I had the pleasure of spending last Thursday evening with Nicki Marcellino, Branch Manager for a Prudential California Realty office in La Jolla. Nicki and I had originally met at a Palm Springs conference for Prudential California’s top agents, where I had been invited to speak. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that there was something special about Nicki. She had that calm authority that one feels instantly comfortable around. Soon after meeting her, I was told by someone that she was the top manager in the nation.
At the end of the Palm Springs weekend, I casually extended an offer for her to give me a call whenever she came to the Seattle area. Not much time went by, when, low and behold, I received an email from Nicki, accepting my invitation and extending her own—Tickets for my wife and I to attend, with her, a Seattle Symphony concert featuring her husband’s well-known band, Sha Na Na. (If you recall, they made their debut 40 years ago at Woodstock, and have been playing ever since.)
My wife and I had quite a memorable evening sitting next to Nicki during the very entertaining concert. After the concert, we enjoyed dessert and conversation with Nicki and her husband, Jocko.
Now, the point of this story is to share what I feel makes Nicki Marcellino and other great managers so good at what they do. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several managers like her within the ranks of the organizations we serve. If you spend time with these innovative managers, you’ll begin to see a pattern of similar characteristics. Here is a summary of what I truly believe about exceptional managers.
Every great manager possesses:
1. A consistently strong work ethic. These individuals aren’t just biding their time. They love what they do, and set out to learn as much as they can so that they are constantly improving themselves as managers. (By the way, by the week's end, Nicki is so emotionally spent that she has made a weekly tradition of attending Friday afternoon matinees to wind down...a well deserved reward!)
2. A calm authority. When you're around good managers, you may have noticed that they never really seem to panic. They believe things will go well, and those managed by them are drawn to this sense of calm and certainty, combined with expertise.
3. Confidence without a shred of arrogance. When I introduced Nicki to my wife as “One of the top managers...” she interrupted and said without a shred of arrogance, “Number One Manager.” This seems to be a consistent characteristic of some of the best managers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Additionally, these folks don’t presume to know everything, and quickly concede that they can learn tons from their top producers.
4. An expectation of greatness in others. And to back this up, they hold people accountable. Great managers have no qualms about saying, “This is what your capable of doing, and if you don’t reach these goals, then you or I are doing something wrong.” There is a competitiveness that comes through and naturally inspires others.
If you feel there are other essential characteristics that great managers share, please let me know. In the meantime, let me just say thank you to Nicki for a more than pleasant evening at the symphony!
Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.
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