Hello,

Please explain why the below 2 mistakes that managers make are the most common in management?

1. The moments managers really fall into a bad way with their team and their goals is when they are performing on a reactive basis. This would mean events are occurring and the manager is fixing problems behind them rather than planning ahead and anticipating problems. Being reactive not only causes the manager unnecessary stress but stress on their team and possibly even clients and customers. In my experience, the best strategy for becoming proactive is communication and time management. Being aware of upcoming events and communicating the event and plans with the team sparks conversation. This collaboration can bring potential obstacles to light giving the manager the opportunity to plan for these obstacles.

2. A manager who trusts their team is very important. This trust without verification can lead to misunderstandings and flow issues within the workplace. A specific instance I witnessed trust without verification is when I worked in a small retail store where a majority of the team and managers had worked there for several years together. This time together created a tight bond and trust between everyone. This was usually very encouraging but as a fresh set of eyes I was able to show the managers several important tasks that were not being completed correctly. Upon further investigation we found some of the processes had changed over time and the managers assumed the employees saw the communication and had started implementing the changes because the employees had been there so long and were so good at their jobs. They trusted these employees knew what to do because of their experience, but to no fault of the employees because they are not management, they had not looked at that communication piece. This resulted in several months of record keeping that was not done. To 'trust but verify' takes planning and time management skills, but it is an important piece that can promote engagement between an employee and their manager. It is a great opportunity for the manager to provide feedback as well as give recognition. My approach to being a manger who 'trusts but verifies' is to actually use that phrase in a straightforward manner. I have never had an employee who didn't know that Amanda will 'trust but verify' because she cares about the work her employees are doing. Approaching it in this way helps the employee to not feel like you are just checking up on them but they know you do it regularly as part of your routine with everyone.

Thank you!