Never micromanage your team
Almost every employee hates a micromanager – it will unhinge a rebellious response from even the most submissive person. Keep this in mind because as a manager you need to actively empower your team by entrusting them to take healthy levels of initiative.
It is a manager’s job to make sure that employees know how to do their work well and to manage them broadly from the side-lines. A good team leader gives his or her people the freedom to discover new ideas themselves, and to experiment, develop and adapt their own methods of working.
To facilitate this, it is important that you give your employees the right work tools and equipment as well as reasonable flexibility in their weekly schedule to enable them to deliver on their key performance indicators (KPIs) with excellence.
Listen astutely and share information
Good managers are great communicators. By listening carefully to your employees, you will understand them better, and will be able to respond more effectively to their needs.
Transparency is also key.
Make sure that your office has ‘an open-door policy’ so that your people always feel involved and know that they can approach you at any time, for anything. Give sincere and specific compliments, and do so on time and often, to make your employees feel consistently valued.
Finally, don’t forget the power of constructive criticism. Feedback that is practical and that employees can easily learn from will benefit both them and your organisation.
Be a solutions-growth coach
When you are in a managerial position, it is important that you do not solve every problem that arises for your employees. Instead, guide them with the right insights and then encourage them to find a solution themselves. This way, these issues become moments of learning, and your team gains valuable problem-solving experience.
Clearly manage employee expectations
There is nothing more frustrating than confusion and ambiguity, which is why it is important that you set the right expectations and clearly indicate where you want to go as a company.
Translate the vision of your organisation into the daily practice of your team. Update them periodically and be honest about it – even when the business is not doing so well. By being transparent, employees will be more involved in its journey, and ultimately, its success.
Take team members’ ambitions seriously
Goals are important, which is why you need to take the ambitions of your team members to heart. As a manager, it is important to always keep these in mind, to enquire about them and together, to specify professional objectives that each employee can achieve in your company.
On the flipside, if it is not possible to achieve these goals, be realistic about it and play open cards with the team member in question. A great manager never leaves any team member behind when it comes to ensuring that teamwork motivates and makes the team work!
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