Every manager should strive to learn something new every day. Here are my 5 top tips for being a good manager.

Don't Be Selfish

A good leader should not be selfish. He should demonstrate to his workers that he is willing to take one for the team. This will get him a lot of respect.

For instance, the team might be embarrassed at a town hall or other large meeting. Instead of pointing the finger at the person responsible, a good leader will take that one for the team.

This quality is also respected by senior managers higher up in the food chain.

Don't Be Two Faced

Do not "suck up" to senior management and then be like "buddies" with your team. You will eventually get caught out by this fine balancing act and it doesn't actually serve any useful purpose anyway.

Be who you are and don't apologise for it. Just smooth any rough edges but always be yourself. Workers hate nothing more than a two faced boss.

Be Proactive Rather Than Reactive

You may have heard this mantra before but it is definitely good advice and applies equally well at all levels of an organisation.

Don't wait for things to happen to you. Mitigate risks by planning ahead and trying to spot potential stumbling blocks.

If you do this then you will also be able to spot opportunities before others and be able to take advantage.

Be Decisive

Do not dither. Do not be indecisive. It is better to make a quick decision and follow through and be 80% successful than to dither and make a decision, regret it, change your mind, then change your mind again.

Make your decisions based on logic and not emotions then follow through unless a significant factor changes.

Don't Take It Personally

Never take anything personally. As a leader, you are supposed to be better than that. A good leader is calm and collected and think rationally. Think of the vulcans in Star Trek but with a little more individual personality!

A bad manager will react and have outbursts, he may even swear and publicly admonish his workers. The only way is down from such a situation.