- Joe Jedlowski believes that managers need to be flexible with their style. This is because different people respond to different management styles.
- Joe Jedlowski insists that listening to every idea is valuable. Not hearing what the rest of your team is thinking could potentially hinder your business from growing.
- Know whom you can delegate to, communicate why you’re doing things a certain way, and don’t just bark orders.
Management can be complex. There are so many management styles to choose from, and not every type will work for every manager.
On top of that, not every style will work on every team member or employee. This means that as a manager, you need to mold your style in a way that will both work for you and your team.
We all want to stand out as excellent managers. We want our team members to look up to us and remember us long after they’re working under someone else.
But how can you do that? Well, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Jedlowski and picking his brain about management advice.
Joe Jedlowski has years of executive experience, including fulfilling the CEO position of multiple successful businesses, including Milestone Retirement Communities, LLC, and Distinctive Living to name a few. This has given him ample real-world experience with management.
Whether it’s managing his own teams or hiring and overseeing managers of other teams, here’s what Joe Jedlowski had to say about how to stand out as a manager.
What would you say is something most managers lack in your experience?
Most managers do not have excellent communication skills. They ask the team to do something, it doesn’t get done for some reason, and instead of figuring out why, the manager gets frustrated and expects the team to work ten times as hard to make up for it.
I’ve seen it with my own managers and have personally talked to the teams to figure out why they couldn’t meet the deadlines. Turns out, 90% of the time, there were problems with the initial assignment that the manager didn’t listen to, and if they had, the whole situation would’ve been avoided.
Do managers respond well to feedback, in your opinion?
Usually, they respond well when it’s from me, but not from people “below” them. I believe that good managers can take feedback from anywhere and apply it when necessary and in a way that suits their own style.
So, you’re saying they should listen to feedback but not take it at face value?
Yeah, that’s an excellent way to put it. Managers need to be flexible with their style. I might tell someone they need to put their foot down more.
Listening to every idea is valuable. Not hearing what the rest of your team is thinking could potentially hinder your business from growing.
But that doesn’t mean the manager should run around saying no to every single idea and every single person. I believe that mastering how to deal with nuance is one of the greatest skills someone can have, not only in management but in life.
Does that nuance apply to team members as well? Or should a manager treat everyone the same?
A manager needs to treat everyone fairly. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should treat them the exact same way. Different people respond to different styles.
Some people need more structure and specific deadlines; otherwise, they may procrastinate or find themselves directionless. Others, you can just give them a goal and a deadline, and they’ll get it done every time.
It seems like a lot of what you’re saying can be summed up to “be flexible,” is that right?
I’m not sure that flexible is the right word, but yeah. I’d say it’s all about knowing your team as much as you can.
Know whom you can delegate to, communicate why you’re doing things a certain way, and don’t just bark orders.
Remember, your team is composed of very smart people, especially when it comes to your projects. If you want something done, they’re the ones that will know whether it can be done. Listen to them.