Whether you are a new manager, or you’ve been one for your whole career, it’s important to always look into your management approach. People management is an incredible skill to have, and when implemented well it can have a brilliant response from your employees.
We have put together 5 ways to manage people successfully in this article which managers at all levels of experience can implement within their managerial strategy. If you’re looking to refresh your approach, take these points into deep consideration.
1.Actively listen to your employees
Our first point is probably one of the most important ones. The bottom line is that great managers listen to their employees. We don’t just mean hearing what your team has to say, we are talking about active listening.
To encourage you to get into the habit, we suggest ending your important conversations with an open question, such as “would you like to discuss anything else?” or “would you like me to answer any other questions for you today?”. This not only helps your employees know that you listen to them, but it also encourages them to share important topics that are on their mind. By asking friendly open questions, you are building trust and respect with your team.
2.Understand your employees’ problems
Everyone is human and we all struggle with problems. Don’t be dismissive in your approach to your employees’ problems. As a leader, you should be able to help your employees solve their problems before they get out of control and cause damage, either to work relationships, or the organisation itself. Understand the type of problem your employee is facing and whether you can solve this from a personal point of view or an organisational aspect. Are they struggling with their workload? If they are, is this because they find it difficult to prioritise or because the organisation is unorganised? It’s important to ask yourself these questions so you can pinpoint the root cause, not just what appears on the surface.
3.Criticism is necessary, but balance this with praise
Try to ensure you are giving an equal amount of praise and criticism to your employees. We know that employees thrive from praise and celebrations of their success. However, it’s important to also share criticism where appropriate.
As a leader you still need to give constructive feedback in order for your team to truly flourish. Whatever the reason for your criticism, still end on a positive note to keep up staff morale. Balancing between the two will ensure you remain respected as a leader and also confirm your expectations.
4.Give employees a purpose
There is nothing as unproductive as an employee that feels they have no purpose. Just getting by each day doing the same tasks, with the same routine isn’t good enough if you want an inspired, vibrant team. Regularly have meetings with your team to see what their passions are and pinpoint what they like and dislike about their role. Offer exciting projects based on their skillset. Match employees up with other compatible team members and ask them to collaborate on a project together. Ensure any employees that you feel aren’t getting involved are happy with their current work. Always offer new ways for your team to do well, learn and achieve.
5.Check in with your team, even when things are smooth sailing
Prevent any stressful situations by checking in with your team and seeing how well they are getting on. You can do this in many ways, if you are emailing, we suggest sending this individually in order to not create any unwillingness to share in a group email thread. If you are emailing about a project with a few team members working together – this is fine as they will be able to report back as a team. A simple 1:1 meeting will also solve these problems before they arise. They don’t have to take long either, especially if you have a large team. 10 minutes every fortnight will be more help than you know, and if they don’t have anything to report back they are free to reschedule. The key here is to not leave things to chance.
Do you want to refresh your leadership skills? Feel free to contact us today and we will be able to help you set up a strategy that is easy to apply which will result in your employees being appreciative and productive.
Let us know if you have any other suggestions to this article by commenting below.
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