WWND? Seven lessons from a great manager

I've been lucky enough to have worked under some very good managers. But I've had one manager who was great. And he was also a great teacher. His name is Neil, and this blog only covers a fraction of the many things I learned from him. 1. Give credit for the work of the people you manage Ever seen your manager claim credit for something you've done? I have, and it's not nice. Neil never did that. Not once. And more to the point he unscrupulously acknowledged my efforts whenever he could. I found this had a particularly validating effect on me. 2. Thank regularly, but thank sincerely I used to play my own little game at the end of meetings with Neil. I would try to be the last person to say "thank you". I rarely managed it. What's more, I could tell he meant it, because of his honesty and sincerity, and because it was reflected in the credit he gave me for my work, as mentioned above. I've talked about thanking supporters well in other blogs. Thank your colleagues well for the part they played too! 3. Listen more than you speak Neil was a fantastic listener. Meetings with him were tremendously balanced, and I felt that I had the space to contribute,  that my thoughts were respected and taken on board. Ever been in a meeting in which you couldn't get a word in? How did that feel? I learned from Neil to try not to do that to others. 4. Think about the bigger p