Effective Team Management

It is not always easy being in charge of a team of employees especially if you have taken the job over from someone else. They will be used to the way their old boss worked, and now it is your responsibility to motivate and inspire them to be as productive as possible. Not everyone is easy to work with and some will be convinced that the old ways are the best. You need to show you have leadership skills and can be in charge at the same time as gaining their respect. If you want to manage your team effectively, hopefully, these few tips will help you.

Keep Communication Lines Open

Good communications are a two-way thing in any business. You need to keep your team informed about the work that needs to be done, about how this fits in with the rest of the organization, and what timescales you are all working too. They need to know they can discuss any issues with you and that your door is always open for them. The feedback they provide could be vital to the success of the project you are working on and you should always listen to whatever they have to say.

If they happen to call on you at a really busy moment, let them know that you will see them very soon and make sure that you do.

Get To Know The Team

Getting to know your team is an important step in managing them effectively.  Put some effort into finding out what interests they have, and some personal details too. This will show them that you care about them as a person and not just as a member of a working team.

Bosses who show they care get a better response to requests from their workers and the team, as a whole, will be much happier.

Acknowledge Achievements

Do not just give feedback when something is wrong. You need to let them know that you have noticed good work as well. Positive feedback can help to build confidence in themselves and trust in you.

Encourage them to be creative and make sure everyone knows what their tasks are.

When you acknowledge the effort they are making and the goals they have achieved, this will keep them motivated to continue working hard.

This could be a simple ‘thank you’ or something such as buying them all a cake at lunchtime. Appreciation goes a long way with employees no matter how you show it.

Don’t Try To Be A Super-Hero

Just because you are their boss does not mean that you are a super-hero and you should not try to be. You are human just like them and there will be times you hit problems.  If you are under pressure because of the amount of work you have to do, ask for help from some of your team members. This works for a couple of reasons. One, it will relieve the pressure on you and two, it shows them that you trust them enough to do some of your tasks.

Knowing that you trust their abilities can help to create a feel-good factor and will make them more than willing to help you again in the future.

Make Decisions

A good leader will have the ability to make decisions quickly when the need arises. This will also stamp your authority on the team and once a decision has been made you should stick with it. Leaders cannot change their minds over things every 5 minutes as that looks as though you really do not know what you are doing!That will not be good for the relationship with your team.

Even if they disagree with a decision you have made they will respect you more when you stay with the decision you have made.

Delegate To The Right Workers

It will soon become apparent what the strengths and weaknesses of each team member are.

Bearing these in mind, you have to try and delegate the jobs to the right person. Workers will always be more productive when they feel their best skills are being used, and putting them to work on something they have no idea about will just sap any confidence from them.

This could mean that sometimes you need to bring in help from outside workers, perhaps for a special event you are planning. Because someone is brilliant at his or her job does not mean that would be at something else. This is where crew app comes in. It will let you team up with the best people for the task to be undertaken.

Deal With Conflict

You should not ignore any conflict between your team members. Doing so can create a bad atmosphere, which will not be good for other team members or their productivity. Often issues are minor that can be dealt with very quickly, but if bad feelings are left to build they turn into major events!

Problems that are ignored can mean that other people start to get involved and the whole thing can escalate out of hand. Dealing with conflict as soon as you become aware of it can help to prevent this from happening.

Be A Good Example

Workers are like children in that they will learn by example. If you have a good work ethic, if you show guidance and inspiration, you will gain their respect and they will work harder for you. Making a good job of your managerial position results in them making a good job of the work they have to do.

Building A Good Team

It does not matter if you have inherited your team from someone else or you are building a team from scratch – you will always want them to be people you can rely on to make a good job of the tasks they are given.

The way they behave and work is directly related to the way you treat them. They will work much harder for someone they feel is a good boss rather than someone they have no faith in. It is up to you to earn their trust and respect. Then the task of effectively managing them becomes a much simpler one.

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