As a longtime member of a local university’s management team, Jeff Castner understands the importance of knowing the basics of leadership. Jeff Castner recognizes that certain things are necessary to make a good manager. These are some of what he believes are important:

The first most important thing is to remember the times before you were a manager. Remember what your good managers were like and what your bad managers were like. Make a list of the good qualities from the manager you liked and train yourself to emulate them.

Jeff Castner believes that another important aspect of managing is communication. You need to foster open communication with your team. That means telling them when things are not good and when they are. That does not mean saying, “Hey, good Job.” Instead it means, “Hey John, Thanks a lot for doing X-Y-Z around here I really appreciate you going above and beyond.”

Be tactfully honest with your employees and brutally honest with yourself. Honesty is very important when working with others and as a manager it is expected that you will set the standard. If an employee messes up be aware of the office atmosphere, talk to them in private and explain that things need to be done differently in the future. Ask them to help you come up with ways to avoid future problems. This will help them to understand that it is up to them to rectify problems they create and that you will give them the ability to do so.

Be open to suggestions and advice. Actively seek them out by setting a regularly scheduled meeting. Even a once a week 15 minute meeting will be enough for some bonding time and for people to share what they would like to see changed. Empower your employees to make their workplace better and make the company more successful. The first few meetings keep the meeting long enough until you hear an actionable idea and then ask others for feedback on it. Institute the idea even if only on a trial basis. This will help the employees see that you really do want their help in making the workplace and company better.


Jeff Castner understands that there are many facets to important management and encourages you to find your style.