Managers - are there limits to being nice?
Created: 12/15/2022, 5:00 p.m
By: Carina Blumenroth
Managers are responsible for delegating tasks and communicating with employees.
Everyone has a different leadership style - but is there one too nice?
"What to do with people" - that can not only be a goal of young professionals, but also a sentence that bosses and supervisors heed.
They are responsible for leading the team and are often the first point of contact if something goes wrong at work.
Studies show that managerial behavior is responsible for employees resigning.
Supervisors have a lot of influence on the working atmosphere – can managers be too nice?
Managers: Appreciation is important for employees
Can leaders be too nice?
(Iconic image) © Maskot/Imago
All employees are probably familiar with yelling managers – at least from stories.
It seems clear that this is not particularly good for the working atmosphere and for productivity in general.
Younger employees in particular tend to change jobs if they do not feel valued.
Conversely, does it mean that managers always have to be nice and agree to everything?
The
Handelsblatt
spoke to career coach Henryk Lüderitz and work psychologist Susanne Tiedemann from the Fürstenberg Institute about the possible limits of niceness as a manager.
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Too nice to be a leader?
Three tips from experts
Niceness as a weakness?
This myth seems to be widespread in many companies.
Tiedemann tells the
Handelsblatt
that a nice executive is sometimes equated with weak leadership.
All in all, there are many different management styles, and the executives are generally aware of this, but only a few would actively deal with it, Lüderitz is quoted by the
Handelsblatt
as saying.
Niceness is evidence of social skills and generally strengthens employee loyalty.
Is there a danger to overly friendly executives?
If eye level and friendliness are not confused with the fact that managers want to be friends with the team and therefore shy away from making uncomfortable decisions, there is no danger.
As a manager, people are in a different role, everyone should be aware of this.
"It's ok to set limits and intervene, just not overly petty or with an inappropriate behavior or tone," says Henryk Lüderitz to the
Handelsblatt
.
In general, if the manager has a clear role and remains true to it, this also has an effect on the employees.
Clear demeanor:
Executives are in their role, you should also radiate that.
For example, when delegating tasks.
The wording is important, as Lüderitz notes.
Less convincing is: "Could you perhaps take on this task?" It would be better: "You, this task is very important for the team, please take it on by tomorrow.
Thanks very much."
Being nice, friendly and appreciative is not mutually exclusive in a management position.
It is important that you show an attitude, stay in your role and not shy away from making uncomfortable decisions.
Personal reflection as to whether the management style fits with the company's goals is also an advantage that can also strengthen the trust of employees in managers.
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Executive: Hierarchies stronger in a crisis?
During the crisis, supervisors take refuge in rigid hierarchies, reports
Wirtschaftswoche
, citing a survey that Hays conducted with the Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE) among more than 800 managers.
A third says that they themselves are currently communicating from top to bottom.
Every fifth manager makes decisions alone.
As
Wirtschaftswoche
reports, one reason is the managers' lack of time in times of crisis.
Among other things, this affects communication with the team.