Featured Article

Helping Good Managers Become Better Leaders

Understanding the difference between the role of a “manager” and a “leader” is crucial to maximizing the potential of your people. A manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. A leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. So, what can organizations do to help good managers become better leaders?

A good place to start is by helping the manager understand their natural leadership behaviors and how their leadership style is currently perceived by their direct reports, peers and other leaders they interact with in the organization.

Assessments can identify specific traits about each manager that are crucial to their leadership performance. Each manager should be given the opportunity to understand themselves on a personal level, and understand how they are perceived by their teams. Individual assessments will help managers better understand their core makeup and their natural tendencies toward leadership.

Knowing what the team thinks of their leadership styles can allow managers to appropriately adapt their management styles and understand areas that need improvement.

By assessing managers individually, companies can determine how well each manager fits into their role as a leader. Assessments can reveal in-depth, objective insight into each manager’s thinking style, behavioral traits, occupational interests, and job fit in the organization.

Certain behaviors or traits may incline one person to be a more effective manager over another, and assessments can identify those traits. Managers should have the opportunity to review their individual assessments to better understand the reasoning behind the majority of their actions and behaviors. This information can make managers better problem solvers, and more effective at dealing with different personalities.

Managers and their teams should also have the opportunity to participate in a 360-degree survey assessment. These assessments are a valuable tool when determining the effectiveness of managers and leaders. These assessments combine feedback from peers, supervisors, customers and employees.

The results can be used to develop specific leadership skills that can improve a manager’s overall effectiveness. 360-degree assessments can help managers further identify areas of themselves that need to be developed.

These assessments are effective investments for companies seeking to focus management training and development investments, discover misaligned communication within teams, and improve issues that could inhibit productivity.

Leadership is the cornerstone of business. Without effective leadership, the entire organization will fail. In order to ensure that managers and leaders are held to the highest standard, they need to be aware of how they can improve their managerial styles.

By providing managers with the appropriate tools to learn about their behaviors and personalities, they can then adapt their skill sets to encompass a wider range of management capabilities. Continually coaching and developing managers ensures that business will continue to grow.

Featured Product

Profiles Managerial Fit is a manager assessment test which measures critical workplace compatibility factors between managers (executive, director, supervisor, team leader, etc.) and their employee(s) to determine managerial fit. Understanding the dynamics of the supervisor-subordinate relationship helps the manager work more effectively with each employee by recognizing where their perspectives are similar and where they differ. With this increased understanding, managers can easily identify areas they need to develop, go through appropriate manager training, and strive towards becoming a more competent manager.

What does it measure? How long does it take? When can you see the results? Interested in seeing a sample report or a demo? Call your Certified Profiles Strategic Partner today!

Featured Case Study

Meeting Challenges on the Frontline for BIG Results on the Bottom line.

Profiles Client, River Valley Bank, wanted to retain more highly qualified, motivated professionals of the highest integrity, reduce a painful 50% turnover trend, and improve productivity and customer service. This month’s feature case study shares the remarkable story of how the bank accomplished its goals while maintaining a customer-centric culture. Customer service employees helped the bank generate revenue during a time that other banks were showing losses or folding. At the same time, the bank dropped an incentive program to reduce expenses. “We eliminated it after the first quarter this year. It was interesting that our referrals have increased even without that incentive. It’s a telling statement. It shows that the CSRs are more internally motivated. They won’t turn down the paycheck, but they recognize that we need to be here for our customers. We had to make difficult decisions and our CSRs are delivering at a higher level than when they had the incentives.”

Click here for the full study.