{"id":1425,"date":"2008-02-18T15:04:21","date_gmt":"2008-02-18T21:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/7-saving-graces-of-managers\/"},"modified":"2008-02-18T15:03:28","modified_gmt":"2008-02-18T21:03:28","slug":"7-saving-graces-of-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/02\/7-saving-graces-of-managers\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Saving Graces Of Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is an interesting article from BusinessWeek.com<\/a> – a ranked order of saving graces which are essentially counterpoints to the typically hard-charging approach of managers.<\/p>\n

The 7:<\/p>\n

1. Listening:<\/strong> Taking the time to listen can get you out of more jams than the rest of the saving graces combined. It is the ultimate way of demonstrating that it is not all about you and your agenda, and it is an excellent tool for breaking down barriers and getting more out of what you do with others. Few executives are good listeners.<\/p>\n

2. Approachability:<\/strong> The best executives need to be early knowers, especially when it comes to negative information. The best executives are easy to talk to, even when conveying or having potentially bad information conveyed to them. To be effective, approachability has to be combined with listening. Executives tend to play 20 Questions: “Where did you get the information? Who else knows? Why didn’t I hear about that before?” This is not a best practice for effective executives.<\/p>\n

3. Boss Relationships:<\/strong> Those who tend to venture into deep and dangerous waters find that it can be very difficult to swim alone. If you tend to stir up controversy and are quick to engage in conflict, it is helpful to have the advice and counsel of a seasoned boss who can coach you through such situations and provide some support when you falter. Making your boss successful is Job One, whether you like him or her or not.<\/p>\n

4. Integrity and Trust:<\/strong> This one speaks for itself. The people you lead will often forgive a lot if they can clearly perceive that you speak the truth and are a person of your word.<\/p>\n

5. Humor:<\/strong> The use of humor to make others comfortable is a useful skill. Using self-deprecating humor is one of the better techniques. It puts others at ease and makes your thoughts appear to come from someplace a little more accessible. Humor allows you to become approachable by putting others at ease when in your presence.<\/p>\n

6. Interpersonal Savvy:<\/strong> Being able to relate 360 degrees is important. Finding a way to make a connection with individuals up and down the chain and inside and outside the organization gives you something to rely on when things are not going so well. Diplomacy, tact, and knowing what to say and when to say it can take the tension out of situations and make unpopular decisions and unfortunate mistakes easier to deal with.<\/p>\n

7. Understanding Others:<\/strong> The focus here is on groups rather than individuals. Understanding others is about knowing what makes one group different from another and why that matters. This is more difficult to master than listening, but learning to identify what is important to a group and why is often the key for gaining buy-in and knowing how to lead through difficult situations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I would say that is a fairly comprehensive list.\u00a0 Can number 4 be stressed enough?\u00a0 That may need to be number 1 for without it, all other factors are neutralized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is an interesting article from BusinessWeek.com – a ranked order of saving graces which are essentially counterpoints to the typically hard-charging approach of managers. The 7: 1. Listening: Taking the time to listen can get you out of more jams than the rest of the saving graces combined. It is the ultimate way of demonstrating that it is not all about you and your agenda, and it is an excellent tool for breaking down barriers and getting more out of what you do with others. Few executives are good listeners. 2. Approachability: The best executives need to be early knowers, especially when it comes to negative information. The best… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"","bgseo_robots_follow":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,4,11],"tags":[326,325,324],"class_list":["post-1425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","category-sales-management","category-team-management","tag-manager-saving-grace","tag-manager-soft-skill","tag-manager-traits"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Oho-mZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1714,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/08\/sales-managers-in-over-their-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":0},"title":"Sales Managers In Over Their Head","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"August 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave Stein has a provocative post regarding some recent poll data about sales executives.\u00a0 This is excellent: Top Five Reasons Executives Are Unhappy At Work Limited advancement opportunities (12.8%) Lack of challenge\/personal growth (12.3%) Compensation (11.7%) Stress Level (7.7%) Job Security (7.7%) For sales executives, I believe there is another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1060,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/07\/leadership-development\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":1},"title":"Leadership Development","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"BusinessWeek.com offers a comprehensive article regarding executive development especially in regards to leadership.\u00a0 Sales executives\/managers are underserved in this area.\u00a0 The author provides a handful of suggestions for development engagement, but I want to highlight two of them: \u20ac\u00a2 Targeted assessment and development planning as part of succession planning or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1647,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/07\/outside-managers-running-hr\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":2},"title":"Outside Managers Running HR","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"July 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a trend I have not heard of - managers without human resources backgrounds being moved into HR Manager roles.\u00a0 From the Wall Street Journal online: Of the 15 large-company chief HR officer changes that consultant Brian Wilkerson has tracked in the past five years, about one-third have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hiring"","block_context":{"text":"Hiring","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/hiring\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1701,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2008\/08\/a-candidate-shortage\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":3},"title":"A Candidate Shortage","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"August 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"CNNMoney.com reports on a specific area that is experiencing a hiring problem - lack of candidates: Despite the slump at lowlier levels of the job market, there's currently a war for senior management talent. In fact, 70% of executive recruiters surveyed by networking organization ExecuNet (www.execunet.com), say there's a shortage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Generations"","block_context":{"text":"Generations","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/generations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":775,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2007\/03\/who-to-promote-into-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":4},"title":"Who To Promote Into Management","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"March 26, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"CareerJournal.com offers When Managers Neglect To Coach Their Talent which covers a principle we incorporate into our process. \"The role of people-managers -- who develop talent and create sustained profits for companies -- isn't as valued as it should be,\" says Mr. Harter, co-author with Rodd Wagner, also of Gallup,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Retention"","block_context":{"text":"Retention","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/retention\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14,"url":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/2006\/05\/generation-gaps-in-salespeople\/","url_meta":{"origin":1425,"position":5},"title":"Generation Gaps in Salespeople","author":"Derrick Moe","date":"May 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This article from Sales & Marketing Management has a Tolstoy-like length, but it is a fascinating read that spans many topics. We'll start with the different generations in the sales arena today. This topic is one we experience daily as we have many customers with sales teams spanning these generations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sales Management"","block_context":{"text":"Sales Management","link":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/category\/sales-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectmetrix.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}