Being a star employee is hard, but being a star manager is even harder. As being a manager always comes with great responsibility, whether one manages two or twenty employees. Managers should always strive to positively influence their teams, and in order for them to do that they’ll constantly need to be updated on any new changes in the expectations of their employees and even their employers. What makes an ideal manager? What do employees now look for in a manager? Do they prefer a certain characteristic over another?

Alongside the changing expectations of employees, new management styles need to be developed and implemented as to accommodate these new changes. And in order for managers to understand these changes, Bayt.com has conducted a poll specifically made to measure and record what makes an ideal manager in the MENA region.

Key findings:

• The most important aspect of a manager’s job is in fact “communicating vision and directing efforts” (80.3%), followed by “assigning tasks and responsibilities” (10%), “handling more challenging projects” (5%) and “providing feedback and training” (3.2%).
• 87.3% of respondents believe that hierarchy in organizations is necessary for clarity, 8.8% think it may be essential in large organizations, while only 1% believe that hierarchical structures are unnecessary and slow things down.
• The most important characteristic of a good manager was by far “communication and listening” (71.6%), followed by “decision-making” (13.6%), “technical skills and knowledge” (8%), “flexibility” (5.1%) and “empathy” (1.2%).
• 65.8% of respondents believe that the manager’s age matters to them as a professional whilst 32.2% do not have an opinion about their manager’s age group.
• 88.1% of poll respondents says it is possible to foster a friendly relationship with their manager in the region as opposed to only 5.5% for whom it is not a possibility.

Data for the Bayt.com’s What Makes the Ideal Manager in the Middle East was collected online from November 21, 2018 to January 09, 2019. Results are based on a sample of 10,109 respondents. Countries assessed include UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and others.