In our “What Type of Manager Are You?” series, we’re looking at the struggles that different kinds of managers face, whether you’re a nurturer, a cheerleader, or a monitor, and how you can best overcome those problems in line with your management style.
We’d all like to be a nurturing boss who helps the wonderful employees that we’ve hired and trained grow into superstar managers and executives of the future. However, with the pressures of the modern day boss - I’m talking endless reports, unrealistic deadlines, and cuts upon cuts - it’s not always possible to give all your employees the individual support that you’d ideally like to give. So, how can you have the best of both worlds, keeping both your bosses and your employees feeling happy and engaged?
Prioritise
Now, this might sound like one of those easier said than done type tips, but bear with me on this one. It’s not a question of sacrificing results to get a coffee with your team or vice versa, it’s about getting a balance that works and, most importantly, is sustainable.
Okay, so you might not be able to listen to Lisa’s idea on spreadsheets right this second, but make it a priority for the afternoon or tomorrow morning. People understand that managers are busy and can’t just drop everything immediately. As long as you reassure people that it’s on your caseload for the future, people will understand - just make sure you make a note of it somewhere so you don’t forget in the moment!
Look after yourself
Honestly, you’re going to be absolutely useless to your team if you’re out of the game with stress, so take a sec every once in a while to breathe and walk away from your desk. This might sound counterproductive, especially given how much work there is to do for a modern boss on a daily basis, but you’ll come back to whatever task you’re doing feeling more refreshed and maybe with a new perspective.
Being a manager is about playing the long game, that’s why planning and long-term visibility is an integral part of your role. Slow it down and keep yourself nurtured as well as your team. If the four day working week successes are anything to go by, when you work slightly less, you’re more productive and efficient when you do work. Don’t burn yourself out trying to do it all.
Delegate
Which brings me onto this very important point. Not enough managers delegate tasks to senior members of their teams. You hired and trained them, you know that they’re capable enough to shoulder some of the burden. If you want more time and opportunities to nurture your team, then this is the perfect way to do it: it frees you up to catch up with different members of the team whilst giving them the chance to grow and improve themselves professionally with new, more senior tasks. Delegation is essentially nurture central.
Accept it
This is massively important for nurturing managers, as they commonly feel guilty for not dedicating enough time and energy to fostering their teams. Again, much like the prioritising tip, it might sound like it’s easier said than done, but it’s probably the most important thing that you can do as a nurturing manager. Accept that you cannot do everything, accept that your team are able to look after themselves sometimes, accept that you need to look after your own workload and put on do not disturb occasionally. This does not make you a bad manager, it makes you a responsible and aware one which is the best thing you can be for your team.
And the aware, responsible, and nurturing manager knows that Wundamail is the ideal solution to a hectic problem. Simply put, it’s like having a coffee with every single employee, every single working day. It’s more than just a chat, it structures the conversation so that words become actions, and ideas become solutions. It’s efficient, it’s simple and it’s engaging - start your 14 day free trial today.
Famous Nurturers are:
Microsoft’s Bill Gates
Michelle Obama
