A great manager is one of the most important keys in a company that ensures the quality of production, which can influence the company’s performance. Here’s 10 things you can do to be a great manager:

1) Empower others

Ambitious employees seek opportunities to enhance their skills. However, they seldom get the chance to shine as they are usually being given the same tasks. Great managers give employees the opportunity to challenge themselves, giving them chances to make decisions and enabling them to develop new skills. Those opportunities not only would help them to expand their skills, it also helps them to perform better which affect the company's performances positively.

2) Display humility

Managers have the power to breed the “us vs. them” mentality and employees would feel like they are on a lower level than them instead of as a team. Managers who show humility would enable the team to open up themselves and not afraid to show weaknesses as failures are just lessons to a great success. They also would not be afraid to speak up their ideas and share it with the team.

3) Write with clarity

Apart from good communication skills, written skill is a must -have for managers. Great managers avoid the use of jargons, long sentences and use concise words when communicating with the team. Information would be transfered more easily and greater work production can be achieved.

4) Use positive body language

“Action speaks louder than words”. The way you use facial expressions and the way you shrug your shoulders explain much of the words you want to express. Negative body language would make you less likeable; your team may not listen to your orders or feel motivated to exceed your expectations. Great managers use body language that conveys warmth by simple gestures such as smiling and eye contact.

5) Be generous with praise

Employees who are not appreciated in the office will feel too demotivated to care about or improve their work. A great manager would be generous in praising both publicly and privately the work, and make sure employees receive the appropriate recognition. Also by building the groundwork for praise; setting achievable and flexible goals, employees would be more motivated to complete the next task.

6) Thoughtful with comments

Criticism can be both detrimental and constructive. Positive feedback would allow the employees to feel motivated to improve their work. Great managers always keep track of the team’s growth and development.They are also able to control their emotion when delivering criticism (read: How to Give Effective Feedback) and know how to boost their employees confidence.

7) Respect others

Have you ever experienced a situation when in a meeting or event, those in high positions would be chronically late? It is a bad sign as it shows disrespect to other people and lack of discipline. Great managers build trust with the team by being punctual, attentive, and ending meetings on time. Apart from respecting other people's time, great managers would also respect other people's opinion instead of sending the message "I have more power than you and you NEED to follow my orders".

8) Be approachable

Studies have found that we tend to like people who like us; who ask questions, possesses similar preferences and attitudes. Using this fact, managers should be more likeable and approachable. Great managers know how to handle the relationship between the team and it would increase employee engagement (read: 5 Tips to Increase Employee Retention and Engagement) and loyalty. Eventually they would be more open to you and those who admire you might even willing to extend their shift in critical times.

9) Communicating expectations

We are affected by other people’s expectations (i.e teachers and managers). When they put high expectation on us, we feel like they believe in us and that helps our self-esteem. When communicating with employees, giving verbal or non-verbal cues to your employees will boost their confidence to perform better and exceed your expectations. Great managers would try to encourage the whole team, not only the ones who consistently outperform.

10) Show up body and soul

No one wants to talk to people who don’t pay attention when they talk. Great managers use active listening skills when their team talk to them, stay engaged and attentive to the details. When employees are being acknowledged by their managers, they will feel appreciated and would be more motivated in doing their work.