As a line manager, you walk a tightrope to balance senior management demands and team members' job satisfaction. A Gallup poll of over 1 million U.S. workers found that 75 percent of people leave jobs for reasons relative to their line manager.

Line management behavior impacts the engagement and happiness of employees. [quotesright]Bad line managers negatively impact employee motivation, absenteeism, sick days, and underperformance. [/quotesright]

You need the skills necessary to motivate teams to resolve problems. This includes taking steps to make sure team members embrace changes that come down from the company’s upper echelon. Line manager growth consists of the following seven qualities.

1. Leadership Skills

It takes solid leadership skills to motivate employees to give their best effort. Essential leadership qualities include managing your team with honesty and integrity.

[quotes]You earn respect; it is not something you get by making demands.[/quotes] Actions speak louder than words. Gain respect through your work ethic, showing the type of person you are.

2. Communication Skills

When developing career growth as a manager, concentrating on communication is beneficial for dealing with superiors or employees you oversee.

When dealing with employees, it is crucial to be a good listener. Don't dominate conversations or constantly instruct your subordinates on doing their job.

Be transparent, giving open and honest answers that make employees feel like valuable team members, not like they're on the bottom rung of the career ladder.

3. Empathy Toward Employees

There is a difference between empathy and sympathy. [quotesright]Sympathizing with an employee's situation means showing understanding from your perspective. [/quotesright] This may cause the employee to feel you lack interest in them or their situation, resulting in a lack of motivation.

Showing empathy means you are putting yourself in your employee's shoes, understanding why they feel the way they do. Empathy is the stronger quality and helps you solve the problem.

4. Trust Team Members

Everyone wants to feel they offer value to the team. Helping each employee with their career development shows you trust them. You accomplish this by giving them meaningful tasks.

[quotes]Recognize and reward their achievements.[/quotes] Even the simple words “good job” or “great idea” can do a lot to motivate an employee. Showing you trust them with responsibility increases their job satisfaction and reduces employee turnover.

5. Proactive Thinking

Being a line manager means you take responsibility for the mistakes and failures of your team. The key to success in this area is to see problems before they happen. [quotesright]But, when a problem occurs, own it for the team. [/quotesright] No one will follow a weasel but they will follow someone who accepts responsibility and does not scapegoat others on the team.

Your employees are concentrating on their day-to-day duties. You need to look at the overall picture, scan for potential problems and take preemptive measures to prevent or quickly resolve them.

6. Organization

Being organized is required to successfully juggle managing your team, measuring productivity, and handling all your other responsibilities. Prioritizing the workload of your department and employees helps you feel confident in your team and its work results.

7. Make Decisions

You must be able to make decisions and feel confident about them as a line manager. The farther you climb the management ladder, the more complex the decisions become. The more comfortable you become with the decision-making process, the more successful you will be as a line manager.

Line Manager Career Growth

Now that you understand what it takes to be a great line manager, it's time to invest in yourself or, if you are the boss, invest in developing your team’s skills and abilities. One excellent way is to get a coach to help you build your skills, increase business revenue, and grow your company.

We help businesses double their sales, increase profits, and improve their company culture. Sound interesting? Want to explore further? Have questions? Get in touch and let's set up a time to talk. Brian Tracy   USA: 877.433.6225  Email Me

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