3 Things You Should Be Doing As A Manager To Support Your Employees

Want to see professional growth on your team as your business builds? As a manager, you may be the key to success for your team.

Whether you lead a company of 50 employees or a department of five, the hardest part about managing a group of diverse talent is finding the perfect balance between leading, delegating, and attending to your own workload.While you may be tempted to shut the door, physically and figuratively, it would be a strong signifier of a leader unwilling to communicate. No task is important enough to shut out new hires, star employees, or seasoned staff who all contribute to the company's success. Great leaders share their wealth of knowledge, and if siloed, they could be the reason why some teams succeed while others fail.

To ensure the success of your team, consider doing these three things as a manager to support your employees:

Listening. 

As a manager, listen for cues or advice regarding workplace balance. These can be spoken or unspoken. Listening during work meetings instead of jotting down notes will draw the focus back to the employee. For larger teams, consider implementing one-on-one conversations to listen more intently, especially for department performance reviews. Are absences increasing during the summer months? Listen to the unspoken cues and patterns of your team, and consider remote-Fridays for the season.

Providing feedback. 

Let’s say a team member put forth a great idea for a future campaign; however, it’s just not in the budget. Instead of immediately shutting it down, show support and feedback. Ask them how they would develop it in another way or for another client. This earns their trust and challenges them to step outside of the box.Creating an open conversation around ideas or opinions encourages an employee to seek out opportunities to prove their expertise. In your next meeting, take the time to find out who rises to the challenge or who shies away. Positive feedback can support an individual and allows them to continually improve!

Encouraging independence.

There is nothing worse than an overbearing manager, especially during tasks that are second-nature to the job. Encourage and motivate your team to interact with coworkers and find answers on their own through case-studies or research. For specialized projects or tasks, give an employee the opportunity to make a decision. If it is not the optimal choice, encourage them to defend why or why not but ultimately use your expertise to guide them in the right direction.