5 signs of a great manager

One of the most important factors influencing people’s happiness at work is their managers. If you have a great manager, you’re likely to be happier, more productive and more loyal to your company. Great managers inspire the admiration and enthusiasm of their team. Similar to a great teacher, coach or role model, great managers can make a positive difference for many years of a person’s life.



There are several key signs of a great manager. If you’re interviewing for a new job, pay attention to who you’d be working for – does he or she show signs of greatness?

Signs of a great manager include:

• Asks good questions – and cares about the answers. Great managers are constantly looking for more information to help them craft the best decisions and strategies. They ask questions to understand their people better and to create a holistic view of the challenges facing their organization – not just asking questions in a perfunctory way or to look busy or to intimidate people. Pay attention to the kinds of questions your prospective manager asks you in the job interview. Does she seem interested in your past experience and future goals? Does she seem legitimately interested in getting to know you and finding out if the company is a good fit for you, or is she only interested in fitting you into the pre-determined job description? Does the manager seem skeptical and guarded, or open and generous? Do you feel like you’re being interrogated? (If so, that’s a bad sign!) The best managers draw out the best energy of the people around them, without making anyone feel uncomfortable.
• Shares credit and takes blame. Great managers always try to share the glory with their teams, and accept responsibility when things go wrong. This is a sign of security – the best managers know that admitting mistakes is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. And the best managers know that, just as in the saying from Lao Tzu: “When the best leaders’ work is done, the people will say, ‘We did it ourselves.’”
• Has a knack for dealing with people. Great managers tend to be “people people.” It’s not enough to be promoted to manager based on seniority or technical skill; to be a great manager you need to care about and be interested in motivating, engaging, and developing people. This is a totally different skill set than many people bring to their daily work prior to getting promoted to management. When you’re a manager, your technical knowledge or job skills become less important than how you can impact the work of others – “what you know” and “what you do” is less important than what you can motivate others to achieve.
• Constantly challenges people to become better at what they do. Great managers make the people around them better. This doesn’t mean that managers have to act like drill sergeants – there are different styles of leadership that work equally well. The best managers know how to exert a steady influence to drive their teams to greater heights.
• Puts people at ease. Some of the best managers act like good coaches. They know how make everyone feel more comfortable, they don’t put on airs, and they keep the focus off of themselves and on the team.

If you can get a great manager at your next job – or if you have a great manager at your current job – try to hold on to that job for as long as you can. A great manager will often be one of the biggest contributors to your career success.




Ben Gran is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. He is an award-winning blogger who loves to write about careers and the future of work.
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