Originally published on CareerPlug's Blog

Well, there are plenty of reasonable and innovative answers to this questions.  Listening to your team and utilizing their creativity and individual talents.  Creating an open dialogue of communication.  Passing the leadership baton so employees have the chance to grow professionally.  Leading by example.

But the real question we each should be answering is “what makes me a great manager?”.  All of us have different work styles, and your leadership and managerial styles, though related, aren’t the same thing.  Developing your managerial skills begins with evaluating your office culture and your company values and ends with reconciling that with who you are and how you naturally connect with people.

There are many things that are valuable to take from the cookie-cutter manager mold and try to adopt into our own practices.  If you’re not a good communicator, for example, or don’t regularly check-in to give employees feedback, those are weakness to work on.  But, that doesn’t mean you have to be that cookie-cutter manager.  As the old adage goes: be yourself.

Check out this great infographic about being a great manager.  Do these practices align with your style?  What do you think makes a good manager?

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