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confident are you as a manager?
What situations make you feel a little unsure, uncomfortable or less confident about how to handle?
For the new manager, being thrust into suddenly having responsibility for achieving through others can feel daunting, intimidating or overwhelming. (Particularly when some of those others may be people you used to work alongside).
Even for the manager who has been managing for years, with the ever-changing market place [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], new technologies and a more diverse range of ages and cultures in your workplace, there are likely to be many situations which leave you feeling a little nervous or unsure.
Way back in my career as a teacher, I remember standing nervously in front of 30 expectant, intelligent, articulate individuals, all waiting to see how well I would perform, how successfully I could engage them, and how much of a pushover I was going to be!
Did it make my knees knock a little? You bet!
Later, as I took my first tentative steps towards mentoring, coaching and managing others in industry, I would feel those same feelings: nervousness; worried about my ability to manage what could be some quite tricky situations; concern about how others might perceive me and just a little vulnerable did I know enough to do this job well?
Where do managers feel a lack of confidence?
There are three key areas which many managers report are the most tricky for them. What are they?
1. Managing others who have higher qualifications than you or who are qualified in a different discipline.
2. Influencing peers or external stakeholders where you have no direct authority, but good working relationships with these people are fundamental to good performance.
3. Managing upwards. Whew is this a biggie! In many of the workshops I run, when I ask people to think of who they most want to be more effective at managing, a staggering proportion of those attending include their immediate line manager or higher in their top 3.
Each of these situations requires both consummate communication skills and a high degree of self-confidence.
So, what does a manager need to do to increase their confidence in these, or any other, tricky situations ?
5 keys to building your self-confidence as a manager:
1. Do what you believe to be right even if others mock or criticise you for it. From the moment you take on any management role [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], others are looking at you to see what kind of a manager you are going to be. Just as those children were sussing me out in the classroom all those years ago, your staff are doing the same with you. How you behave sets the scene for everything else.
This is about two things really: a) Getting absolutely clear about whats really important to you, in terms of what needs to be accomplished, and what attitudes and behaviours you expect. Think of it as creating your own vision of how we do things around here.
b) When it comes to core values about how people work together you never compromise. In all else, you are open to suggestion and influence. In recent studies, outstanding managers, with the highest performing, most committed teams, all had crystal clear ideas about the kind of culture they wanted to create [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and what was important to them and they communicated this to everyone they worked with and gained buy in from all key stakeholders.
When you feel clear and comfortable about whats really important to you, and everything you do demonstrates this, even if others dont always agree with you, they will respect your integrity, trust you, and know where they stand. Chances are youll have fewer tricky situations in future too!
2. Realise you dont have to know it all. Theres a very interesting video on You-Tube which really demonstrates the almost frightening pace of change which affects business today. Check out Karl Fischs Shift Happens when you have a moment.<b