There’s a pretty big chance that if you asked a lot of working people if they were able to choose between being an employee or employer, they would go with the latter. And wouldn’t that make perfect sense being that it’s pretty much human nature to find “being the boss” to be the most appealing position to be in?

However, what a lot of people don’t realize is that being a manager comes with an awesome amount of responsibility. They tend to work longer hours. They have to make sure that the office runs smoothly. And, they have to find a way to keep their staff as happy as possible so that they can work productively. In other words, in order to be a good manager, you have to be willing to “serve” far more than you actually “lead”.

That’s actually what the focus of this article is all about it. Below, we’ve enclosed five traits that every successful manager needs in order to keep a business thriving and the morale of its employees up.

A good manager needs to be a good communicator. There is absolutely no way that a manager can stay on top of things without being able to communicate well, both verbally and in print. A manager has to be prepared to deal with questions and concerns from staff members, issues with disgruntled customers and clients, both in person and over the phone, while also being able to convey clear thoughts in email too.

A good manager needs to be organized. Can you just imagine what it would be like to not receive your paycheck on time or for you to miss out on the vacation dates that you requested all because your manager didn’t keep proper records? Indeed, something else that a manager needs to be is a highly-organized individual.

A good manager needs to be able to listen. Listening is not just about hearing what someone is saying. It’s about being thoughtful enough to be quiet until they are finished, to care about what is being conveyed and then to respond in a manner that is both courteous and productive. Essentially, being a good listener is about working with another person to find the best resolve in response to what they are saying. It’s a skill that all good managers have.

A good manager needs to be trustworthy. As a manager, there is going to be a lot of information that you will have at your disposal from people’s social security numbers and banking information to stories about their personal lives. This means that something else that a good manager also needs to be is trustworthy. If there is anyone in the office who should be seen as a person with integrity, it would be the manager, for sure.

A manager needs to be a team player. If you went to a popular business school like Northwestern University or a place such as NEC’s School of Graduate and Professional Studies for management training, something that they would probably tell you is that a good manager also needs to be a team player. The more that a company’s staff is encouraged to see their manager as someone who they work alongside rather than for, the greater chance that they will be productive workers. That, ultimately, is beneficial for the staff, the manager and the company as a whole.