Good managers realize that there is a variety of management leadership skills required of them. The following list provides a set of characteristics which management should be always looking to improve upon, within their own technical management (of schedules/strategies/etc.) and people management approaches.

1. Good managers assign power to the right employees. Many organizations have now started to reduce the number of managers in favor of more powerful front-line staff. Assigning this power and budgetary accountability to these employees requires careful consideration of who your key staff actually are.
2. Strong leaders are always question the advice of others. Many companies use business development consulting and contractors to help inform their management staff on new areas of development. These individuals should not however be taken on face value and their advice constantly questioned and queried.
3. Strong managers always surround themselves with individuals who have a good work/life balance. An organization that is run by workaholics and driven by long work hours is unsustainable. A proper work environment will encourage individuals and increase loyalty and the potential of long-term success.
4. Management should not compromise. Your decision is final on all decisions made within the firm should realize that these decisions will not be accepted by absolutely everybody within the company. You should not however compromise on these decisions.
5. Management should always be open to feedback, information and criticism. Any management teams who are cut off from their employees and the advice of others will start to make poor decisions that go against their own staff.
6. Good leaders don’t forget what capabilities and individuals within the firm have made the company successful. Your managers should always be looking to foster this nonsense of these people and ensuring and safeguarding your capabilities are staying strong.
7. Management needs to keep long-term planning horizons but not lose sight of the finer details. It is all too easy to become concerned with some of your more distant plans and lose sight of day-to-day issues and problems the company face.