What makes a good manager? (job hunting, employees, job, career)

[jade408]

There seem to be loads of threads about bad managers, so maybe we should talk about good ones!

My current manager is great! We get along really well (and not just because she reminds me of one of my closest friends).

1. At the beginning she asked me how I like to be managed, and encourages me to give her open feedback.
2. She sets deadlines for projects with my input so they are realistic
3. She takes on the role as "bad guy" as needed when issues come up in the office
4. When assigning a project, we discuss each of our roles and responsibilities in the project so it is clear, and she gives me leeway to take on what I think I can handle
5. she gives the appropriate pushback as needed when other peers assign projects that are outside of the scope of my responsibilities
6. She shares professional advice from her personal experience to help me progress in my career

And we are both about to transition out of our current company. (I posted a bit about job hunting earlier) This was really weird to be able to tell my current boss about the opportunities I was exploring. Once I was ready to use her as a reference, she assured me she would be a good one, and also confirmed she thought the role would be good for my skill set as well! So she was a great cheerleader to me prospective boss.

7. The most important thing was she was aware of my skills and limitations (aka she was paying attention)


So you share, what makes a good boss! Any stories or anecdotes?

[Nlambert]

There are a thousand different responses to this, but here's my take coming from both sides of the fence.

1. Treat people like you want to be treated. We're all adults, so we should act like it and treat others the same way.
2. Set realistic, attainable goals. Make sure everyone knows what is expected of them and are given the tools to reach those goals.
3. If someone screws up, let them know. Then if they need help fixing the issue give it to them.
4. Mistakes are going to happen. Work together to figure out how to fix them, learn from them, and move on.
5. Be accountable. Do what you say you will do.

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by jade408

There seem to be loads of threads about bad managers, so maybe we should talk about good ones!

My current manager is great! We get along really well (and not just because she reminds me of one of my closest friends).

1. At the beginning she asked me how I like to be managed, and encourages me to give her open feedback.
2. She sets deadlines for projects with my input so they are realistic
3. She takes on the role as "bad guy" as needed when issues come up in the office
4. When assigning a project, we discuss each of our roles and responsibilities in the project so it is clear, and she gives me leeway to take on what I think I can handle
5. she gives the appropriate pushback as needed when other peers assign projects that are outside of the scope of my responsibilities
6. She shares professional advice from her personal experience to help me progress in my career

And we are both about to transition out of our current company. (I posted a bit about job hunting earlier) This was really weird to be able to tell my current boss about the opportunities I was exploring. Once I was ready to use her as a reference, she assured me she would be a good one, and also confirmed she thought the role would be good for my skill set as well! So she was a great cheerleader to me prospective boss.

7. The most important thing was she was aware of my skills and limitations (aka she was paying attention)


So you share, what makes a good boss! Any stories or anecdotes?

In addition to what you said, a good manager would be one that's willing to take good employees under their wings and mentor them, basically going to bat to them when it comes to moving up in the organization.

Unfortunately, most aren't like your current manager.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

In addition to what you said, a good manager would be one that's willing to take good employees under their wings and mentor them, basically going to bat to them when it comes to moving up in the organization.

Unfortunately, most aren't like your current manager.

I really lucked out this time around. Not only to we get along really well, she was very helpful from a mentoring perspective! I have had plenty of terrible managers.

Not long ago I had a manager, he was recently promoted as a high performing individual contributor. He was great in that role, he liked to get heads down and complete his projects. Unfortunately that trait isn't great when you have direct reports. He was essentially unavailable most of the time, never provided feedback or input, ignored your requests if he was busy, and then freaked out when stuff went wrong! Horrible manager!

My experience mirrored everyone else's who reported to him. I don't particularly need a hands-on manager, but I do need to have regular check-ins with my manager to be effective. 30 minutes 1-2x a week is generally sufficient in my role, but this manager wasn't available, and didn't really like to work that way. It lead to pretty horrible consequences for me! I ended up getting poor performance reviews. (Later I got assigned a different manager who was a better fit, and also got some really awesome projects that really helped my resume right after! I of course do not put him as a reference.)

[Mr_Geek]

Not this:

I'm in hot water at work.