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Top 12 Traits of a Successful Manager

By Bill McCurry, McCurry Associates Inc.
Its easy to recognize Successful Managers because they have easily identifiable traits that define them both as people and as leaders. Perhaps youve never thought of yourself in these terms, but we guarantee your staff has. They recognize these qualities on an almost subconscious level, because how well you exhibit these traits reflects on how motivated the team is to give their best every day on the job. If you dont have at least some measure of each of these traits, you need to do some soul-searching and personal reworking to change how you look at your work and your team. Each of these skills is weighted equally although most Successful Managers would agree that organization is a little more equal than the others.

1. Organization
Weve looked at hundreds of businesses and those that are most efficient and profitable over the long run are led by totally organized Successful Managers. Organized managers know what has to be done every day and make sure they cross items off the list as theyre accomplished, moving unfinished projects to the beginning of the next days list. They have job descriptions for everyone on staff, including themselves. They have established a clear-cut, easily understood and graphically represented chain of command. Theres no confusion about who is doing what job and whos accountable. Meetings are essential for organization so everyone knows what is going on, and to take advantage of the collective intellect. Meetings are carefully planned, and agendas are strictly followed. Organized managers are on time, showing up when they are expected with no excuses. They believe that being late is rude. They respect their team and expect the same respect in return. Organization doesnt necessarily equate with neatness. However, organized people know what is in every pile of paper, have well-maintained files, and keep their appointment calendars and their to-do lists updated. If you wonder if youre organized, you probably arent or, at least, you could improve. Truly organized people dont worry about being organized. They just are, and it shows in their success.

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2. Prioritization
Another Successful Manager trait is the ability to prioritize, recognizing the difference between Urgent, Important, Marginal, and If I Could, and then correctly assigning every activity to one of these categories. Urgent tasks are those things that cannot be bypassed, such as answering the phone, opening your door for business, or being available when the IRS demands your attention. Important tasks are those things that might not be as urgent, but which we will need to respond to, plan, and properly execute if were going to be successful. The biggest of these are long-term projects, like an employee manual, policy book, marketing plan - things no one will call us on if we dont finish before we go home today, but things that, if we lack, will cause our business to falter over time. Marginal activities that fall into the need to be done but dont have to be done right this minute category, might be activities like remaking displays or creating new display pieces. Theyre important, but they dont have an immediate, visible payback. We can put them off but probably shouldnt. If I Could activities may be things youve set as long-term goals or thought about doing for some time, like a complete reorganization of your physical store or work area. Maybe its joining a local service club, or being more involved in the community as part of your marketing. It could be surfing the Internet for new product, business, and marketing ideas. The problem with this category is we tend to put in things we want to do before evaluating their importance to the business or importance to our long-term goals. The critical step is to look at how these things will feed the success of our business. Perhaps they deserve to be moved from the If I Could category into a more important task category, or perhaps they should be downgraded to an even lower priority. Marginal and wish lists can be on a separate piece of paper or a separate computer file, one you refer to often but not necessarily each day. Urgent and Important lists change constantly and directly affect how your business is run and how well your team functions. Start each day by making a list of tasks that need to be accomplished before the day is over, including those that didnt get done the day before. Most days, there will be leftover issues. What you want to watch is whether the leftovers were from your Urgent or Important list. The Successful Manager correctly identifies Urgent and Important tasks and finishes them first without being sidetracked.
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3. Assessment/Measurement
Every action you take has a direct impact on how well you meet your goals. This means that aside from the daily task list, you keep an eagle eye on typical business management tools, including financial reports, customer feedback, market share measurements, response time reports, as well as peremployee reports on sales, gross margin and net profit. Every Successful Manager expands these reports to cover each employee, not just the salespeople, and watches trends over time to better adjust staffing for profitability. Part of your assessment is to make sure your customers and employees are happy. The major litmus test is to ask: Would you recommend our store to your closest friends? This is a question you can ask employees and customers. The yes or no answers should be tracked and will tell you, bottom line, about the potential success of your business. You should strive to have 99 percent of your employees and your customers respond with yes. Successful Managers constantly measure where the business is and how well its meeting its goals. They know the facts and figures, not only requiring reports, but also reading and understanding them. Its not enough just to look at the bottom line. You have to know how those numbers were generated and what you can do to improve them. Too often managers keep the books so their CPAs are happy and the government requirements are met, but they dont feel a gut-level connection with the finances. You should have a CPA who is willing to explain basic accounting principles, so you understand whats going on in your business. You also want to see internal reports that show the trends and direction of the companys financial results.

4. Delegation
One of the most difficult lessons managers have to learn is delegation. You dont have to do it all alone. There is a team to support you. If you feel your team isnt able to support you, the finger points back at you for not choosing and/or training them correctly. Too often, when a crisis arises, the entrepreneurial-minded manager wants to leap into the fray like a super hero. This response definitely gives you an ego boost and may provide a great story, but its also highly unproductive and may have negative repercussions down the road. Sure, you met the immediate challenge, but you didnt teach anyone else how to handle it. Your staffs perception is that you dont think theyre capable of doing the job. We guarantee you no one is going to put out extra effort if its not expected and it doesnt earn them the bonus of your trust in and appreciation of their abilities. The Im Your Only Problem Solver response is commonly found among small-business owners who routinely indulge in crisis management. They may have started the business alone out of their garage or in a small storefront and single-handedly beat back obstacles to become a success. Bravo! But the time comes when the entrepreneur has to give way to the leader. Managing people includes teaching them to replace you.
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PPFA BUSINESS BRIEF Top 12 Traits of a Successful Manager

Many people will use the term small businessperson or entrepreneur interchangeably. Theres a difference. An entrepreneur builds wealth. A small businessperson conserves wealth. The entrepreneur tends to take more risks in order to build wealth. The small businessperson tends to be more conservative. This shows up dramatically when we talk about delegation and allowing other people to perform. An entrepreneur will take the risk of delegating because he realizes that he cant do it all himself, whereas, a small businessperson may be more fearful. If youre afraid to delegate to your team, we suggest you carefully look at your team members, or carefully look at what is holding you back from delegating. You cant grow, you cant prosper, you cant reach your goals if you attempt to do everything yourself. However, you must be careful to whom you delegate and you must keep a watchful eye on how well they are doing the job. You cant just delegate and walk away. Higher ranking Army officers stay farther back from enemy fire because their experience and training makes them more valuable to the unit. They let younger soldiers go first to learn the front-line skills. In the same way, Successful Managers stand back and let the team solve problems, ready with advice and even hands-on help when required but standing behind the front line. The secret is to develop each team members individual talents until they know so much they can be put in charge, leaving you time to look for new opportunities and grow the operation. The key is to find each team members strong areas and your personal strengths and weaknesses, and to gather and build a team that can supplement each others weaknesses and complement each others strengths. Successful Managers teach everything they know, but they keep on learning at a pace that makes them a continual source of new information. To benefit your store and staff, you must create an environment of lifelong learning.

Solve a problem for someone; youve given them a gift. Teach someone how to solve a problem; youve given them a career.
__

Author Unknown

5. Commitment
As a Successful Manager you are focused on your team, your business, your goals and your beliefs. You are centered and refuse to allow outside matters to distract you from the job at hand. Youre ready to help your team, whether its an on-the-job situation or an after-hours problem that needs attention. You know the goals of each individual team member are as important as your goals and youre ready to go the extra mile to help them achieve those goals. Your commitment to your business is honest and comes from your core. You believe in the business and what it stands for. If you find yourself at variance with the team goals, you either change the goals or find another situation where you can be fully supportive. As a Successful Manager you dont watch the clock, putting in the hours until its time to head
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PPFA BUSINESS BRIEF Top 12 Traits of a Successful Manager

out the door. Your commitment is total and unwavering. Next to faith and family, its the force that impels you to get out of bed in the morning, do your best every minute of every day, and sleep at night confident youve done your best. Successful Managers see their world through the lens of their commitment. They are always looking for good ideas. They may see a counter display at another store and bring the idea back to freshen their counters. They pick up effective ideas anywhere they can and adapt them, being careful to stay within the copyright, patent and other laws. Business guru Tom Peters has long advocated the path to success is letting someone else try out an idea, and when the bugs are worked out, adapt that concept, tailoring it to your business.

6. Congruence
Congruity. The biggest complaint we hear from employees is the boss isnt doing the same thing all the time, isnt holding the team to the same standards all the time. Hes always changing his mind. Employees want congruity. They crave consistency. They want to know what theyre doing makes sense in the big picture and its moving the business forward. Heres an all-too-typical example of incongruity. The boss says, We stand for quality work. Never ship anything to a customer that youre not proud of. If its not good, we dont want it to go out with our name on it. He makes the speech, goes into his office, comes back two hours later and says, This order is late. Come on. Lets ship it. Its good enough as it is. Employees cant function properly in that kind of an environment. Standards have to be set, they have to be followed, and they have to be in congruence with everything the business stands for.

7. Confidence (Patience)
When someone asked Andrew Carnegie to identify the primary reason he had been so successful, the steel magnate said, Faith faith in myself, faith in others, and faith in my business. Everything about Successful Managers exudes the faith and confidence they have in their mission, their goals and their team. They have no doubts about their own ability or the ability of those around them. The result is their team members become equally confident because they see the manager knows what hes doing and is supportive of their efforts. You demonstrate that confidence by allowing staff members to use their own judgment within your guidelines. Whether appeasing a customer or handling a supplier issue, the person knows youre confident in their ability. The more monitored independence you allow, the more confidence youll see in the team.

Confidence Engenders Patience

Confidences companion is patience. Impatience, wanting it all done right, right now, will result in anxiety, stress, discouragement and failure. Count on it. Like any growing thing, ideas and processes need time to grow, mature and ripen before theyre fully effective. People need to train, to practice and to experience before theyre fully ready to function at full capacity. The Successful Manager has confidence the work will bear fruit and the patience to see it develop.
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Weve met with a lot of managers who are too fast to hire and too slow to fire. Successful Managers have a clear idea of the type of team members they want and they are willing to be patient until they find them. They will only hire the best possible candidate. They never compromise their standards because theyre scared the position wont be filled by the next sale or promotion or holiday. Successful Managers understand if they hire a substandard worker, that person will singlehandedly bring down the performance of everyone else on the team. Successful Managers want every person working with them to have the opportunity to learn, grow and perform at their all-time best all the time. Successful Managers have no patience for laziness or dishonesty or lack of effort, but they are patient with reasonable progress toward the goal.

8. Creativity
Successful Managers arent afraid to step outside the box. Instead of running the business by triedand-true templates, they look for new and innovative ways to increase profitability. The secret is to take a creative look at whatever youre trying to do. What might seem like a failure could turn out to be a huge success in a different application. Successful Managers break traditional rules and operate outside standard guidelines, within the letter of the law. They encourage their team to contribute new ideas or improve on old ones. They hold group think tank sessions on a regular basis. They never laugh or put down an idea, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. It may be the catalyst that triggers someone else to solve a problem. Care is taken to keep creative sessions on track. Successful Managers encourage independent thinking.

9. Enthusiasm
Have you ever worked with someone who really hated their job? Someone who dragged in each morning, grumpy and belligerent? Most of us have encountered Gloomy Gus or Wretched Gretchen somewhere along the line and we know they make the workday doubly difficult. All Bad Days for Management Have Been Cancelled. Sound harsh? Yes, it may be, but its reality. Youre the leader - if you can have a bad day then so can everyone else. Put on your game face, smile and play the role of a leader. Successful Managers are excited about their job, their team, their organization, and about life in general! Like cheerleaders, they exude excitement. They are masters of spin, turning even the least accomplishment into the first step of a great adventure.
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Work isnt a playground, but you can and should have fun on the job. Customers gravitate to places where the staff is smiling and interacting like friends. Nothing turns off a customer as quickly as a staff member whose bad mood reflects the lack of excitement around him or her. When stress infects the workplace, everyone is debilitated. Forget creativity. Forget excitement. Forget progress. Stress cuts the hamstrings and cripples the organization. Successful Managers relieve stress whenever possible. A lighthearted approach, a quick joke, a burst of laughter - any of these can overcome legitimate stress caused by competitive pressures, deadlines or seemingly impossible customer demands. Successful Managers find ways to have good clean fun at work and as a group after hours. Theyre sensitive, careful that no co-worker is offended by crude or insensitive jokes. They dont allow activities that demean any group. They may organize a holiday group outing to a local restaurant, or order pizza, or set up a fun contest with silly prizes. You might set aside certain Negativity Days when anyone displaying negative responses has to put a quarter into the Fun Committee jar. When the jar is full, let the team choose how they want to spend the money. What you do can be hokey or meaningful, but it has to be fun. The point is you want your people just as happy and enthusiastic as you are. Challenges can either breed excitement or depression. Its your call. If you and your team give the competition a good fight, whether you win or lose theres going to be an eagerness to try again. Successful Managers are excited about rolling up their sleeves and leading the team to victory.

10. Dont Just Follow Through, Follow Up

Its said success is a journey, not a destination. The Successful Manager understands the road is paved with follow-ups. Its not enough to just set a course and forget it. Successful Managers constantly monitor their business, coach employees, and follow up on results. Successful Managers spend a significant portion of their time monitoring or coaching. They praise, reprimand or redirect constantly. Every person in the operation knows, at every minute, what is expected of them, how well they are doing, and what they can do to be even better. Successful Managers understand constant and consistent follow-up is essential for a productive operation. Parents are advised to express irritation or anger with the childs behavior, not with the child. Effective managers operate in the same way. In the old days, bosses may have been able to get away with yelling or being rude or insensitive when someone wasnt performing effectively, but that doesnt work in the politically correct, hypersensitive world we live in today.
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PPFA BUSINESS BRIEF Top 12 Traits of a Successful Manager

While emotion (like disappointment, frustration or even anger) can sometimes be appropriate, Successful Managers try to remain positive and professional. Ridicule, disrespect or sarcasm has no place when youre dealing with employees or customers. Successful Managers do more than just keep an eye on their team to make sure everything is done correctly. They make certain their word is their bond. When they promise something, it gets done. When they initiate a bonus plan, it gets awarded. When they mandate punitive action for breaking company rules, employees know they can expect to pay the price for their transgressions. Successful Managers are known for not breaking their word. They carry out their plans and make good on their promises. There are no worse words than Ive told them a thousand times. Successful Managers tell them once and maybe a second time, and then begin to implement the companys formal discipline process. They expect their people to trust and respect them. They dont threaten, they just enforce with equal justice.

11. Foresight (Planning)

In the United States, the Five-Year Plan is a standard business document. In Japan, company planning extends 50 years and longer. Successful Managers spend time watching trends. They read the trade magazines, surf the Internet, keep an eye on what the industry leaders are doing and devise ways to benefit from watching trends. Without foresight and planning, your business will be left behind in the dust.

12. Persistence
Successful Managers have their eyes so focused on their goals that lifes little interruptions dont interrupt them for long. They know that nothings easy. They expect hiccups in the plan and prepare themselves to get past them as soon as possible. They post motivational sayings on the wall to remind the team that they, too, must develop a dogged persistence. They know that nothing comes easy. Theres no free lunch. But their enthusiasm and followthrough allow them to persevere even when the situation seems hopeless. Successful Managers understand that failure is only a steppingstone to success. Successful Managers are prepared to run the distance. Theyll work as long as it takes to achieve their goals. Theyll continue to coach the least effective employee until they are as strong as their teammates. If they fail, they spend enough time

Success is 10% Inspiration and 90% Perspiration

Albert Einstein

Never, never, never give up!

Winston Churchill

Successful people make mistakes, but they dont quit.

Conrad Hilton

Those who think it cant be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.
Author Unknown
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PPFA BUSINESS BRIEF Top 12 Traits of a Successful Manager

thinking about what went wrong so they can fix it on the next try. Worry can paralyze. The fear of making a mistake keeps us from doing anything. We suggest a new approach: Try it, fix it, and do it. Use your teams collective intellect to come up with things you think will be successful. Once you have the ideas, launch them, monitor them, and tweak them as things go on. For most of what youre doing; things can be launched and tweaked as you go. Its better to start on the journey and move forward, step by step, correcting along the way, than to sit and wait forever until things reach that illusory perfection we look for in our wildest dreams.

Commonality of the Attributes

Did you notice that every one of these attributes has at least one thing in common? Each trait also refers to a type of communication. If youre a Successful Manager, your communications will be organized, prioritized, creative, confident, enthusiastic you get the idea. How well you communicate to your team, using every one of the top 12 management traits, will make the most significant impact on how they perform. Infuse them with the traits of Successful Managers and you wont be able to fail.

Excerpted from Its Your People Really! Change Your Focus and Grow Your Sales, by Bill McCurry and Harold Lloyd. Available from the PMA Business Resources store at www.pmai.org/store.
Bill McCurry

Prepared by the Professional Picture Framers Association Copyright Professional Picture Framers Association, 3000 Picture Place, Jackson, Michigan 49201, (517) 788-8100, July 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, and/or otherwise reproduced without prior permission.