Whether you run a small health care practice or a large production firm, management skills are vital to your success. Bad management can lead to an unhappy workforce, unsatisfied customers and clients, a high staff turnover, reduced morale and efficiency, and a negative atmosphere. Sometimes it can be easy to pick up bad habits, especially if you’ve worked at the same place for a long time. Negativity can slip in to your management style without you noticing until it is too late. Here are some of the things you can do to ensure you are a great manager.
Topping up your education every now and then, to make sure you’re confident in all current methods and your knowledge is 100% up to date, is a great way to improve your management style, whether that’s going back to university to do an MPH degree or doing training courses provided by your company. Things change, new developments are made in all fields, so you don’t want to get left behind. If you would like to be a healthcare manager, consider a master of public health from The University of Arizona as a great place to start building your skill set.
If you want to manage other people and help those people to do their jobs well, you need to know your own. Inside and out, know absolutely all aspects of your own job. Roles change over time, as do responsibilities and expectations, so every few months take some time to assess yours.
Organization is an unbelievably important part of management. Writing to-do lists with priorities and deadlines can be a simple way of making sure you get everything done. Nobody wants a manager who isn’t sure what’s going on.
While you should be organized and plan, you still need to have the flexibility to deal with sudden and unexpected changes. Try to keep an open mind. Make quick, informed decisions, and get on with it.
Communicate with your staff, customers, clients or patients. Be clear and concise. Even if you think there’s nothing to say, check in with them to make sure. Be as honest and open as you can, you’ll get the same in return.
Let your staff know what you expect of them, and update them of any changes to this. This is one place managers often fail. They complain that their employees are not delivering results, but did the staff really understand what was expected of them?
Don’t shy away from conflict. It comes in all walks of life. There will at some point be a difficult situation you don’t want to deal with. Confront it head on, in a calm and professional manner.
One important thing to remember, in any situation, is not to ask someone to do something you wouldn’t be prepared to do yourself. Get stuck in occasionally. Help with other jobs in emergencies. Do the dirty work sometimes. Simple acts in the workplace can earn you a lot of respect. As can simple acts of kindness. Follow these tips and I’m sure you will be a great manager in whatever field you choose.
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