Jeff Lupient on How To Be a Great Manager
Being a great leader or a great manager is not something that comes naturally to everyone and we must always focus and learn about how to become a better leader. If you are ambitious then you will need to work on your managerial skills if you want to climb to the top of your industry. After spending some time at a business conference here in Minneapolis we had the good fortune to speak with Jeff Lupient, President and CEO of an automotive group here in Minneapolis St Paul Area, Minnesota, who is held in very high regard by the local business community here. Jeff Lupient MN has over 10 years of managerial experience. We spoke to Jeff about what he thinks makes a great manager.
Inspiration
Something which Jeffrey W. Lupient, to give his correct title, first spoke about was how important it is that a manager is able to inspire those around him. There are many ways in which a manager can be inspirational, they must inspire people because of the example that they set and they should also be able to understand their team and learn how each different character reacts to different types of inspiration.
Firm and Fair
A manager who is a push over will not be able to get the most from their team and nor will a manager who shouts and balls all of the time. A successful manager knows the fine line that exists between firm and fair. In terms of disciplining a manager must show consistency from one issue to the next and not have any favorites. At the same time it is important that a manager is seen to be giving people the benefit of the doubt from time to time.
Responsible
The buck will always stop with the manager and anything that goes wrong within their team should always be taken on by the manager. By all means a manager should deal with issues within their team internally but the manager should always shoulder the blame for what their team has or hasn’t done.
Respect
Managers do need to command respect from their team but they also need to give respect and this should always come first. The manager must operate with their team in a respectful way, failure to do this will result in the team not respecting you, and therefore not working to the best of their ability.
Driving
A manager should have high standards about what their team can and should achieve, and they should be the driving force behind this. It is the responsibility of the manager to push their team hard in order to gain results and to keep on setting the bar higher to get the most out of their team. If you watch the results that a group can put out under a great manager vs being run by a manager who doesn’t drive them, you would be stunned at the difference between the two. Understand the team and their capabilities and then push them to achieve great things.