Becoming a manager is simply the fruition of your hard work. Without experience, managing a team can be tricky; it is demanding and tiring. It is also a learning curve. Over time, you will find the strategies that work for you and your team. It is all about finding the right balance, which is why we have put together the following 10 tips, so keep reading to learn more.
- Revise Your Hiring Processes
The first step towards managing a team effectively is to have a good team. Now, you might not always have control over your team; you might inherit them with the job. However, if you do have the final say on your team, then it can be incredibly advantageous. You can cultivate a team that is primed for success. Take the time to learn more about their talents, strengths, and skills – how would they benefit the team?
- Set Goals for Your Team
Setting goals for your team can help to motivate them. They need to know what they are working towards. When setting goals, they need to be well thought out. Be as specific as possible; this then helps you to measure the success of the efforts to achieve the goal. You also need to be able to relate the goals back to a larger purpose, so that your team understands how their goal serves the company at large. Without goals, there are no stakes; your team has nothing to strive towards.
- Create a Sense of Community
Setting goals for individual team members is important. However, it can lead to segregation where your team members begin competing against each other instead of working together. Instead, you should work to try and foster a sense of community in your team. Encourage them to work together and collaborate to reach their goals. Working together is necessary, and if your team feel like a community, they will be better at it.
- Delegate Tasks Thoughtfully
As a manager, your main responsibilities will consist of overseeing your team. It becomes more administrative and less practical. Because of this, you need to consider how you are delegating tasks. You cannot expect to still undertake all of the work that you had been doing previously. You need to hand it off. When delegating, you need to think about the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. Who is best equipped to take on that task?
The same can be said for your administrative roles. There are plenty of tools out there that can help you to manage the new demands on your time and make it a lot easier. For example, myhrtoolkit.com has a number of features that can prove invaluable to managers. This can help support their job role, improving efficiency across the business.
- Encourage Communication
You cannot expect to lead a team effectively without communicating with your team and listening as they communicate with you. You need to do the work to ensure that the channels of communication remain open. Your team needs to be made aware of things like assignments, timelines, and projects. They also need to be able to communicate and collaborate with each other as well as reach out to you for any resources or help that they might need. If you work in an office, you should consider implementing an open-door policy, meaning that your employees should feel comfortable coming to you whenever needed. In addition to this, it is worth thinking about choosing a communication tool that makes communication instantaneous, because, while emails are great, they can dwell in an inbox for days until they are checked. Choose a messaging service to use instead.
- Time Management is Key
When it comes to managing, there are a lot of things that you need to do or oversee, and it is easy to feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. This is why it is vital that you work on your time management skills and develop strategies to ensure that everything continues to tick on – pun intended. For example, try to avoid or remove distractions from your working environment. You may also want to provide time limits, for example, “this should take no longer than an hour to complete” when delegating (but remember to be realistic).
- Make the Time for Performance Reviews
Accountability is vital for any employee. You should make it a matter of routine to conduct performance reviews with your staff. At a minimum, they should be once a year, but once a quarter is often better if you can swing it. Sit down with your employees one-on-one and discuss the contributions that they have made to your team. You should include both positive and negative feedback, but be considerate in the way that you deliver it.
- Always Avoid Taking Sides
If you are unlucky, then you might find that your team bickers or argues. If this is the case, you need to remain impartial; otherwise, you risk alienating employees or being accused of having favourites. Of course, you could step back and allow these issues to resolve themselves; this does work occasionally. However, there will also be times when you are required to intervene. When they need your intervention, you should always try to listen to both parties and help them to work out a compromise.
- Lead by Example
As a manager, your team looks up to you; you become a role model to them, and you need to lead by example. Demonstrate the skills and attributes that you want them to have. Work hard to be enthusiastic about projects in an effort to get them excited about the work. Do not shirk your responsibilities; you need to always be seen as doing your part. Your team will also have more respect for you if they see you putting in the effort. You need to exemplify the traits that you want to see. Keep this in mind while at work. Your team pick up on more than you realise.
- Remember to Celebrate Their Successes
As the manager, you should be your team’s biggest supporter. Your team should always feel celebrated and appreciated for the work that they do. You should do your best to encourage your team members to enjoy the sense of development that they have after working. Do your best to motivate your team by giving them pep talks and boosting morale. It is not realistic for a person to be positive all of the time, but you should do your best to promote positivity around the office. Use any opportunity to celebrate and reward your team. It could be small things like bringing pastries to the office for breakfast or getting everyone a coffee. Think about how much power you have. You could also reward them with things like paid leave if this is something that you have the authority to do.
The Bottom Line
As a manager, you will have more responsibility, and often this leads to more stress, but it doesn’t have to. By developing your management style and implementing effective strategies, you can reduce your stress and increase your team’s trust in you. Consider the tips above and integrate them into your management style. Remember to ask for feedback from your team; it can help you to improve and refine your approach as a manager.
