A Tip From The Manager’s Answer Book: Your Management Brand

 

As a manager, all eyes are on you.  You bring knowledge, skill and experience to the job. Managing in our current environment is and will continue to be different. As work gradually moves back into offices, managers will have to manage differently and trust their employees. Now more than ever before, the quality of output and results must be the focus of performance measurement, rather than the number of activities or amount of time spent at work stations, in order to sustain productivity, avoid burnout and produce results. 

Successful managers have to show they are not only competent in their area of expertise, but they have to show they are credible, agile, and empathic.  So how do you do that, and why is it important.  

Manager’s Tip:  You do it by creating your personal brand. Your brand is how you present yourself – how you communicate, act and interact with others. As a manager, you are representing the organization – whether interacting inside or outside – so you always want to be mindful of how your actions uphold the organization’s positive culture.  There are critical traits that illustrate a positive personal brand. Clearly at the top of the list are ethics and integrity – being true to your values and principles. You demonstrate this by making decisions that don’t contradict your values, seeking out people with common values and respecting the people around you. Trustworthiness is a close second to integrity.  You show other people that they can trust you by maintaining confidences, exercising discretion and avoiding rumors and gossip.  Listen to your staff and be as transparent as you possibly can. Be fair and consistent with your staff and admit when you are wrong.  And finally courage – having the confidence and integrity when you see something is wrong or not moving in the right direction to say something. Confront wrongdoing no matter where it’s occurring. Step up and do the right thing. Finally, courageous leaders not only speak out and take an opposing point of view, they also advocate for ideas and positions that may not appear to be popular.

You can read more in The Manager’s Answer Book a proud 2020 Winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award.  Section Four is devoted to creating your personal brand.  Ethics and integrity is discussed on page 111, courage on page 113 and trustworthiness on page 120. The Manager’s Answer Book, is available from Amazon -- https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.