Tips for Managing Groups

This thread is a place to share tips for managing groups.

Here are a few tips -- (not the only way to do things, of course...)

Always be accessible & approachable:
I think it's a good idea to never make employees feel stupid or ignore what they are saying or they will be afraid to bring up problems. If they ask a dumb question or wake up the manager in the middle of the night for a pointless reason, listen to what they have to say and don't get mad at them, but figure out what caused them to do that and try to eliminate the reason for doing it. If people aren't afraid to approach you, they'll keep you updated on what is going wrong at the hostel so you can figure out how to fix it. If there's more than one manager, staff will go to the more approachable manager and the other lazy manager will become less relevant.

Problem solving vs. helplessness:
Never say a flat "I don't know". What are the steps that can be taken to fix the problem? Make them into a list and do them or assign people to the tasks. Other staff will follow the problem-solving example.

Two types of leadership:
The bad type of leadership is to squash other members of the group to reach the top. Everyone will hate this kind of management. (I know one hostel manager who used to brag about how much money he made and how little work he had to do in front of the other employees. He took every opportunity to squash other employees in his attempt to be "the boss".)
A better type of management is to encourage people and help them be successful. The manager isn't less of "the boss" if employees succeed...

Don't tell people to do something that you wouldn't do yourself:
I used to make sure not to ask people to do something I wouldn't do myself. Staff won't resent you for asking them to clean the office toilet if you do it occasionally also.

If people are doing a good job, tell them:
People will enjoy their jobs if they think they're doing a good job. If they do something well, be sure to mention it to them...

Add management tips below if you have them...