From the Top Down: Ten Ways to Support Your Managers

Posted on 04/26/23 By Guest Contributor

From the top down, managers provide the structure that every business relies on. Each manager leads a team, handles key responsibilities, and keeps every segment of the company moving in the right direction. A great manager or team of managers can lead to record-breaking years of productivity and growth, while managers who struggle can have far-reaching impacts on the entire organization.

That is why supporting your managers is essential to business success. Lorman can help you learn the best ways to support your managers to strengthen your company's internal structure and foster a culture of productive collaboration.

1) Provide Clear Communication and Expectations

Make sure that your managers know what is expected of them both as individuals and as leaders of their teams. Clear communication between execs and managers is the key to keeping the entire company coordinated and moving in the same direction. Conveying your expectations will help managers make the hands-on decisions necessary to meet those goals.

2) Provide Resources

Give your managers the resources they need to thrive. Resources can be access to inventory and supplies or clear and complete documentation. Managers cannot magically make the team or department reach their goals; they need information, equipment, and support to make it happen. Understanding what you are asking your managers to achieve and giving them the resources to achieve it is essential both to effective management and combined success.

3) Provide Feedback

Every professional requires feedback to know what they are doing right and what they could be doing better. Without feedback from higher-ups, managers can start to feel isolated and may begin to function on instincts alone. Teams can become factions, and success may become based on each manager's individual traits and talents. With feedback, managers can adapt their methods to meet evolving needs and circumstances and will more easily work together with other managers as cohesive parts of a single company.

4) Encourage Collaboration

Managers should work together. While each team should be able to function with relative independence, each company has interconnected parts that rely on one another. When managers collaborate, they make it possible to optimize that interconnectivity and even complement each other's strengths and compensate for weaknesses in leading each team and achieving specific goals.

5) Foster a Positive Work Environment

The tenor of your company culture and work environment will also influence the success of your managers. You can support your managers in leading positive and healthy teams by first fostering a positive work environment. Maintain a robust dedication to safety, employee wellness, and to uplifting company values that can be shared by every team member. This creates the baseline that your managers need to continue that thread, leading teams that are positive, dedicated, and supportive of one another.

6) Offer Coaching and Mentoring

Reaching the level of a manager is hardly the end of the line. Offering professional coaching and mentoring is a great way to provide professional development opportunities to your management-tier employees.  This says that you want to help them become better managers and earn even more prestigious management positions in the future — and that your company is invested in the success of your managers.

7) Provide Opportunities for Development

In addition to coaching and mentoring, many managers also want to hone their skills in their profession of choice. Offering learning opportunities for development and skill-building is a great way to show your managers that you value their expertise as well as their leadership abilities. Training subscriptions, like Lorman’s Enterprise Pass, are a cost-effective, scalable way to upskill all of the leaders across your organization.

8) Recognize Achievements

Everyone likes to be recognized for their achievements when they put in the hard work and hours to accomplish something great. There will be many opportunities to congratulate and reward your managers for great work — whether they have navigated a difficult situation or turned in a spectacular project. Remember that managerial recognition should usually come with waterfall recognition of their teams too. 

9) Empower Them to Make Decisions

Managers are the most effective when they have the power to make decisions that matter. Instead of sending orders from on-high, trust your managers to know the needs of their team and can make decisions that impact their success. This empowers your managers and encourages them to give their best, while also granting the flexibility to deal with changing circumstances at the team level.

10) Provide Work-life Balance 

Finally, make sure your managers are maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Build a company culture that prioritizes everyone getting enough sleep, time with family, and personal time to unwind, in addition to a dedication to the company. Managers with a healthy work-life balance will be able to give their all when they are on the clock because they will have time to focus on their personal life and needs while at home.

Empower your managers with development opportunities and sharpen your leadership skills with Lorman Education Services. Contact us today to learn how you can strengthen your company's leadership structure with support from the top down.