Wow I'm a Manager

By virtue of being a manager you have a certain amount of influence that others don’t. You have the ability to change the environment in your office. How you choose to use your influence will determine the environment. For specific ways to change the environment in your office see my post on March 15th.

Your management style directly affects the work environment. Are you a micro-manager or a macro-manager? Your management style should depend on the individuals you manage. Some people require more of a hands-on approach and will flourish in that type of environment. Others will flourish in an environment where they have a lot of autonomy. You have to figure out which environment will bring out the best in each person.

You must protect and defend your employees against outside forces. Most jobs involve some level of internal or external interaction. If you don’t protect and defend your employees you’re saying you don’t value them. As a result of not valuing your employees one of the first things to happen is you will lose their respect.

You cannot realistically expect someone to work hard for you if you don’t value them. A devalued employee will come to work just to make a check. Whether you’re new to management or have been a manager for a long time the most important thing to you should be the environment you create. The environment you create determines the productivity of your employees.