What % Good Manager Are You?


There are good managers, managers, and those that are somewhere in between. Good managers have loyal teams, good results and are loved by those that work for and with them. Bad managers have teams that jump ship as quickly as they can, struggle to achieve greatness, and are reviled by everyone that has to work with them. Where do you land on the good manager bad manager scale?  Are you a great manager helping your team to steer the ship, or are you a bad manager that your team can't stand?  Let's find out!

As you go through each point below add up your score. Every time you identify more with a good manager give yourself 1 point. Every time you identify with the bad manager give yourself 1 point. At the end tally them up and see where you land on the good manager/bad manager scale.  Oh and maybe take this for your manager and see where you think they fall too!

Treat Teams Like People

The best managers know that their teams are made up of individuals. They are not numbers on a ledger that can all be treated the same. Good managers know that they must get to know each person for who they are and what motivates them. They take an interest in their personal lives and happiness as well. Good managers know that when a person is happy both inside and outside of work they are likely to be more productive and produce their best work. Bad Managers don't care about their employees. They believe they are just there to do the job and whether they are happy or not doesn't matter. They don't want to hear about their employee's weekends or problems outside of work because they don't care.

Hire Better People

Good managers want the absolute best people on their teams. They look for and cultivate the best talent. They are confident in hiring people who have better skills than them because it means they can better contribute to the overall team and performance. Bad managers hire people that aren't as good as they are. They are afraid that if they hire someone too good, they will outside the manager and take their job. 

Set Clear Direction

Good managers know what they're going after and they ensure the team knows exactly what to expect. Their teams come to work every day with a clear understanding of what they're doing today, tomorrow and how that helps achieve the goals of the team and the organization. Bad managers aren't clear with their teams on what the bigger picture is. In their eyes, all that matters is that the employee takes direction and executes the task. They don't need to understand anything beyond that. In fact,t they may often reprimand employees for turning in work that wasn't correct, even though the manager wasn't clear on what they wanted. 

Hold Everyone to the Same Standard

Good managers treat their teams fairly and hold everyone to the same standard. They know what to expect if they've done a great job, and they know what's coming if they didn't meet expectations. There are no surprises if you receive a raise or if you receive a write-up. The best managers know that their employees are looking t them all the time and expect to be treated fairly. Bad managers do just the opposite. They have favorite employees that get special treatment, better assignments, and leniency when they show up late. They treat the team members they don't like poorly hoping they'll decide to leave so the manager doesn't have to go through the work of terminating them. 

Give Credit

Great managers know that the team's overall success is up to them. When the team achieves great results they aren't worried about getting the credit. Instead, they tell their manager and everyone else who was responsible on the team for achieving those great results. They're excited to praise their team for a job well done. Bad managers hog the glory all for themselves. They believe that no matter what happens it was their success and their team just did what they were paid to do. They don't worry about praising their team, because they believe that's what the money is for. 

Take Blame

Good managers know to give praise, but when things don't work out they take the blame for the team. They own the failure to achieve results and don't pass on the names of the team members that didn't meet expectations. Good managers know that a discussion about performance improvement belongs behind closed doors between the manager and the employee only. Bad managers are quick to lay the blame at the feet of their teams. They don't want any possibility that a failure could be blamed on them, so they will quickly identify who can take the fall for them. 

Develop Their Teams

Good managers work to make the members of their teams better. They coach and develop them so that they become more capable over time. They understand that the more capable their team is the better the results they can produce. When their team member is ready for a promotion they actively promote and help that team member get that new job because it's good for the team member and reflects well on the manager. Bad managers do just the opposite. Development isn't their responsibility. In fact, the worst managers discourage the development of their teams. They don't want their team members to get any better and risk getting promoted. That just means they have to find a way to pick up the slack of their best people. 

Flexibility

The best managers are flexible. They treat everyone the same but also understand that every situation is unique.  For that reason, they are willing to bend the rules when it makes sense for the business and employee. In fact, they do this for everyone and can always clearly explain why a rule was bent so that everyone understands and agrees that it was the right choice. The worst managers are completely inflexible. The rules are the rules and if you stray out of them in the slightest they will be there to write their employee up. They don't bend the rules and have no flexibility to adjust processes to better suit the team. 

Empowers Their Teams

Good managers hire and develop good teams. They know that when you give people the knowledge, tools, and resources they can get out of their way and let them find their own path to achieve their goals. They are waiting in the wings to help if the team member needs it, but find that when they allow people to work in their own way they get innovative and superior results. Bad managers are all over their teams. They micromanage them every step of the way. There is no room to do things their way, only the way the manager says to do things. They believe they know the best way to do everything and do not want to hear or say any other ways things could be done. 

Encourages Work-Life Balance

Good managers encourage a positive work-life balance for their employees. They know that it's important for their employees to have the opportunity to disconnect from work and spend time on personal projects and with family and friends. They ensure that those employees don't have to pick up the phone and answer emails while on PTO. In fact, they ensure their team members don't pick up the phone and also ensure that they take all of their PTO every year. Bad managers hate having employees take time off. They view that as lost productivity. they want their team in their seats at work every day as long as possible. They won't hesitate to call them at night or the weekend to get an update on a project. They'll even ask employees to take their laptops on vacation so that they can work if the manager needs them. 

Ok, let's look at how you scored!

Great Manager

If you scored 8-10 Points you are a great manager! Congratulations!

8 - 10 Points - You're a Great Manager!

Middle of the Road Manager

If you scored 5-7 Points you are a middle-of-the-road manager. You aren't terrible but you aren't great...yet!

5 - 7 Points - You're a Middle of the Road Manager

Bad Manager

If you scored 4 points or less, you have some work to do. You are the Bill Lumbergh of your organization. 


4 points or less - You're a Bad Manager

How did you score?  Do you agree with what does and doesn't make a great manager?  Tell me below and send this to a friend who should take this quiz too!

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