Whether you’re already a manager or working your way to advance into that position, it would help to know what makes a manager a great one. Here’s what a good manager is like.

Knowledgeable and well-experienced
Managing and leading a team towards achieving a common goal would be difficult if one doesn’t have the adequate knowledge and professional experience. If you are building your skills to become eligible for a managerial post in the future, try to gain more experience by doing volunteer work within your organization or even outside your organization. Take courses and certification related to project management if your degree isn’t related to leadership.

Effective communicator
Effective communication goes beyond cascading information to your subordinates. It comes in several different forms besides words. You can communicate with your actions, tone and ability to listen. As a great manager, it’s imperative that you know not just to keep your team members informed; it’s equally important that you know how to listen to your team. There should be transparency within the team, encourage open communication to cultivate the kind of culture that is positive, productive, and efficient.

Empathetic
Another important leadership skill great managers should possess is being empathetic. As a leader, you will only become effective if your subordinates trust you, respond to you and support your directions and vision. And how do you make that happen? By learning how to pay attention to how they react, how they feel and how they think. Encourage feedback during your meetings. Hear out their perspective. Welcome their suggestions. This is how your team becomes more collaborative, more efficient and more successful.

Strategic
As a leader, one of your top priorities is to set your team up for success. This means that a strategy has to be laid out. You need to carve out time for brainstorming and thinking through the most effective and strategic ways of doing things. This will help you optimize operations.

Organized
It’s going to be tough to be a leader when you lack organizational skills. Effective leadership requires that you know how to organize your stuff or you won’t be able to organize and manage your employees effectively. Stay on top of your tasks, responsibilities and schedule. Keep a journal if you must or an app on your phone if that works for you will be fine, too.

A great manager is one that makes a positive influence in the workplace and business as a whole. And if you want to be effective in what you do as a manager, these are some of the good traits to learn and develop.