15 Good Work Habits to Develop as a Successful Manager

Most of our daily work routines consist of some habits. Go to work, have your morning double shot of espresso, read your emails, have a couple of stand-up meetings, and then it’s anyone’s game. You know, the usual. But which of these “habits” are actually good for you? Or, better yet, what are some good work habits for managers?

In reality, most of the habits you implement at work aren’t that positive for your productivity. Plus, as a manager, you might be overlooking some bad habits that put your team down.

And, then, you have Jerry from the HR department, who’s always on top of his game, and everyone on his team adores and looks up to him. How can you be like Jerry? Well, these 15 working habits are a pretty good start.

What Are Good Work Habits

Before we address each part of your (future) routine, let’s find out what a good work habit is. In general, a habit is something you do… habitually. As in, you just do it without thinking.

A work habit is pretty much any action you take at work instinctively. While these are neutral by definition, a good working habit can be classified as any behavior that increases your or your team’s productivity.

Now, why are these important? After all, why should you change up your entire routine just to be slightly more productive?

The Importance of Positive Work Habits in Managerial Positions

You see, the importance of positive work habits, especially in managerial positions, lies in your company’s overall growth. When you create a growth-friendly environment with your team, they’ll be able to become better and, thus, more productive, all thanks to you.

On a more personal note, a good work ethic will reduce your chances of burning out, which is a big no-no when you’re an executive, albeit very common amongst many of our clients.

Also, employing positive working habits will serve as the foundation for balancing your work and personal life – let’s face it, we all need to do this nowadays, as remote work continues to be the norm.

So, without further ado, let’s check out some work habits you can start building up today.

Team Comes First – 5 Work Habits to Be an Effective Manager

As a manager, you already know how important your team is. But you’ll have to do your due diligence to ensure everyone remains happy and on track with the company’s flow. That’s where these next few work habits come into play.

Encourage Debates

A common complaint we’ve received from employees-turned-managers is that nobody listened to them when they were just employees. Oftentimes, executives act like know-it-alls, so when their teammates present an opposing idea, the latter are criticized. That’s what you’ll need to change.

Encourage your team to own up to their opinions and ideas, regardless of your stance. This is obvious, but making a habit of it is a whole different beast. The good thing is that when you actively brainstorm with your team, you’ll practically tackle any problem through multiple points of view, so finding the solution to said problem will be a breeze.

Provide Feedback

As you rise up the ranks, you’ll forget how important feedback can be. At one point, you might not even get any of it from your higher-ups (if there are any), so spending the time to provide it to your team might seem like a waste. Let us assure you that this isn’t the case at all.

So, make sure that you actively offer your team some transparent insights on their output and productivity. This doesn’t have to be limited to just output-related actions. If a team member is coming up with incredible ideas, give them a shout-out, like a short email.

Be an Effective Communicator

Let’s get one thing straight. Feedback is great, and it can boost a team’s morale, especially amid a large project. But even when actively providing your team with insights, productivity can go down the drain if you’re not communicating with them effectively.

You see, many folks in managerial positions believe that communication is basically barking orders at your team. That’s far from the truth. Effective communication is all about actively listening and engaging through purposeful questions. Try that out on your next meeting with the whole team and start building that habit.

Praise Short-Term Goals

Instead of focusing your feedback on the long-term results, consider congratulating your team on the minor, short-term goals. When you observe one of your team members hitting their deadlines consistently or being on time for every meeting, praise them in a short email.

This won’t only keep each individual on your team happy, but it’ll also encourage the rest of the team to follow suit.

Follow an Employee-First Approach

Arguably, the most challenging work habit to implement is an employee-first approach. Being a manager isn’t just about work; it’s about understanding your team’s personal needs and getting each member to open up when things are going wrong. But you already know that.

So, it’s time to start focusing on each individual member of your team. When they’re feeling down, encourage them to get some time off. Or, if they’re having financial issues, call up the finance team for some aid.

Keep Your Productivity High – 5 Individual Good Working Habits

Once you’ve started to build some good work habits related to your team, it’s also a great idea to focus on your professional growth. These routines will help you cement expertise and open up new growth opportunities.

Grow Your Network

One roadblock that most managers face at some point in their careers is hitting a plateau. You’ve honed your skills, you have a lot of expertise in your field, and… well, you don’t have someone to provide you with different perspectives and feedback – unless you have a great network to back you up.

A good network around your personal and professional life will keep you on your toes, as you’ll often get feedback from it. So, make it a habit to build meaningful connections with folks in your area of work or people who have similar interests.

Focus on the Future

As a manager, you have tons of responsibilities, managing your team being the primary of these. This will take up most of your day and can be very exhausting. Still, though, you’ll need to allocate some time to brainstorm ideas and projects for the future.

By acting today and focusing on tomorrow, you’ll be able to stay up-to-date with all the new trends in your industry. Plus, you’ll get to know all the new tools that are coming out, whether these are AI productivity tools or things straight of a move.

Avoid Overstressing

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Overstressing is, unfortunately, part of being in a managerial position. Most of the time, everything just moves so fast that overstressing is inevitable. But that doesn’t have to always be the case.

You see, you’ll have to Identify what is causing that extra amount of stress. Is it some menial tasks that take too much time despite being so easy? Delegate them to a member of your team. You’ll build some more trust with them, on top of getting some work off your table.

Follow a Scheduled Routine

Overstressing can also be avoided if you have a schedule in place. Again, executives and managers have a very hectic work life, especially if you’re part of a startup. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t come up with a routine that prevents overstressing.

Following a scheduled routine is all about time management. Utilizing your time optimally leads to more productivity and a to-do list full of checkmarks. Thus, a good work habit is a routine that takes advantage of your peak hours for deep work and dedicates lesser-productive hours to more routine (pun intended) tasks.

Embrace Opening Up to Your Team

Again, we’ve saved the most challenging habit for last. For many managers, this might not be merely difficult; it’s impossible. Many of our clients have said that they don’t believe their team would understand how difficult their job truly is. While there’s some truth to that, it’s not definitive.

Employees and managers alike are people, after all. So, embrace that and start opening up to your team. A personal sarcasm here or a straight-up life update there will do wonders for building rapport with your team and allow you to let some steam off.

And Your Personal Life Higher – 4 Habits to Grow as a Manager

When you’ve secured all your new work habits at work, it’s time to get a bit more creative or… spiritual. You see, there are a few habits that can help you grow as a manager that are more directly with your personal life rather than your professional one.

Take Your Time to Reflect

By taking time to Reflect on a personal and a team level, you’ll have a better idea of what’s going right and what could be better. This can be accompanied by a more practical habit in the form of 1:1 meetings with each member of your team.

Doing so, you’ll be able to compile all the good working habits we mentioned above and provide individual feedback to your team. In turn, you’ll notice a vast increase in the team’s productivity and performance.

Become a Mentor for Your Team

Your team depends on you to lead them. So, as any good leader, you must become a mentor and an idol. Someone they can look at and say, “I want to be like them”, while you offer them every bit of knowledge they need to do so. Doing this is just a matter of seeing which habits work for you and following them to a tee.

Invest in Your Team

Besides being a role model for your entire team, you should also invest in them. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to financially aid your team with courses and such but also put in the time and effort.

Remember Jessica? Do you remember how she excelled on that one project? Make her the lead for the next one that has similar requirements.

Solidify a Work-Life Balance

Let’s get down to the personal stuff. As a manager, you’ll need to spend a lot of time striking the right work-life balance. With remote work being prevalent, this is difficult. But, build a habit that when the clock strikes 5 pm, work’s done, and personal life begins!

How to Develop Positive Working Habits as a Manager

Wait, these were only 14 habits. Don’t worry! Number 15 is right below, waiting for you. But first, let’s quickly go through how to develop all these new habits.

For starters, work habit-building takes time. Like, a lot of time. You can expect to consistently do something for at least a month before it becomes a habit.

So, to develop good working habits as a manager, it’s all a matter of being there and doing what’s needed until you do it instinctively.

Discover Your Inner Secrets of Effective Leadership With Wave AI

See, we promised that there’d be a 15th habit. As you know, managerial roles can be a lonely place. You might have all the work habits in place, everyone looking up to you, and Bob, the CEO, praising you for your work. But who’s there to keep you accountable and provide some support when needed to ensure that you don’t burn out? A productivity coach is the answer you’re looking for.

Coaching is a great way to actually build good working habits and stick to them forever. Plus, they know how you feel and can help you when you need to let some steam off or simply have a sparring partner.

And that’s where we at Wave join the game – Reflecting, Identifying the problems, Doing (taking action), and Elevating your game in the process. R.I.D.E is what we’re all about. You take the reins of your coaching journey and don’t have to break the bank to do so!

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