Great managers watch like hawks

As your team goes about their work and their lives, you will notice big differences in the engagement level of each person depending on what they are doing. As a great manager, you are always looking for what it is that might really engage each team member. They may not be aware of a talent themselves, but they might be telling you anyway if you are watching carefully.

Yearnings

These are often the easiest things for a manager to spot. I have seen people yearn to be managers, yearn to bury themselves in numbers and details or yearn to setup company events, just to name a few.

Rapid Learnings

Great managers are always trying new things on people, testing the waters with different delegations. Sometimes it does not stick and it takes someone a long time to figure out something new and it is painful for both of you. Sometimes, however, the exact opposite happens and someone takes the ball and runs with it so far and so well, that you are both left looking at each other and wondering “what just happened?”. I love it when this happens! The person learns something new in record time. This is a very good sign of a talent revealed.

Satisfactions

Plain and simple, this is when something just feels good to someone. But we need to go a level deeper as the hawk-eyed manager in order to get the most out this. Most people will honestly say it feels good to solve problems. Solving problems is not a talent. Solving a certain type of problem is. One tip is to isolate the tense that someone seems to be thinking in when doing something specific. If they are acting like (or actually saying) “when will this be over?” – they are probably not using a talent. If, on the other hand, they are acting like (or actually saying) “when can I do this again?” – There’s a pretty good chance that you have revealed a previously unknown talent.

button saying "I love life" — Photo by Navy Blue Stripes

In the end, when you think you have identified a talent, don’t be afraid to toss aside preconceived notions of who should do what. Great managers don’t treat each person the same. They treat each person the way they want to be and deserve to be treated. They position each person on their team to excel and enjoy their work. These are universal truths that every great manager like you understands.

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.