How to Be a Good Manager and Cultivate Team Excellence Through Leadership

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As a manager, you’re juggling a lot—prioritizing tasks, resolving conflicts, motivating your team, and much more. With so much responsibility, it’s natural to wonder how to be a good manager while keeping everything running smoothly.

“Your role is critical, and dedicating time to improving your leadership skills can go a long way to supporting your team and meeting your organization’s goals. But you can’t get there if you have issues with some of the core principles of being a great manager,” said Rebecca Page, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Director of HR Services for JER HR Group.

“69% of managers struggle to communicate with their employees, and another 37% face similar difficulties providing feedback to their team members. These are both critical skills to cultivating excellence in your team. We wondered: What else could managers be struggling with?”

In this blog post, we’ll go into the top 5 tips on how to be a successful manager and what cultivating excellence looks like in your team.

Top 5 Tips On How to Be a Good Manager and Leader

Though management is centered around leading a group of people to achieve a specific objective, to help your team get there, a key piece of that is how to be a good leader.

1. Meet Your Team Where They Are

Only 15% of managers know what it takes to lead their team and manage team members effectively. The good news? You can become part of this number.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to control every detail, but true leadership means letting go and empowering your team to take charge of their responsibilities. This doesn’t mean stepping back entirely—it means delegating wisely while staying engaged and supportive.

One of the most important things you can do is understand your team’s unique strengths. By identifying what each team member excels at, you can assign tasks that align with their natural talents.

You can identify team members’ strengths and weaknesses by:

• Encouraging open communication
• Keep an eye on their work behaviors
• Creative opportunities for further collaboration

When you work with your team’s strengths and involve them in decision-making, you create a collaborative environment where everyone feels valued and engaged. This not only boosts morale but also drives better results.

Your role is to coach, not command—by guiding your team and allowing them to play to their strengths, you’re fostering a culture of trust and mutual respect that leads to long-term success.

2. Keep Expectations Clear

When everyone knows what’s expected of them, they can focus on their tasks without confusion. Clear expectations are the foundation for a productive, engaged, and harmonious team.

First, clear expectations drive employee engagement. When your team understands their roles and how their work contributes to the company’s success, they feel more connected and motivated. Without clear guidance, employees can lose motivation, particularly in remote or hybrid environments where communication might be less frequent.

Second, clear expectations increase productivity. When your team knows exactly what to prioritize, they can work more efficiently, avoiding duplicated efforts and unnecessary mistakes.

Third, setting clear expectations minimizes unnecessary conflicts. When everyone understands their roles and how they fit into the bigger picture, collaboration improves.

3. Work on Growing Your Leadership Skills

Interested in how to be a better manager? Always remember that you never stop learning and you never stop growing.

Here are some ideas for what you can do:

• Focus on key skills: Identify and target specific leadership skills like adaptability, communication, and decision-making to grow as a leader.
• Get a mentor: Just as top athletes have coaches, find a mentor to provide guidance, evaluate your approach, and support your growth.
• Listen actively: Truly listen to your team’s concerns and ideas. Effective listening fosters open communication and helps you make better decisions.
• Motivate your team: Understand what drives your team members and use that knowledge to keep them engaged and energized.
• Be self-aware: Your actions set the tone. Be mindful of how your behavior impacts your team and lead by example.

Leadership is a continuous journey. Embrace learning and show your team that growth is a shared experience.

4. Learn How to Delegate

For day-to-day tasks, consider who on your team is best equipped to handle them. Delegating these tasks not only empowers your employees but also shows that you trust and value their abilities.

As we’ve already discussed, learning your team’s strengths and weaknesses is core to how to be a successful manager. As best you’re able, align the tasks you delegate with these strengths, and you’ll find that employees are more motivated and engaged. Delegating tasks that align with their professional development goals can boost their confidence and productivity.

Likewise, delegation is also about development. While it might take an employee longer to complete a task than it would take you, patience is key. Efficiency comes with time.

After delegating, it’s important to monitor progress and offer feedback. Constructive criticism helps your team improve, while positive feedback reinforces their strengths. Don’t hesitate to ask for feedback on your delegation process as well—this helps you refine your approach and become a more effective manager.

Learn more about how to improve your management skills: 3 Management Styles That Work… and 2 That Don’t 5 Key Emotional Intelligence Skills in Leaders Psychological Safety at Work: The Foundation of Inclusive and Thriving Teams

5. Work to Foster Innovation

As a manager, knowing how to foster innovation in the workplace is essential for driving growth and staying competitive. Here’s how you can create an environment where new ideas thrive.

Create Space for Innovation

Innovation often requires a different approach than your usual business processes. Establish a dedicated space where your team can experiment, test ideas, and refine their concepts.

Embrace Experimentation

Innovation is inherently risky, and not every idea will succeed. Cultivate a culture that encourages experimentation and sees failure as a learning opportunity. Make it clear to your team that taking calculated risks is part of the process.

Develop Tolerance for Failure

The path to innovation is rarely straight, and setbacks are part of the journey. Encourage your team to take risks and understand that failure is not the end, but a step toward success.

Balancing all of these tips together, you can cultivate excellence in every team member through your leadership. What does excellence look like in the day-to-day?

Cultivating Excellence Through Leadership

What is an effective manager? Someone who leads the team to excellence

Effective management techniques are defined by clarity, purpose, performance, collaboration, and much more. As a manager, your leadership shapes these qualities, turning them into everyday realities for your team.

When every team member knows the company’s goals and how their role contributes to them, they work with purpose and direction, driving the entire organization forward.

In a culture of excellence, employees don’t just complete tasks—they understand the significance of their work. When your team sees that their efforts have meaning, they are naturally more motivated and dedicated to achieving outstanding results.

An excellent workplace doesn’t falter in the face of challenges. Instead, it builds resilience. Teams stay focused and continue to pursue their goals, even when obstacles arise. As a manager, fostering this resilience ensures that setbacks are merely stepping stones to greater success.

Many managers need help on the road to becoming a good manager—and you’re certainly not alone.

Have What It Takes to be a Good Manager? Start On the Right Foot

Ready to build on these tips for being a good manager? Unlock your full potential as a manager with JER HR Group’s leadership development services.

Our experienced team, with over 30 years in the business, specializes in empowering leaders like you to drive excellence in your organization. Whether you’re refining your leadership skills or looking to foster innovation within your team, we’re here to support your journey.

Contact us today to learn how our tailored solutions can help you lead with confidence