is a decision that builds on a combination–a synthesis–of wisdom, intelligence and creativity.” If Dr. Sternberg’s theory is true, how can businesses ensure that they have the best leaders in management positions?
Managers hold a crucial role in the office environment. They are responsible for ensuring that productivity remains high and conflict is low. Managers should be held to a higher standard because of their level of responsibility, but their performance is rarely given the attention it deserves.
Just because managers are responsible for coaching does not mean that they do not require coaching to improve their management capabilities. What is the best way to manage managers? How can business leaders work to provide coaching and tools for their management teams?
Assessments can identify specific traits about each manager that are crucial to their leadership performance. Each manager should be given the opportunity to understand themselves on a personal level, and understand how they are perceived by their teams. Individual assessments will help managers better understand their core makeup and their natural tendencies toward leadership.
Knowing what the team thinks of their leadership styles can allow managers to appropriately adapt their management styles and understand areas that need improvement.
By assessing managers individually, companies can determine how well each manager fits into their role as a leader. Assessments can reveal in-depth, objective insight into each manager’s thinking style, behavioral traits, occupational interests, and job fit in the organization.
Certain behaviors or traits may incline one person to be a more effective manager over another, and assessments can identify those traits. Managers should have the opportunity to review their individual assessments to better understand the reasoning behind the majority of their actions and behaviors. This information can make managers better problem solvers, and more effective at dealing with different personalities.
Managers and their teams should also have the opportunity to participate in a 360-degree survey assessment. These assessments are a valuable tool when determining the effectiveness of managers and leaders. These assessments combine feedback from peers, supervisors, customers and employees.
The results can be used to develop specific leadership skills that can improve a manager’s overall effectiveness. 360-degree assessments can help managers further identify areas of themselves that need to be developed.
These assessments are effective investments for companies seeking to focus management training and development investments, discover misaligned communication within teams, and improve issues that could inhibit productivity.
Leadership is the cornerstone of business. Without effective leadership, the entire organization will fail. In order to ensure that managers and leaders are held to the highest standard, they need to be aware of how they can improve their managerial styles.
By providing managers with the appropriate tools to learn about their behaviors and personalities, they can then adapt their skill sets to encompass a wider range of management capabilities. Continually coaching and developing managers ensures that business will continue to grow.
Jim Sirbasku is CEO of Profiles International, a leading provider of human resource management solutions and employment assessments for businesses worldwide.
Distributed by Content Crooner
