SPEAK LIKE A MANAGER: TOP 10 BEST WORDS AND SENTENCES FOR MANAGERS & LEADERS!

Do not underestimate the importance of saying ‘thank you’ to your staff when they deliver excellent work! Appreciating your team’s hard work and dedication tells them you are aware of the superb work they are completing. If you praise good work, your team will do more of it, and you will be respected!

Whenever I started work as a new manager, or if I took over the running of a team, I would always use that sentence on the first day… I would gather my team and say to them…

“I am excited to be part of this team and looking forward to working with you, learning more about you, and ensuring I can help you achieve the company’s goals.”

That sentence demonstrates confidence, and it clearly states two things:

1. That you want to find out more about your team and their strengths.
2. That you want to support and empower your team to achieve great things.

It’s a great sentence to say as a manager, so make sure you write it down and use it!

The only way you will become successful as a manager is to set targets and objectives for your team to achieve. The objectives can be weekly, monthly, or quarterly. When you create goals and objectives for your team to achieve with a definitive time for completion, it gives you something to refer to and assess their performance against.

As a manager, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. The more information and knowledge you can obtain from your team, the better decisions you will make.

Asking your team members how their day is going, or how the project is progressing, shows that you genuinely care about their welfare and progress, and you might even learn about some of the problems your team are facing. If you know about your team’s problems and challenges, you can take action to overcome them.

As a manager, you can’t have solutions to every conceivable problem – that is why you have a team around you. You should always access the ideas, knowledge and expertise of your team when possible.

For example, when I was a manager in the Fire Service, and I wasn’t sure how to overcome a difficult problem, I would call a team meeting and say… “we have a challenge that we need to overcome, and I would like to brainstorm solutions together”.

I would then give my team the opportunity to put forward their ideas. When a team is empowered to contribute to problems, they feel valued and important!

One of the most powerful things you can do as a manager, is hold six-monthly performance reviews with your team. Sit down in private with each team member and talk about their work performance, set them goals to achieve with timescales for completion, and ask them what training or resources they need to do their jobs competently. Say to them, “I’m here to support you, what do you need to do your job properly”.

Saying that means there can be no excuses for inadequate work performance.

Clear and concise communication with your team will empower you to achieve your goals as a manager much faster.

Every day, as a manager, I will say to my team… “This is the situation.”

I will then explain what our goals are for the day, or the problems we must overcome. Get into the habit of saying to your team, this is the situation, and they will appreciate the information you are giving them.

Now, once I have explained to my team what the situation is, I will tell them what the plan of action is. I will say… “This is the plan!”

I will then outline the steps we will take as a team before delegating tasks to each team member based on their strengths.

Confident and effective managers always have several plans in execution. Having a plan means you are far more likely to achieve your goals as a manager and do great work for your employer. Your team will also respect you because they will know exactly what it is they are supposed to be doing.

Whenever I started work as a new manager, I would get my team together and talk about values – the values we would all respect and demonstrate in our work.

Values are a set of standards everyone in a team has to follow. Team values give you, the manager, something to refer to if things go wrong or off track. If you have team values you can say, “don’t forget our team values.”

The 5 values I always insisted on when managing a team, and the ones I recommend you use as a manager, are as follows…

VALUE #1. Treat each other with respect.

Everyone in the team must be respectful of everyone.

VALUE #2. All ideas are welcome.

This value encourages people in your team to put forward their ideas and suggestions.

VALUE #3. Honesty and integrity.

The value of honesty means it is OK to make mistakes providing you take ownership of them and share what you have learned. Integrity means doing the right thing, every time.

VALUE #4. Accountability.

This value means that everyone in a team takes responsibility for their work, and always completes tasks and projects on time. Nobody should be told what to do twice.

VALUE #5. Embracing change.

Change is fundamental to the success of a business or organisation. The only way a business can thrive is if its team members embrace change and are willing to try out new initiatives.

Whenever your team do brilliant work, complete a challenging project, or achieve a significant milestone, make sure you celebrate. Celebrating can be the simple act of buying cakes for your team, or you may decide to reward them by taking them out for a nice meal at their favourite restaurant.

Now, of course, you shouldn’t be celebrating all the time, because it loses its value, but whenever my team did great work for the company, I would make sure we celebrated. Celebrating encourages more great work, and your team will respect you as a manager!