Most of my management experience has been in the hospitality industry, mainly chain restaurants. I switched gears later on and worked as an executive assistant to a few different managers, all with different styles. So my point of view is from both doing and observing.

The most important quality a manager can possess is respect. Respect comes in a variety of forms, I will outline a few of them here. A manager must respect themselves, this is shown by the way they carry themselves on the job and also in social situations involving their employees. For example, if a manager is always coming in late and looking like they put their iron in reverse, then they are sending the message that this job is really not that important. A manager will have much more success if they have respect for the company they are working for especially if they expect their employees to do the right thing on the job. If a manager speaks poorly of the company then of course his/her subordinates will assume that no one cares whether on not they do a good job. The most important form of respect is of course respect for their employees. Many newly promoted managers still try to pal around with their employees and unknowingly may say inappropriate things to people. An example is the sarcastic manager who throws "funny" quips here and there regarding an employee's performance. This practice may have been fine when they were co-workers, however once someone is in a position of authority, those comments can be taken very seriously by employees who want to please their boss.

Consistency is so vitally important. Here are a few examples of consistency in management. If a manager ignores one employee coming in late and then disciplines another, the message to everyone is very unclear. One reason for this may be the history of the two employees, one may be a very conscientious worker and the other may not be working as hard. Unfortunately, a manager must be careful not to bend the rules for one employee and use the full extent of the law on another. Another example of consistency is the strict adherence to the policies and procedures of the company, I have found that if I always followed them to the letter I would never be inconsistent. There may be times when a shortcut seems so innocent, this should be avoided at all costs by managers. It is hard to enforce the rules if the manager is picking and choosing which ones to follow and which one to break. The saying "Do as I say not as I do", is simply a cop out.

There are many more rules of management, however the last one I want to touch upon is integrity. I once heard it said that integrity is what you do when no one is looking. That is so true, and the reason I find it so important is that once you are in management, someone is always looking. It is important to always be up front and honest with your workers. If you start on the slippery slope of lying, it will only get you into trouble. Always be honest and you will sleep better at night.

Learn more about this author, Christine Christensen.
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