How To Be a Good Manager in The Workplace: 5 Management Tips

How to be a good manager with 5 simple tips 

Knowing how to be a good manager means taking active steps to try out new management tips to boost employee retention and satisfaction. Seeking management advice is the first step to becoming a good manager, and these management tips will help you create an ideal working environment.

1. Encourage collaboration to boost creativity and problem-solving 

There’s a reason why the phrase ‘two heads are better than one’ is so often used. Collaboration is really important when learning how to be a good manager and improving workplace productivity. A 2023 survey showed that 30% of workers believed that relationships and networking helped career progression and job satisfaction¹. Workplaces thrive when they can facilitate collaborative activities, boosting creativity and more effective problem-solving².  

Encourage your team members to grab a coffee and schedule a team-building session. Not only will it strengthen bonds between colleagues, but it will also create an opportunity for collaborative problem-solving and an understanding of how your team works together.  

2. Create a safe space for communication  

Knowing what’s happening in the workplace and how your employees feel is crucial when learning how to be a good manager. Managers can create safe spaces for employees to share their concerns or worries, encouraging a ‘speak-up culture' in the office³. Open communication across the workplace means you can avoid misunderstandings and achieve a higher standard of work with everyone on the same page. As a manager, you have the unique power to act on these concerns communicated to you and ‘implement real change for the whole team to benefit from’³. For example, you could set up regular 1-to-1 meetings with each of your team members, allowing the employee to discuss any concerns they may have free of potential judgement from others.  

3. Give constructive feedback and be open to receiving it 

If you want to improve communication in your workplace, using feedback is one of our essential management tips. A recent poll revealed that one in three employees feel uncomfortable approaching their managers about problems at work⁴. Regular feedback sessions are vital in making employees feel supported and heard. As a manager, being open to providing and receiving constructive feedback can help boost performance by ensuring everyone is on the same page⁵. Your 1-to-1 meetings with your team members can be the perfect opportunity to give feedback and listen to any feedback your employees may have for you.  

4. Practice actively listening to your employees  

When employees come to you with an issue, it can be tempting to start providing solutions immediately. Instead, one of our top management tips is to listen to your employees. This may sound simple enough, but a survey by Intermediair identified ‘a failure to listen properly’ as employees’ most common issue with their managers⁶.  

To ensure your employees’ success, you need to be able to motivate them, understand their preferences, and how you can implement any changes⁶. Actively listening to your employees can make them feel more respected, resulting in a trustful relationship between manager and employee. 

5. Support your employees’ development and celebrate their wins  

A supportive workplace should celebrate every employee’s successes. Knowing you were there to see your employees thrive can feel incredibly rewarding as a manager. To create more of these moments, we’d encourage managers to dedicate time to providing learning and development opportunities, especially when 32% of employees believe a lack of training opportunities has stunted their career progression in the past¹. This can be as simple as allowing one hour a week for employees to pursue any training courses they are interested in. You could also schedule a monthly meeting to showcase employees’ achievements.  

Now you have 5 management tips to start your journey to becoming a better manager. From encouraging collaboration to practising active listening, these are simple yet effective lessons in how to be a good manager. Another step you could take is reading our guide on the 13 different management styles to learn the pros and cons of each style and find the one that fits you best. 

Looking for even more management advice for improving employee retention? Read our guide to fostering a positive workplace culture next.  

1. The Importance of People Management: Analysis of its Impact on Employees, CIPD 
2. How to Make the Office a Place Employees Want to Come Back to, People Management 
3. Employees are Three Times More Engaged When They Feel Supported by Managers, Study Shows, People Management 
4. Improving Line Management, TUC 
5. The Importance of Feedback: 7 Undeniable Reasons Why Your Workplace Needs to Incorporate It, LinkedIn 
6. The Key to Being a Good Manager is Being a Good Listener, People Management  

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