3 Ways to Effectively Manage a Team
As your business grows the need to effectively manage others becomes an increasingly vital skill.
A lot of times we can read about career advice for women, but still today, there’s a tendency to see leadership articles from a more male dominated perspective. These simple tips on how to lead and manage your team are especially designed with women in mind.
1. BE THE BOSS
There is, of course, a fine line between being a leader and being a dictator, and it’s important to remember that your role is directional rather than dictatorial. That said, it’s important to have an element of hierarchy where you are differentiated as being the one in charge.
It can, of course, be a difficult balancing act, but one way to think of it is to be an assertive yet friendly and respectful captain of the ship. The way of a captain is often associated with pirates who bark orders to their crew; but when you think about the captain of a flight, they are civil and respectful, yet assertive and bold in terms of their leadership style.
2. DON’T MICROMANAGE
It’s important you allow people to “own their task” as nobody likes to be micromanaged, in fact, in some company cultures such micromanagement can be a form of implicit bullying and even emotional abuse.
That said, it’s important you retain your role as the directional leader that provides tasks for people to complete, but once a task has been set, leave it for the other person to complete. See, if you start micromanaging someone they are going to get fed up very quickly. This behaviour infers a lack of trust and respect; it also suggests you feel they require hand-holding which can feel very patronising to be on the receiving end of.
3. USE BOTH THE CARROT AND THE STICK
You’ll have probably heard of the metaphor about the carrot and the stick which describes the polar forces of motivation theory. In psychology there are two broad types of people; those that prioritise moving toward pleasure and those that prioritise getting away from pain.
Of course, most people have a mixture of both, but there is normally one predominant force that motivates a person – and it’s different for everyone. Get to know your team and see what makes them take action; is it the possibility of reward or is it the fear of being fired?
The key is to understand what motivates each team member and then frame your requests in a way that resonates with their particular driving force; i.e. to gain pleasure or avoid pain.
4. WORK IN COLLABORATION
The important thing to remember is that, as a team, you should be making decisions together, standing side by side as teammates – not sitting at opposite ends of the table like adversaries debating and arguing over who does what.
You’ll want to focus on reinforcing a spirit of collaboration as much as possible and ensure each team member feels valued for their contribution.
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