Differences between effective and ineffective managers

managers credit comic

I thought it might be helpful I show the action and language difference between effective and ineffective managers I have experienced.

managers credit comic
managers credit comic

Effective Managers: Appreciate proactive workers and say “Thank you for being proactive.”

Ineffective Managers: See change as a threat. Ask why you are looking for problems.

Effective Managers: Appreciate workers who learn each day and dedicate part of their day to learning.

Ineffective Managers: See education as time wasted. Ask why you are learning that.

Effective Managers: Check in with their workers randomly to see that they have the tools they need to succeed.

Ineffective Managers: Say that ineffective tools can be just as effective as industry standard tools. “We always did it this way.”

Effective Managers: Notice when you are sick and tell you to go home.

Ineffective Managers: Tell you to work when you are sick, and make company policy more important than your health. “You have used all your sick days and now you don’t get paid for being sick.”

Effective Managers: Ask you and consider your time. They don’t include you in meetings that don’t affect you or include you in emails that you have no input or business knowing.

Ineffective Managers: Don’t respect your time. They make you wait for long periods, late for meetings, or don’t show up, don’t respond to emails, and include you in emails instead of deleting the history of the email to preserve privacy and need to know.

Effective Managers: Are aware of your emotional state and consider your workload in regards to that. If workers have lost someone close to them for example, they show sympathy.

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Ineffective Managers: Employees’ emotions don’t matter, and the work is always the most important. No consideration for things outside of the employee’s control.

Effective Managers: Realize that employees have choices and can work in other companies. They choose to work where they do.

Ineffective Managers: Employees are replaceable and maybe the new guy is even better than the guy I got rid of. See people as things and not unique people who should be respected in a give-and-take situation long term. Sometimes the employee needs a little more than expected, and sometimes the business needs a little more than expected.

Effective Managers: Praise the person in public, and criticize or give feedback in private.

Ineffective Managers: Criticize people in public, and praise in private.

Effective Managers: Give credit to the person who thought up the idea

Ineffective Managers: Take credit for others’ ideas.

Effective Managers: See the person as more than just an employee.

Ineffective Managers: Think the person exists to only serve the business and not have additional roles and responsibilities in life.

I don’t claim to know everything about being a manager, but the people who I have worked with said that they preferred me to the managers they currently had. You lead by being a servant and helper to those you are privileged to help.