5 Essential Qualities For Effective Managers

What does it take to manage a diverse group of creative individuals?

An extensive review of management literature produces the following list of management qualities that are essential if you want to build and leverage high performance teams. Without these skills you run the risk of losing your most valuable business asset: the knowledge and energy of your creative people.

Look for these qualities in your managers, and find ways to train them in how to do these things reliably. Your investment in time and training will be well rewarded. When you are looking for effective managers to run your creative systems, you need to find people with these skill sets:

1. The ability to generate alternatives:

Can they brainstorm and brainwrite as individuals and in groups to develop a wide array of potential solutions?

2. The ability to use divergent thinking:

Can they approach the problem or situation from a wide variety of perspectives? Do they encourage people from different backgrounds to join the team and bring in their unique insights?

3. The ability to suspend judgment:

Can they withhold critical analysis until we have exhausted our brainstorming session/ Premature criticism will stifle initiative and imagination and bring your group process to an unproductive end. There is no easier way to turn your people off than to attack the ideas you encouraged them to offer.

4. The ability to use effective heuristics:

We need effective rules of thumb not exhaustive analysis. The most important problems cannot be solved with computers but need a sense of human dynamics and good rules of thumb. Learn how to tap into our rich human experience contained inside the group to get the most out of out knowledge base. You will be surprised at just how much your people really know.

5. The ability to maintain sustained and focused concentration:

Seeing a project through to the end, especially when we are using brainstorming and listening to many points of view, requires the ability to focus for long periods of time. You need a combination of passion and tenacity to see it through tot he end. That’s what we need from our managers, to help us get through the inevitable obstacles.

Apply these insights when you are selecting your team managers and group leaders. Use this list to help you develop your own managerial qualities and you will be miles ahead of the competition. People will be clamoring to join your team!