5 things you can do to be a better manager

Managing people effectively is no easy task – you have to juggle a number of different responsibilities and know exactly when to step in, and when to sit back. In this post, discover what you can do to become a better manager. Hint, none of it involves a sharp suit or firm handshake.

Increase your ‘CQ’

Thanks to an increasingly connected world, different cultures, skillsets and experiences are meeting at the watercooler – not always successfully. That’s why developing your cultural intelligence or ‘CQ’  has never been more important; understanding different cultures and discovering what makes people tick is crucial in helping them work well.

Grow your CQ with Developing Cultural Intelligence for Leadership.

Learn the ins and outs of the business

A fast-paced business might have hundreds of different business processes, plus multiple supply chains, each of which is always evolving according to new technology. It might be a daunting prospect but getting to know all of these is vital (even if it’s just an overview) – after all it’s these systems and processes that determine how well a business runs and how happy its staff are.

Get to grips with process with:
Business Process Management: an Introduction to Process Thinking
The Digital Economy: Effective Supply Chain Management.

See the bigger picture

As well as being well informed about their own company, a good manager also has an understanding of the industry they work in and how that industry fits in with the wider world.

If you’re well informed, you’re much better placed to spot opportunities or problems for the business in the future. Plus with some of the major issues the world is facing – like increasing inequality, dwindling natural resources and rising temperatures – organisations must be looking at how to adapt.

Learn about the bigger picture with:
Risk Management in the Global Economy
Environmental Challenges program
Social Enterprise program.

Make better decisions

In a complex world it’s often hard to know the best way to make decisions (Google features over three hundred million results on ‘decision making’) let alone which decisions are the right ones. And how does data factor in when there are 2.5 quintillion bytes of it churned out every day? Managers need to be able to make hundreds, if not thousands, of savvy, informed decisions a day – having an effective method for analysis and then decision making should help make this easier.

Improve your decision making with:
Decision Making in a Complex and Uncertain World
Data to Insight: an Introduction to Data Analysis.

Try new perspectives

Getting stuck on a problem is something everyone encounters at least once. One way of shaking yourself out of it is to try looking at it from a completely different perspective – for instance design (in fact interest in ‘design thinking’ has steadily grown over time). Even learning about a subject you might not use directly might help you develop interesting skills that set you apart.

Try out new perspectives with: 
Designing the Future
An Introduction to Public Leadership.

Looking for more courses to help you become a better manager? See all our Business & Management courses.