A manager of any organization can be likened to the captain of a ship: Standing at its helm, they’re capable of steering it towards its destination or into rocky waters. Therefore, if you want to ensure a positive future for your business, it’s essential to know how to choose a manager properly. With the right person in authority, you’ll have a productive team that achieves your organization’s goals while growing and improving at every turn. That’s the power of great leadership, and here’s what you need to know about picking a manager who possesses this valuable skill.
Key Takeaways
- Knowing how to choose a manager begins with a clear job description that outlines the exact requirements and expectations of the role.
- Consider internal promotions as they can save time and motivate employees, though challenges like authority over former peers must be assessed.
- Expand your manager search to include as many candidates as possible, leveraging remote work possibilities to widen your candidate pool.
- Focus on key qualities like communication skills, ability to set clear goals, and effective delegation when assessing potential managers.
- Utilize professional recruiting agencies to streamline the hiring process, access a wider candidate pool, and fill positions efficiently.
Communicate Clearly About the Role
Knowing how to choose a manager properly begins with knowing and communicating the exact requirements of the job. That means you need a well-developed job description that clearly outlines the expectations of the role to candidates.
Additionally, a well-written job description should list the essential duties of the manager and the required skills, qualifications, educational level, and experience. The more specific you are, the better you’ll be able to ensure you and the manager you hire are on the same page when it comes to implementing your business strategy. This also saves you time since you’re able to weed out unsuitable candidates quickly.
Consider Internal Promotions
There’s a good reason why many companies first advertise job vacancies internally. It’s because HR already knows the job requirements and has a better idea of which employee can best step into the role. Not only does it save time, but these employees also know the ins and outs of your business. In addition, by providing your employees with opportunities for advancements, you’ll win over their loyalty and motivate them to work even harder.
However, promoting to management has some downsides. For instance, the person may find it hard to be authoritative with former friends and colleagues. In contrast, a hired manager will not hesitate to exercise authority since he’s only known his team in a managerial capacity. Therefore, when figuring out how to promote someone, it’s important to carefully evaluate your employee’s professional skills and whether they will be able to adapt fully to their new role.
Interview as Many Candidates as Possible
While promoting to management is a great first option for many companies, it may also be necessary to cast your net far and wide when picking a manager. That may mean expanding your geographic search, which is easier since remote working is now more popular than ever. This ensures you get as many candidates as possible that suit the requirements you’re looking for.
Generally, even if there are many candidates to assess, it’s better to conduct individual interviews. Focusing on one candidate at a time allows you to evaluate each applicant more accurately. However, this may be challenging and time-consuming if you’re dealing with a large pool of applicants. In that case, using specialized tests or giving candidates a real-world case to solve can help you narrow down the best candidate quickly.
Such “tests” enable you to streamline your recruitment process by identifying the get-goers who can prove they are management material without merely talking about it.
Look for These Key Qualities When Assessing Your Candidate
Most people who apply for a managerial position will have a long list of accomplishments on paper, but this is not enough. As you navigate the process of recruiting a manager, keep in mind that great managers should also possess the following leadership qualities.
- They have excellent communication skills. Leaders should be able to communicate with their teams clearly and effectively. During the interview, watch out for how candidates express their answers when responding to a question. First, they should listen carefully, take some time to consider the question, then give a meaningful answer that doesn’t ramble on and on unnecessarily.
- They can set clear goals and expectations. Good managers are great at outlining direct and specific goals that are tailored to each employee. Many of them know how to set SMART goals that ensure smooth teamwork and many achievements for your organization.
- They know how to delegate. A good manager should know how to delegate tasks effectively while avoiding micromanaging. That means showing faith and confidence in their teams’ abilities. This is important because employees need their freedom to maintain a positive attitude and the right productivity level.
These are just some of the qualities of a good leader. There are many other soft skills to add to the mix, such as honesty, integrity, empathy, and decisiveness. If you have an experienced eye for management material, it’s often easy to spot the good candidates by asking the right questions and watching them solve a real case. All in all, a manager with these leadership qualities as well as on-the-job experience will help guarantee results for your organization.
Get Help from Recruitment Professionals
As mentioned earlier, finding the best leadership candidate can be an intensive and time-consuming process. For instance, you have to collect resumes from a wide base of applicants and sift through them to separate the serious applicants from the chancers.
At the end of the day, finding the right candidate may take longer, which is bad for business if the position needs to be filled urgently. The solution is to seek the services of a reputable and professional recruiting agency. This will give you access to their existing database of management material candidates.
Recruitment professionals also have the right tools to locate the best employee for the job quickly. In addition, if you keep working with them, they’ll even be able to suggest candidates for future vacancies based on your organization’s needs. In short, they’ll become a go-to and hassle-free search source whenever you’re hiring.
Learn More
Interested in enhancing your managerial capabilities? Explore our Management and Leadership section for resources that will help you lead more effectively.
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Need guidance on how to manage your team better? Our selection of people management books provides valuable insights.
Get guidance on how to choose a manager properly with our expert advice.
The Bottom Line
Figuring out how to choose a manager requires a well-developed recruitment process, but it’s well worth it once you end up with a capable management team. The tips above will help you recruit the right leaders that will motivate the rest of your employees to move in the right direction. Once you have great managers occupying strategic positions in your organization, your business can accomplish so much more.
