The Business Impact of a Great Manager

Why it makes business sense to have great managers

We’ve all heard about them, we may even have worked for one or two in our careers, it’s even possible that you are one – A great manager.

What makes a great manager?

How would you describe such a person? – Chat GPT gave me this definition –

A great manager is someone who communicates effectively, has a clear vision, is empathetic, operates with integrity, delegates tasks effectively, has strong problem-solving skills, and is a continuous learner. They inspire their team to work towards a common goal and empower their team members to take ownership of their work.

I can’t disagree, although I also think that this is short on some of the qualities/skills needed to be a great manager.  It may sound a bit boring, but a good manager needs to be organised.  If they are disorganised this will impact their ability to act on all the other skills.  The AI definition doesn’t mention consistency – which is also key to building relationships, not only with the team but across the business. If you are consistent then people will be able to trust you and understand your values. There is mention of self-development – but no reference to developing others, which is a key responsibility of a great manager.

What do employees themselves think?

There are many, many resources with their take on what makes a great manager.  On-line articles, videos and of course books.  Take your pick.  Management Theory has changed over the years, and there are plenty of options. There is a lot of overlap and recurring themes as to what makes a great manager.  Over the coming weeks I’ll explore some of these skills in more detail, based on my own take on what makes a great manager using A.C.T.I.O.N Management.

The better the manager, the better the team.

“Managers -- more than any other factor -- influence team engagement and performance. That's not an exaggeration: 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager.” (Gallup)

Think about those good managers you’ve had; how did they make you feel?

Positive about your work?  

Encouraged to develop yourself?

Confident about your strengths and your future?

An important member of the team?

You may well have been willing to go the extra mile and invest some goodwill in your job and the organisation you worked for.

Managers can make or break a team. 

Given the ever-increasing rate of change within organisations these days, a good manager plays a vital role in supporting their teams.

The better the team the more effective and productive they are.

Why bother investing in good management which will develop great teams?  All the evidence points to good teams being more effective and productive.  Which organisation wouldn’t want to be more productive?

According to another study by Gallup, highly engaged teams have 21% higher productivity compared to teams with low engagement.

Put slightly more crudely happy workers are more productive than not so happy counterparts.

Happy employees are less likely to leave an organisation, their expertise and knowledge staying in the company longer. The cost saving of lower staff turnover is significant.  Not only is staff turnover costly, but it is also disruptive to the team, impacting their productivity.

The more effective and productive people are, the stronger the business.  All makes sense right?

A study by Harvard Business Review found that companies with highly engaged teams have 22% higher profitability than companies with low engagement.

I’m struggling to think of any business that would turn its nose up at improving profit by a fifth – even a small company making a reasonable £250k profit could see this increase to over £300k! 

So, if anyone’s looking for Return on Investment (ROI) from recruiting/investing in making sure their managers are great – look no further.  If you’re working for an organisation and have to justify why you’re managerial skills should be developed the statistics speak for themselves.  Even if your organisation won’t support you – see the benefits in developing yourself – with great managerial skills in your back pocket the world is your mollusc as my dad would say!