Tweet

Be True To Yourself As A Manager

Guest post by: Martin Haworth

Article Overview: There's a way of sensing when a manager is 'putting it on'. It's a sense many, if not all employees have, to some extent or the other - and they will quickly sniff you out...

Be True To Yourself As A Manager

It's very tempting as you manage a team new to you. They expect great things of you, the 'new broom' manager coming in to shake things up a bit and make the difference. It's a clean slate for you too, as you move into this new management role. A new team of people to work with. Maybe even a new organization too.

Those old experiences where you could have been so much better are behind you. Maybe these new employees won't know the old you. That one who might have done the job even better.

So you try to be something different from before. Perhaps it goes beyond the learning you've had from the past, where things didn't always go quite to plan.

You are free of those times where you got caught out - more likely got caught short - in your management. So you can start again here - and be different.

When you learnt those lessons, perhaps even some of them were made public - in addition to those where you yourself knew that you could have been better, you could have wished them away. But, if there was anything about you, you didn't because you learned about yourself. Learned how to 'do differently' (otherwise known as 'better') next time.

So now you have the big chance to be different and you want to try it on. Thing is, that sixth sense of your people. They can tell when a manager isn't being authentic. They just can. Employees have suffered generations of managers and so they know when you are simply not being the true you.

And you know, they want the true you, because that's where they are able to get to know you - understand you and, above all, respond to you and the way you do things.

If you try to be someone you aren't, it will be clear. And in addition to seeing through you playing a part, they will come to resent you for actually trying to be someone you aren't. They will feel besmirched that you weren't trusting with them from the start by showing them the true you - the inner you.

Your authentic self as leader will be the easiest and most effective way to be your best and you really will be respected for it.

And as you lead from the heart, the model you set will be followed by your people. They will be authentic with you as well.

Related Articles
  What Seagulls Can Teach You About Top Sales Leadership
  Empower Your Sales People By Providing Them With Positive Behavioral Feedback
  As A Sales Manager, How Do You Know When You’ve Made A Hiring Error?
  Effective Team Building - Finding Your Hidden Gold
  A Top Sales Manager Adapts To The Situation…And Not The Other Way Around
  Sales Management | How To Be A Flexible Sales Leader
  The Secret of Growth-How to get Compensated more
  What have I learned in 6 months of management? Part 2
  Management Development - About Experiencing the Sharp End
  Leadership Tips for the Manager Who is Too Tough
  Leaders and Managers
  MANAGERS MANAGE
  It's The Way That You Say It That Makes The Difference
  The Manager As Coach
  Empowering Asian Mindsets through Coaching
  Talent Development and The Wheel of Becoming
  Empowerment - The Key To Developing Your Management Skills
  What type of Manager do you want to be?
  What is Effective Project Management?
  Maintain Long-Term Success As A Top Sales Manager By Offering Products And Services As Solutions, Not Commodities

Article Tags: authentic, authenticity, leadership, leadership development, management, management development, team building



Related Forum Posts
Diamonds vs. squares - True True - I put on 10 pounds after eating sliced cheese that was endorsed by a wrestler when I was a kid... A diamond shreddie is a lot cheaper than LeBron James - LOL!
Outlook Business Contact Manager - I've just installed the new Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager and am testing it out to see how good of a CRM system it is. I like the concept because it works right within your Outlook and I already have all my contacts and emails here. Does anybody have any experience with Business Contact Manager for Outlook?
Re: what position to request? - Hi Michael, Great suggestion from David, or you could try something around a design consultancy, How about Website Design Consultant, Design and Development Manager, Website Support and Development Manager or maybe Internet Business Development Consultant. Ultimately whatever you are comfortable with and good luck for the future, Mal.
Level 4 - Manager - Looks like I'm the first to Level 4! I'm a Manager!
When Webhost providers go bad - I've had my websites on IPower for the last two years or so. I didn't really care much for their interface - geocities has one that's much better (but they angered me so I refuse to use them anymore) but I was used to it. For the last several months they've been "transitioning" to a new system, and now, finally, it's upon me, and I really, really hate their File Manager system. They've done [i:2kaa5kss]one [/i:2kaa5kss]good thing - you can now see the date that you last updated any particular file. Before that you never knew what date anything had been uploaded. But the rest of it is just clunky and bad and quite frankly, inept! I just shot off a pretty angry complaint letter to their "Help" desk, not that I think it will do any good. So I'm in the hunt for a new web service provider. Anybody here familiar with Geocities, but have some service provide [i:2kaa5kss]other [/i:2kaa5kss]than Geocities who has the same type of File Manager system as they do?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What Type of Business Should I Start?

Inspiration for troubled times

In the Year 2020 . . . Process

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.