Brilliant Manager, 3rd Edition

192 brilliant manager

Step 6: leave

Many organisations will choose to change the team leader once

the turnaround is complete. There are good reasons for this.

Turnaround managers are often a special breed of person who

will not handle a less exciting management role well. In addition,

a turnaround manager will often have had to be very ruthless

and demanding, and it may well be appropriate to change lead-

ership to give a new leader a fresh start. You may want to discuss

your future after a turnaround before you take on the job. If you

know that you must leave after the turnaround then you can

manage your exit with style, and hopefully move on within the

organisation to another exciting challenge.

What are the minimum essentials to be a brilliant

manager?

My minimal list would be as follows.

 Set a good example. Obviously you must obey the golden

rule (‘you will be judged by your actions, not by your

words, and your actions set the example for your team to

follow’) so that your own behaviour sets a good example.

This will allow you to set high standards.

 Create a brilliant strategy. If you are to be a good leader

you must be leading your team in a sensible direction, so

creating a great strategy has to be near the top of your

list. You then have to communicate that strategy to your

team.

 Understand the finances. Keep a close eye on the bottom line

of your team.

 Act with integrity. Your team will forgive you a lot if you

have integrity.

 Be courageous. You must have the courage to tackle under-

performance and misconduct.

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Management master-class 193



Be decisive. You must have the courage to be decisive; you

need to be a good listener to ensure that your decisions are

well-informed; and you need the judgement to make lots of

right decisions.

 Don’t be a bully.

 Don’t blame people.

What’s the worst and most frequent mistake to

make?

Trusting the wrong people. Be clever here – watch those around

you carefully and you will quickly find out who people in the

team feel comfortable turning to for advice. These are the people

that you should seek advice from too.

What’s the easiest mistake to make?

Wanting to be ‘one of the gang’ and liked by all. To be a brilliant

manager you must set yourself apart. Few people enjoy loneli-

ness, so the desire to be a member of the team as well as the boss

is a very easy mistake to make.

What are the three worst qualities a manager can

have?

Obviously this is a very subjective list, but I would have my top

three as:

 dishonesty, including lying;

 cowardice, including not addressing poor performance and

misconduct;

 poor judgement.

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