The Qualities That Make a Good Manager

If you’re currently angling for a managerial position, what are the best qualities you should emphasize for the role? Find out with our manager resume advice!

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By Donna 3 minute read

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What Makes a Good Manager

If you’re interested in becoming a great manager, you first need to understand the essential qualities of effective leaders. What do the best managers do that a poor manager doesn’t? If you focus on learning the skills of the best managers, you’ll develop a management style that gets results, regardless of the team members that you manage. Here’s what you need to know about becoming a really good manager.

Traits of Good Managers

Sometimes, you just need to know what makes a good manager so you can create a pathway to success. These are a few of the skills that a recruiter will consider when they’re thinking about a successful manager:

  • Honesty
  • Positivity
  • Trustworthiness
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Technical expertise
  • Time management
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Mentorship
  • Communication skills
  • Decision-making skills
  • General leadership skills

Generally, hiring managers want a manager who is both knowledgeable and cares about their team. Good managers celebrate team successes when they happen while also understanding that not every project is going to be a rousing success. They’re also good at motivating their team and helping them do their best work without micromanaging.

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Managerial Qualities Team Members Want to See

Hiring managers are looking for a specific type of manager, but team members may want to see something different. Here are a few of the skills that team members are asking to see more of from their managers:

  • A clear vision
  • Sense of humor
  • Empowering team morale and employee engagement
  • Kindness

New managers can benefit significantly from utilizing these resume skills. Work on improving your soft skills in general, and you may see that your team members are more comfortable with you overall. Additionally, you can look to your company’s work culture to see where all managers at a company might be able to improve.

The Benefits of a Good Manager

Why should you be striving to be as good of a manager as possible? Well, first of all, it can help you significantly in getting a job. The best way to bypass other job seekers is to have as many skills in the field as possible. Then, when you’re applying for a new job you can highlight these skills. You can check the ResumeHelp resume examples to see how you might highlight managerial skills in a resume.

A good manager can also bring a team together and create a sense of engagement. The more that a team feels like their manager really cares about them, the better they’ll perform. And that results in metrics that you can be proud of as a manager. When your team does good work, that means it reflects well on you as a good coach.

Lastly, good management helps workers develop their own skills. A really good manager can also be a mentor by becoming a contributor to a specific team member’s personal career path. If you want to be a really effective manager, you need to encourage your team members to develop their own skills just as much as you do.

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FAQ: What Makes a Good Manager

Have questions? We’re here to help.

It is important to talk to your team and see what they want. Most great leaders actively look to their team members to find out where they want to go in their career. If your team leaders want you to put more thought into performance reviews or celebrate specific milestones, these are great ideas to incorporate into your practice. You may also want to take management classes, where you can learn more about management through a technical lens, ensuring that your care for your team members and your passion for a job well done are both presents.

The best quality that most people note in managers is their ability to care about other people. You have to recognize that your team members have personal lives. They’re not just workers, but people with families and a life outside of work. The more that you connect with the people on your team and show that you care about them beyond just the monetary value they bring to a company while being forthright about your expectations and what needs to be done, the better they will think of you as a manager.

hard skills are very important for your managerial duties. However, they might make less impact on how your team members view you than skills such as communication and collaboration abilities, or conflict resolution. Hard skills can be helpful in getting a management position and working towards great results. But your team members won’t usually think about how good you are at the hard skills. Instead, leadership skills and other soft skills are typically what your team is looking for.

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WRITTEN BY Donna

Donna is a career expert with extensive experience in the fields of Marketing, Publishing, Direct Mail and Communications. She’s witnessed firsthand the importance of a powerful resume and cover letter to a job search, so she takes great pride in helping change the lives of job seekers by sharing expert career advice and tips to help land the perfect job.

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