Ta.qUe.Ri.a wrote:

The good manager is firm on inappropriate behaviour because this sends out a clear message to all the team – the message that you are a good, firm, in-control sort of manager who sets more store by what the team can achieve collectively then by being thought of as an easy-going, laid-back, nice person. Yes, individually some of the team may rate you as pretty cool if you let them get away with murder, but the team will collectively rubbish you.   sees greater value in what the team can achieve together ***** Being a manager is a minimalist's dream. You want to build a great team and you want to do it with the smallest output of resources. Praise is free. It is instantly replaceable, does not wear out, is invariably 100 per cent effective, is incredibly simple to do and takes no time at all.  Being a good manager means using as few resources as possible to achieve a result. Minimalists use as little as possible to produce/do something.  Praise cannot be overdone - it does not become useless by constant application. ****** You have to be good at finding the right people to fill the right jobs- and then leave them to get on with it. Ok, I know this is one rule that requires a certain intuitive touch but I am sure you know the sort of manager I am talking about. They seem to surround themselves with capable, competent people and then they just seem to sit back and watch them go for goal. You can do that too. It is a special talent but one you can cultivate. I guess the skill is in both picking the right people and letting go-leaving them alone to get on with it. You have to have lots of trust to do that; trust in their ability and trust in your own as well.  a talent that you can develop and build on. ***** You have to have a very clear idea of who you are looking for to fill a job as much as what you are looking for. For instance, you might need a senior account manager- that is what you are looking for. But who? Team player? Good all rounder? Someone able to make decisions on the run? Someone who can plan ahead? Someone who understands your industry's quirks? Someone who speaks fluent spreadsheets? Someone who can work with an overexcitable union? Someone who is good at everything needed. In an office, he/she will be able to answer the phone, type letters acurately, do the required calculations, assess the work and how to do it, and file neatly.  "Quirks" = peculiar characteristics/characteristics specific to that industry. ***** I am sure you get the idea. If you have a clear picture of who you need as well as what you need, you make the transition to being a manager who seems to have an uncanny knack of finding the right people. It is not a knock, of course, but planning, vision, logic and hard work.  "uncanny" = supernatural/mysterious   "knack" = clever way of doing something. I once made the mistake of being totally seduced by a manager's credential- I was a general manager seeking to employ a manager- and failing to look hard enough at who he was rather than what he was  I was taken in by the candidate and how he presented himself. ****** Sorry, but if the team screws up, it is entirely your fault. If the team does well, the credit is all theirs. A good manager will always take the rap. I know it is easy to use your team as an excuse, but it won't wash. You are the leader, the manager, the boss. If it all goes pear-shaped you have to stand up and take the flack.   Something that is pear-shaped is something that has gone wrong.  "flack/flak" =  wartime term meaning the bursting shells fired by artillery. In this context, things have gone wrong and you must accept the abuse and the responsibility. ****** It is easy to say, 'We did not meet our targets because young Brian accidentally upset Client X and they pulled out leaving us short of our sales'. But who put young Brian in charge of such an important client? You. Who organized the sale? You. It has to be you. And your team will die for you if you ask it to, if you take the rap when the going gets tough, believe me. Nothing generates more loyalty than a boss who is prepared to stand up and say, 'I take responsibility'.   The client has withdrawn from negotiations, and therefore our sales figures are now short of the budgeted figures.  "The going gets tough" = When things start to become difficult.