Nobody goes into management imagining they’ll become monsters. In fact, you most likely accepted a management role to break that mould and become the manager to finally create a positive and happy workforce. Yet, a few years into the job, you’re starting to fear that you’ve become the monster you always wanted to avoid. And you’ve no idea why. 

Unfortunately, this can happen to even the best managers, but it is an easy enough issue to overcome. If you’re fed up with conversations ending abruptly as soon as you step into the office, simply consider whether these unexpected management mistakes might be to blame. 

Trying to be Best Friends

It makes sense that, as a manager, you would want to be an integrated member of your team. Yet, constantly trying to be best friends with your employees is the worst management mistake you could make. 

Ultimately, your employees aren’t your friends, and nor should they be considering that you’re in a position of authority. That doesn’t mean you can’t still attend after work drinks, but it does mean you should probably shoot off after a drink or two. 

As well as maintaining your authority, this simple switch ensures that employees feel more comfortable around you, and less worried that you’ll constantly break boundaries they don’t feel able to reinforce.

Overlooking Their Basic Needs

As a fair and caring manager, you might well go above and beyond to offer big benefits to your employees, including sick pay, annual leave, and more. But, are you also catering for the small stuff that accounts for your employee’s daily needs?

After all, a holiday allowance won’t help to keep your team onboard if you don’t also budget for well-being essentials like a mains-fed water cooler or break space in the office. Dare we say it, big benefit gestures could even start to look a little empty in light of oversight in these other areas?

The solution obviously isn’t to cut back on those big benefits that your team also deserves. However, you’ll also want to increase your budget to ensure that those gestures are also evident throughout your office. 

Communication Issues

You may well wear a bright smile and a practised listening face each time your employees approach you, but this will be a small consolation if you let communication issues creep in elsewhere. 

Managers who communicate with their teams too rarely, or who spend the entire time making jokes when they do, can especially escalate issues like a lack of approachability or uncertain delegations. 

This will cause just as many issues as shouting and screeching all day. It will certainly render your attempts at polite conversation null and void unless you address the issue with regular meetings, straightforward language, and an open-door policy where employees genuinely feel they can ask questions. 

Great management isn’t easy, and you could quickly find yourself out of favour with your team. Tackle the problem by being honest about whether these innocent yet fatal mistakes might be to blame. 

ChrissyJ xxx