Not everything is sunshine as a manager. You will find yourself in multiple situations where people will purposefully test your patience. It can be an employee that’s arguing with you unnecessarily. Or it can be a superior trying to blame you for something you didn’t even do. 

These scenarios test your patience and might get you into a cloud of emotions. However, as a manager, your job is to look within and see situations from a calmer perspective. It’s easy to react to anything offensive or just plain wrong. 

Rethink A Move Before You Make It

You have the right to defend your stance and experience, but not at the cost of professionalism. As a professional, it’s easy to see the flaw in someone else and blame them. The blame game may benefit you initially, but it will backfire on you one day or another. 

Therefore, it’s important to look within and find possible flaws you might be responsible for. As a manager, your task is to work with the employees, not against them. It could also mean “taking a bullet” for them sometimes. 

However, you might be the only one at fault in other cases. Have you ever looked within yourself and asked some crucial questions? Are you able to criticize your actions as well as what you are doing with others? 

Or, can you securely look at your contribution in a situation? Can you accept that you might have added fuel to the fire?

Cases Where You Might Be Wrong

There are a variety of situations where you might be the one to mess things up in a professional setting. You could unknowingly make a bad move and not realize its consequences until it becomes too serious. Some common examples of such cases include:

• A Conflict Between Employees— A situation like this might worsen if you try to take sides. It doesn’t matter who is right. The other party will develop resentment against you. You might be trying to resolve the situation, but you might be the one aggravating it.
• Trying To Micromanage Everything— Yes, it’s your job as a manager to “manage” your employees’ working methods. However, you need to provide them with some space to breathe. Trying to manage every little thing can demotivate the employees, making them feel controlled. It’s essential to provide employees with some level of freedom within their work. It can be something as little as allowing them to make a work-related decision or collecting their input regarding a problem.
• Unknowingly Take Credit— As a manager, your superiors will ask you for feedback, performance reports, and others. While you have a part in every major achievement your teams achieve—taking the credit for yourself is not a smart move. Some managers do it without knowing, which can harm the rest of the team. It’s best to take your employees into the spotlight when you face this problem.

Bottom Line

Mistakes are a part of any corporate environment for both managers and employees. Managers must maintain a neutral view and keep a check on their mistakes as well. We recommend asking for feedback every quarter. It’ll help you keep a check on your actions and make changes when needed.