Trust that you do your job well.
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
Do you do a good job?
Do I see you reluctantly saying yes? Managers often don’t know if they do. They think they do. Yet, you don’t have evidence of your successful leadership. That causes doubt.
Do I do it correctly? How should I improve?
You try to ask your team. But they say all good nothing to improve. So what now? Are you the best manager in the world?
It is sometimes hard to believe it. Trust yourself when you feel you are doing a good job. To get a booster, the tips below help you to sleep well and be confident you are doing an excellent job.
1. Team fluctuation
Is your team stable or not? Do team members often change? Does it feel like you have new colleagues all the time?
If so, it is something to consider. One management flaw is when people are changing too much. It can have two main reasons:
The job is shi*.
The manager is shi*.
The second would be a very rough mirror to your performance. I hope it is the first one. Some jobs are good to start a career with. Others are good for further development and are done as they are interesting. Which jobs do you manage?
Be honest.
If you are managing repetitive tasks, no wonder people are changing every year. Naturally, they get bored. So, ease down. The nature of the job can contribute a lot to the team environment.
Now how is this working for your confidence? If your team is stable and loyal, congratulations. You do some things well. If your team desires more, and people are promoted, a great point for you too. You make their wish come true.
So, tap on your shoulder. It is looking good.
2. Your team knows why they are in the company
It may sound trivial, but it is the most important management duty. You need to explain and connect the dots of your day job with the overall company mission.
Vision and mission are often detached from each job within the company. People apply to be an accountant in a company that produces shoes. How do they contribute to customer satisfaction with the product? Phew, not much.
So, many employees take care of their job and not about the company as they are doing analytics, accountancy, back-office, social media, etc.
You, the manager, need to break the job silo.
No job is detached from the company objectives. Work closely with your team and make sure they know why they are here. Why does your team do what it does?
You are now sitting and thinking about whether they do. Do they? Great, congratulations. You can be satisfied as you are, indeed, doing a good job.
3. Your team speaks to you openly
One thing that can sink your confidence is when you feel like your team does not talk to you. When you are left aside. If you don’t have their trust, you can hardly be confident about your job. It sucks.
The lack of trust creates a toxic environment. No one wants to work there. So, connecting it to point 1, it is important to know what it is people don't like.
You may even don’t know what is happening. You notice when it’s too late.
This is a no-go.
Good managers build trust.
Ask yourself: Do they trust me?
If so, congratulations. You can now giggle, as you do a good job. What a confidence booster!
(In case you have a feeling some things are not going in the right direction, just try to establish an environment of psychological safety. People will talk to you again.)
4. Your team members support each other
Is it fine to take a holiday?
Well, it should be. The sad truth is that many team members hate it when others leave their job to them. Unfinished pieces of work without proper handover. Nah, you don't want to fix someone else’s problems.
We are a team and we are supporting each other.
It can sound ridiculously lame. Your team members do the job not by favor, but because they have to. Or?
I hope this harsh beginning gave you an idea about how it works in some teams. Your management role is to delegate and align tasks around. So, no complaints flying around.
If your team has a feeling, that it is a fair play, you are going a good job. This means you decide the way they accept and support your decisions. They don’t have to go to the coffee machine and create a complaint corner.
Fairness to yourself and your team boosts your management confidence. Think twice about capacity management. It is a huge part of the management job.
Treat your people fairly. They will support you.
5. Get a coach or training
When you don’t know what else to improve, you should seek an outside opinion. No harm feelings. Get out of your bubble. How about external management training or a coach?
Unfortunately, many companies don’t pay for management education. So, managers don’t want to pay for it themselves. Yet, training can refresh some basics and bring new ideas that are worth trying.
Management is developing every day. So, it is a shame not to catch up.
I always find theory interesting. You can link it back to your team management. If you want to be more confident, you need to believe what you do is correct.
Using some of the management concepts might guide you in this discovery phase and boost your confidence. So, go back to learning madam, and sir.
There is never enough management reading.
Final Booster
Managers, I know it is difficult to see if you do a good job. You may suffer from imposter syndrome. You may lack proper feedback and honesty from your team. But look, your confidence relies on clear evidence as well as the atmosphere at work.
Are you people happy? Do they know what they should do? Are they ok with supporting each other? Great. Do you manage to promote talents? Do you accept when people leave for a better job? Acceptance of work moments as they are is the best you can often do for your team.
Your confidence comes from being open, honest, and from meaning it well with your team. Your confidence makes you a better (human) manager.
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