What Makes a Great Manager?

The Right Assessment Tools Allow the Cream to Rise to The Top

What sets the great boss apart from the average one?

Beyond offering guidance and leadership, the best managers capitalize on their employees’ uniqueness to make them well rounded and indispensable.

Those are the shining star leaders. But some top performers aren’t cut out for management, because what makes someone a great engineer, salesperson or marketer doesn’t always mean they can lead.

In fact, Gallup has found that only 10 percent of the workforce possesses the talent to be a great manager.

Companies that use outdated practices to promote employees based on past experience or that simply make non-data-based decisions may be overlooking talent both inside and outside their doors.

Worse yet, gut hiring decisions can lead to intensifying a company’s revolving door syndrome, and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $319 billion to $398 billion annually, according to Gallup.

So, what makes a great manager? Gallup found a unique combination of five natural qualities that makes someone revered:

1. They have a unique ability to motivate employees
   
2. They overcome obstacles by being assertive
   
3. They cultivate an accountability culture
   
4. They build relationships built on trust
   
5. They make educated and unbiased decisions based on the company’s best interests
   

The good news is that these qualities can be quantified during hiring and employee development using the right tools, including the pairing of multiple assessments that evaluate a manager’s behaviors, driving forces, acumen, competencies/soft skills and emotional intelligence (EQ), that leads to better decision-making.

Conflict between employees and managers will no doubt pop up from time to time, but talented managers know how to develop and engage their employees. They know what makes their employees tick and how to best integrate the talents of their entire team for effortless balance, while developing leaders in the process.

When companies use the right assessment tools to identify the next great managers, they create winning teams through effective leaders.