10 Traits of a Successful Manager

You have a business and you are interested in hiring a manager who will be able to assist you in growing that business from the ground up. When you put out an ad for this position, you receive hundreds of resumes. Even if you narrow this bunch down to just the people who seem most qualified for the job, you're going to have to do quite a few interviews to make sure that you select the manager who is going to be most capable of growing your business. How do you know who that person is?

Here are ten of the most important traits to look for in a manager for your business:

1. Self-Motivation. The person that you hire for the job has to be capable of doing the job without needing you to look over her shoulder all of the time. This individual needs to be capable of understanding the basic goals of the business and developing her own strategies for achieving those goals. She needs to be committed to putting her all into the job every day without the close supervision of a boss.
2. Great Customer Service Skills. No matter what type of business you are in, you can benefit from having a manager who is excellent in dealing with customers and clients. Ultimately this may not be a large percentage of the manager's job since the daily tasks of customer service will fall to other employees. However, when problems arise with customers, the manager is the one who has the potential to diffuse the situation or to exacerbate it. You want to hire a manager who is going to be capable of making even the most difficult customers happy so that you can retain customers and the business can grow.
3. Integrity and Trustworthiness. You want to hire a manager who is going to be someone that you think that you can trust. Of course, it's hard to tell this off the bat at an interview but asking the right questions can give you a general sense of the individual's basic integrity. By hiring someone that you believe is trustworthy, you will reduce the stress of placing the growth of your business in the hands of someone else.
4. Being a Team Player. The manager has to be someone who is committed to working with a team of people for the improvement of the whole business. This means that the manager isn't in the business solely for the selfish reasons of "getting ahead". Instead, he is interested in growing the business because it is going to be to his benefit as well as to the benefit of the other people working with him in the company. A manager is a middle-man who has to work with both the upper-level bosses and the lower-level employees so it's highly important that this person is really a team player.
5. Conflict-Resolution Abilities. Serving as this type of middle-man is also going to put the manager into the position of having to act as a liaison between people in the company. He will be the liaison between the lower-level and upper-level employees. He will also serve as the mediator for disputes between lower-level employees. In order to be able to do this position well, the manager that you hire is going to have to be capable of handling conflicts in the office place. He needs to be someone who can spot problems as they form and nip them in bud as well as someone who can deal with bigger conflicts when they do arise.
6. Knowledge of the industry. The manager is going to have to be someone who is capable of answering the questions of customers, clients and staff members. This means that she better know what she is talking about. Although you can certainly provide training in the industry to a good manager, the ideal person for the job is going to be someone who already has advanced or specialized experience in this industry. A thirst for more knowledge about the business is a plus.
7. Dependability. When it comes right down to it, you're going to need to have a manager that you can count on. A dependable manager is someone who always shows up to work on time, doesn't slack off on the job and is capable of being counted on to stay late when there are times at the office that require him to do so. You want to be able to ask this person to do something for you and know for sure that he is going to just go ahead and do it.
8. Ability to Remain Calm. The role of being a manager can be a tough position to be in. There is a lot of stress involved in the daily tasks of management. A number of problems will arise throughout the course of any given day and the manager is responsible for handling those things well. You want to hire a manager who is going to be able to remain calm more often than not. A calm manager will keep the entire office calm which will lead to increased productivity and a better workplace overall. This will ultimately grow your business.
9. Optimistic Attitude. You don't want a manager who is calm but indifferent. You want a manager who is going to approach each project and each work day with an optimistic attitude. You want a manager who will come in smiling and who will express genuinely good feelings about the work that she is doing with her team. This will help to keep morale in the business high which leads to satisfied employees, low turnover rates, higher rates of productivity and growth of the business.
10. Leadership Skills. Beyond all of the other things that you need to see in a manager, you need to immediately be able to see that he has strong leadership skills. He needs to be confident in his ability to lead a team. He needs to be a good public speaker, someone who can delegate tasks appropriately and a person that people will feel comfortable taking directions from. If you see these things in someone at an interview, it's a safe bet to guess that this person will probably make a good manager for your business.