On BusinessWeek.com, Beth Weissenberger discusses the negative traits that managers acquire and how to conquer them.
Weissenberger, who is CEO and co-founder of New York-based coaching company The Handel Group, says a manager must think about every aspect of their personality and how they got to where they are in order to move to the next level.
The author insists that everyone has negative traits, including the most successful leaders and managers. So no one should feel guilty about possessing these traits but must make a concerted effort to acknowledge them in order to go about rectifying them.
Possible negative traits are micromanaging employees when it's not necessary, being suspicious, harsh, impatient or forceful, and lacking appreciation.
So how can these be uncovered? Weissenberger has several suggestions.
One way is to seek feedback from people you trust. Another is to make a list of events that didn't turn out as planned or made you unhappy and work out what your role in the situation was.
Once you have identified your unwanted traits, you then have to go about discarding them.
Weissenberger says a system of consquences begins the process of becoming aware of the trait. Inviting the help of other people also sends them the message that the manager is serious about change and improvement.
She calls upon managers to "tell on yourself to your team" and then “set up your consequences, let them in on the game, and have fun with it".
Source
How to Conquer Your Negative Traits as a Manager
Beth Weissenberger
BusinessWeek.com