Strengths And Weaknesses In The Workplace

Managers are called upon to understand and lead an ever-diversifying workforce. However, a manager’s job does not end there; these individuals also need to develop an understanding of themselves in order to manage effectively. Identifying strengths and weaknesses and areas in need of personal development is a career long endeavor. While we are all unique and will develop our own personal leadership style, there are several core efficiencies we must have in order to be excellent managers. Managers must have the humility to realize no one is perfect (Baldoni, Use Humility to Improve Performance, 2009) and the ability to honestly assess their strengths and weaknesses so that they can continue to develop as a professional (Baldoni, 2009). This
Managers must ensure that employees are treated equally (Heathfield, n.d.), fairly and receiving due process (Prahalad, 2010). When employees are treated unequally, this can breed contempt and negatively impact loyalty and productivity. For example, I was once called upon to report employees breaking the company parking policy to my superior. Employees were not authorized to park in resident parking spots and there was an increasing number of resident complaints at their parking spots being utilized by employees. I had repeatedly reported one individual for breaking this policy but nothing was ever done; I later discovered that this individual was a close friend with my superior. Although it was my duty to report these instances, my reports were ignored due simply to the personal relationship between the employee and my manager. This instance of my manager unfairly favoring his friend over the duty of his employees caused me to distrust his ability to lead in every aspect of his position. If employees cannot trust your actions, they have reduced incentive to perform to the best of their
Managers must constantly talk with their employees and assess the needs of their workforce. If employees do not have the resources available to them to achieve a goal, they cannot be expected to achieve it. This requires that effective managers refocus from outcomes to processes and inputs. If a manager ensures that employees are motivated as a team, have access to the needed support, and are valued on what they do as opposed to what they produce, there will be a quality outcome. You cannot bake a quality cake with subpar