10 Behaviors that Destroy Your Effectiveness as a Manager

By Lorena Roberts on May 17, 2018

Managing people isn’t an easy job; don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s something about having to balance the energy of your subordinates with your own, communicating your expectations, and holding other people accountable that creates a mix of hard-core responsibility. It’s easy to get stressed out, and maybe you even find yourself “snapping” at times when it’s really not appropriate. Every now and then, you’ll have your slip-ups, and you know it’s wrong, but you tell yourself you’re an effective manager anyway.

Oftentimes, managers experience training that informs them what they should do, rather than focusing on behaviors or models that they shouldn’t. Because management training doesn’t focus on this, managers can find themselves exemplifying behaviors that really aren’t effective. Most of the time, managers don’t even know it. They’re destroying themselves, creating a negative work environment, and causing their employees to feel “some type of way.” No one wants to walk into work every day and dread working with their co-workers. No one wants to walk into work for a manager who’s hard to deal with.

Instead of getting caught up in behaviors or routines that aren’t healthy for your management style, ensure you’re displaying positive management techniques. If you’re guilty of the following behaviors, you should consider stopping…. immediately.

via Pexels.com

1. Being distant from your employees

The very first thing you should analyze is the distance between you and your coworkers. If you’re constantly so busy that you have no time to work on things that simply keep the company afloat (organizational things, etc.), then you’re pretty distant from your employees. Either you’re involved in too many projects, or you’re focusing your energy on the wrong things. Your employees will easy feel like they have no option to come to you with problems or ideas. Simply being busier than necessary can cause your entire team to feel beat-down, lacking energy.

If you aren’t a readily accessible manager, you should look into how you can work on your delegation skills. This often happens with managers who feel the need to be overly controlling. It’s hard for them to let go of tasks that can be let go. (I’m not saying the task of payroll needs to be given to the guy in the mailroom…)

Prioritize your accessibility to your employees and you’ll start seeing a change in energy around the office. Consider an “open door” policy, where employees can come to you about anything they might need assistance with. This will create a more transparent “feel” in the workplace.

2. Inconsistent decision-making

Consider how tough it would be to work for someone who made decisions willy-nilly, off the top of their head. If you’re walking into the office in a different mood every day of the week, check into how your mood affects your decision-making. Are you more strict/stern on days where you’re in a bad mood? Does that happen to always fall on Mondays? Your employees should feel like they’re aboard a steamboat, with enough momentum to get them through the tough stuff, and enough weight to coast them through the easy tasks.

If you’re giving your employees an infinite amount of autonomy, there’s a chance things aren’t quite lining up in your office. Don’t get me wrong, autonomy is wonderful and will truly make your employees feel like they matter to the company. But giving them too much might make things get a little “out of whack.”

When you arrive at the office every day, show up with the attitude that you’re going to fuel the boat. Have confidence in your employees’ abilities to make decisions that align with your beliefs (and if they don’t, you might want to reconsider your hiring process…).

3. Withholding information

If, for whatever reason, you feel that you need to withhold information from your employees, you’re probably making bad business decisions. Employees don’t like working in a place where things are being kept from them. Instead of keeping information from your employees, make it your personal goal to share the company’s news in an appropriate manner. (See more under point 8 — diversifying communication).

This can quickly turn into a dangerous situation if you aren’t careful.

4. Creating goals that are “too-achievable”

Playing the game of setting easy goals means you’re a manager who likes the attention, but you don’t have aspirations for the company. Does it make you feel really good to achieve a goal that you’ve set? Absolutely. Are you walking into the office every day feeling really good about yourself because you keep achieving these goals that are set way too low? Probably.

In order to really drive the momentum of your company, set goals that are challenging to reach, but not impossible. No one likes to be up against a challenge that’s not challenging. Then it just feels like a waste of time. Encourage teamwork in order for the goals you set to be achieved. But also, think about inviting employees to set their own goals – whether they be personal or not.

5. Wrongly taking credit

If you’re a manager who likes to take credit for things you weren’t “exactly” a part of, it’s time to re-evaluate yourself. Just because you’re the manager of someone who’s great doesn’t mean you get to hog all the kudos from your superiors. Remember that, at some point, you weren’t a manager, and someone had to mention your name every now and again to get you where you are.

By accepting credit for the good deeds of others, you’re acting as though you’re insecure about your position as manager, and that you need to lump some more achievements under your belt to feel like you’re really deserving of the position. Know that you’ve been put into this position for a reason. Be a team player. Boost those around you who are good workers.

created by Lorena Roberts with Piktochart.com

6. Micromanaging

Your excuse might be that “nothing gets done without you,” but that’s not really true. If you’re micromanaging your employees, your employees aren’t happy with you. You’re not being effective. You can increase your effectiveness as a manager if you’ll simply take a step back, allowing your employees to have the freedom to accomplish what they have on their plate.

Do you remember what it felt like to be micromanaged? Do you remember how childish it was that someone checked on you way too often during the day? All your work was scrutinized, like it wasn’t good enough. Remember how badly that made you feel? And if you’ve been lucky enough to never have been micromanaged, you can only imagine that it makes a person feel incredibly incompetent and unable to do their job. It can easily make an employee feel frustrated and not motivated to come to work or do a good job.

7. Giving destructive feedback

Giving destructive feedback to your employees is definitely adding to the fact that you aren’t an effective manager. Think about the last performance review you conducted — did you focus on what the employee did wrong, or right? Do you think they left your office feeling supported, included, and a part of the team? If not, then it’s time you did some serious personal work.

Think about how you felt walking into your first performance review with a new manager. Think of how nervous you probably were, how concerned you were about making a good impression, etc. Every time you conduct a performance review of an employee, pretend they’re just as nervous as you were that day. Encouraging words will always always always be more meaningful and make a bigger impact than negative words.

8. Communicating in one way only

Communication is easily one of the most crucial parts of being a manager. Being able to communicate effectively, with a variety of people, means being able to communicate flexibly. Some employees may need a gentle reminder via email, while others may need an afternoon meeting. When it comes to communicating with your employees, you should consider the following:

  •  Send weekly emails to the entire company: think of this like a newsletter. Let them know what’s going on — make them feel like they’re a part of something that’s transparent. Whether it’s reminding employees about goals, celebrating office birthdays, or encouraging folks to take some time for “self-care,” a weekly newsletter can really bring employees together.
  • Make a promise to yourself that you’ll answer employee emails within 24 hours. This comes down to how accessible you are, and how comfortable employees feel communicating with you. If the only way employees feel like they can get a hold of you is by snagging an hour or two on your very busy calendar, you won’t be hearing from many of your employees. It’s just as dangerous for them to feel like the only way they can reach you is through email. There should be a balance.
  • Consider holding monthly “town hall” meetings. Invite employees to express their concerns. Encourage conversation. Be willing to admit that sometimes, you need help! 

via Pexels.com

9. Having an exit strategy

If you have a way of “getting out” when things are getting too tough, you aren’t committed to the company, your employees, or your long-term goals. You can’t effectively manage time, people, responsibilities, and endless meetings if you’re too busy planning your exit strategy.

Leaders who don’t commit themselves to the good times and the bad aren’t leaders at all. They just happen to be in the front of the line.

It’s like the friend you had in grade school. They were really fun to play with on the playground, and they had a tv in their room so Saturday playdates were awesome, but where were they when your parents were getting a divorce? Don’t be the fair-weather manager who only wants responsibility when things are going swimmingly.

10. Pointing fingers

No one likes to play the blame game. When something goes wrong with the company, who is the first person you blame? Yourself? Or your employees? Do you take ownership of things when they don’t go exactly the way they should have? If you’re pointing fingers at other people when the outcome of a situation isn’t ideal, you aren’t a very effective manager. In fact, your employees are likely to be frustrated with you and feel betrayed. Even though you may not have been directly involved with what went wrong, take some responsibility. Half of being a leader is learning how to roll with the punches, take the failures, and learn from them. If you want your employees to respect you as a manager, take responsibility for the mistakes of the group.

The best thing you can do for your team is to use mistakes as a learning opportunity. Create ways for your employees to come back after making a mistake and be better in the future. You’ll be a better company because of it.

Before you ever let anyone tell you that being a manager is easy, remember to tell yourself that this job is tough. There are many things you’re expected to balance on a daily basis. If you’re worried about your effectiveness as a manager, look over the list above. Are you making these mistakes on a daily basis? Do you think your employees feel like it’s “every man for himself?” Are you encouraging your company to move forward with goals that are not only attainable, but can be accomplished through teamwork? Are you giving your employees encouraging words, and sharing the news of the company with them in a timely manner? These are just a few ways you can truly increase your effectiveness as a manager.

Remember that being a manager means you’re constantly working on yourself as a leader and a communicator. Frequently analyze your behaviors in the workplace to ensure your effectiveness as a manager is always at its peak. You can find more tips on becoming an incredible manager here, and if you’re still looking for ways to improve the way you manage your team, think about taking a “management assessment” to really dive into how you can become better at what you do!

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get College Recruiting News Monthly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format