Hiring new employees can be one of the biggest challenges in business. But hiring a new manager is even more challenging. They have to possess essential leadership qualities, and the implications can be messy if you don’t get it right.
If you can get it right, your new manager will help drive employee engagement, productivity, and profit. Get it wrong, and a newly hired manager can make a mess and leave you to pick up the pieces of your business.
Therefore, hiring managers’ entire selection process must differ from the strategies when recruiting other employees. We must look for various skills to ensure the new manager’s candidate is the right fit.
You should look for ten qualities when hiring a new manager.
1. Communication
A manager with poor communication skills but great ideas can be challenging. The whole point of effective management is communicating a vision to the team to understand and feel engaged.
Great managers have strong communication skills. They understand the need to adapt their messaging accordingly.
Moreover, effective communication will be required to handle more delicate business issues such as employee conflict, morale and performance coaching.
2. Trustworthy
Business owners hire managers to help lead the team day-to-day. Managers have responsibilities, access, and tasks that demand them to be trusted.
If you hire a manager you don't trust, you’ll spend an unnecessary amount of time worrying about things you shouldn’t need to.
3. Loyal
Managers are the eyes and ears of the business. With this comes the challenging task of balancing and maintaining a strong relationship with employees whilst being loyal to the company and owners.
It is paramount that newly hired managers should put their loyalty to the business and its owner before their friendships with employees.
4. Decisive
Problems in business come up daily. The last thing you want is a manager who can't make decisions on the fly but instead seeks guidance on every small matter.
Managers must remain calm in a crisis, weigh the options, make decisive decisions, and communicate them clearly with their team.
5. Empathy
Look for managerial hires who understand the importance of empathising with their employees and looking for win-win outcomes. The big stick approach is dead.
6. Focus
The to-do list in business is never-ending. Effective managers can instinctively cut through the long list and focus on the most critical tasks.
Photo by: Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels
7. Drive
Managers need to be self-drivers and not rely on others to push and motivate them to achieve outcomes. Looking for signs of self-motivation is key in selecting new managers.
8. Creativity
As business owners, we don't have all the answers. Thinking we do is a mistake. We need managers to use creative thinking to solve problems and suggest better ways of doing things.
9. Commitment
Nothing sucks more than putting a heap of effort into training and coaching a new manager only for them to leave. Ensure any new manager is dedicated to the company for some time and can see a career path.
10. Optimism
Business, like life, is full of highs and lows. It's easy to love work when things are going well, but the manager needs an air of positivity to keep the team on track and the culture healthy, even when it gets tricky.
Summary
These ten qualities are what to look for when hiring a new manager. It may be challenging to find something with all 10, so make a list and number from most important to least important regarding your business.
Then you can shortlist manager candidates and select the best person who embodies your business values and management style.
Pro tip: Don't rush manager interviews. Take the time to make sure your most valued qualities are present.
To help make things easier for your new manager, consider RosterElf online rostering software.
