Being amazing at your job doesn’t necessarily make you a good manager. All too often, people are promoted into management roles without any training or experience in managing people. People management is a very particular skill. Having outstanding marketing, sales, finance, customer service or technical skills, doesn’t equip you with effective team management skills. They’re very different skill sets.
However, you can get better at management. It’s a skill that you can learn, practice and develop. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach though. There’s a range of different management styles that suit certain people, businesses and team members. In this blog, we’ll explain the styles and the key skills needed for effective team management.
Why is Effective Team Management Important?
A good manager knows how to get the best out of each person that they manage. They motivate and coordinate an entire team to complete projects and reach common goals successfully. That’s great for both the business as a whole, and the team members being managed.
A well managed team is hugely beneficial to a business. As a result of effective management, you can achieve:
- Good employee satisfaction
- High employee engagement
- Impressive productivity levels
- Good team communication
- Optimum team performance
- High employee retention
- Effective workflows and results
- Efficient resource allocation.
Team Manager v Team Leader
A good team manager may not make a good team leader and vice versa. Or you may be excellent in both roles. These roles may land on the same person’s shoulders, but there are distinct differences between them.
A team manager focuses on the day-to-day tasks for their team, looking after the workflows and execution of jobs. They keep their entire team on track to achieve the team’s goals. They need to be organised, able to delegate and project manage.
A team leader is more of a big picture person. Their job is to motivate and inspire teams to buy in to the company vision and play their part in achieving it. They focus less on day-to-day details and more involved in top level company aims.
8 Team Management Styles
The way you manage one person won’t suit another so well. Some teams work better in a very disciplined environment whilst others thrive on team collaboration. The manager’s personality and core values will also affect the way they run a team.
These are the most common management strategies, each one has its advantages and disadvantages.
1. Autocratic management: Decision-making comes from the top down. Team managers don’t ask for much input from team members
2. Democratic management: Managers ask for team members’ opinions and insights, involving them in the decision-making process and creating a sense of shared responsibility
3. Laissez-faire management: The team manager steps back and leaves their team to work independently. This hands-off approach encourages autonomy
4. Transformational management: Team managers aim to inspire and motivate team members, raising engagement and driving positive change
5. Transactional management: This formal approach is based on a system of rewards and penalties. Managers focus on performance, efficiency, and achieving goals
6. Servant leadership: Managers focus on their team members’ growth and wellbeing. Each member of the team is supported to perform as highly as possible
7. Collaborative management: Team collaboration is the priority with team members making decisions collectively while the manager takes on more of a facilitator role
8. Coaching management: The manager coaches the team, provides advice and support, and gives regular feedback to help team members’ thrive.
12 Key Skills for Effective Team Management
Team managers support their team with effective communication, active listening, motivation, and fostering a positive work environment. They help each individual team member complete their tasks. A good manager refines their soft skills (or people skills) to engage and interact with their teams successfully.
Team Building
Team building activities can significantly boost teamwork, collaboration and employee engagement. You may picture away days with colleagues building rafts, tackling muddy assault courses or stuck in an escape room. it’s not just that. Team building is about making time for your team to connect on a human level. This is all the more important when they don’t work together in the same physical environment each day.
Simple techniques like adding an icebreaker activity to the start of a team meeting (in person or virtual) helps to bring the team together. Encourage teams to go for lunch or a drink together to chat on a personal level. Relatively small activities all help to create a positive team culture.
Consistency of Approach
Don’t play favourites. Make sure you spend equal time with your employees and treat them all fairly. Sometimes, one person or group may need more of your time because of a tricky work situation or project deadline. Don’t neglect others at the same time.
Book in weekly one-on-one meetings with each of your team members, even if one person needs more time than another. Be consistent in how you communicate with them, set goals and deal with issues.
Open communication skills
You can’t underestimate the importance of open communication between a manager and their team. When you withhold information, people feel unsettled and start to make up their own version of events. Rumours can take hold and morale can take a downward spiral. Take control of the narrative and be transparent about the situation. It’s better to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘that’s not been decided yet’ than to keep your team in the dark.
Open, clear communication helps to get projects done on time, keeps your team members motivated, and ensures stakeholders or clients are happy.
Clarity of Vision
Whilst the team leader will promote the overall company vision, it’s the team manager who will oversee the team’s contribution to delivering it. They’ll set the team goals that play their part in achieving company’s goals. Being clear about timelines, significant milestones and using proven project management strategies to keep people and projects on track, are crucial skills for team managers.
Regular Feedback and Recognition
Open communication extends to providing people with regular feedback. Book in one-on-one meetings to discuss daily tasks and overall performance. Provide constructive feedback that will benefit their performance.
Rewarding and recognising achievements, big and small, will make your make team feel valued, understood and heard. That’s motivating, engaging stuff.
Encourage Team Collaboration
Working together well, with productive teamwork, is likely to result in strong achievements. Whether that’s putting their heads together and brainstorming new ideas and innovative changes, or combining their efforts to deliver a brilliant project on time and in budget.
The team manager needs to know when to get involved and when to stand back. It’s more about mentoring than micromanaging.
Delegate tasks effectively
Here’s the thing, you’re not always the best person for the job. You manage a team, so use them appropriately. You hired team members because of their skill sets, so delegate relevant tasks to them.
Effective task management means clearly defining the expectations and responsibilities you’re assigning to your team member, along with timelines. This helps to build trust between manager and employee too.
Emotional Intelligence
Remember that your employee is a human and needs to be understood as an individual. Take a genuine interest in them as people and check in on them regularly. Have empathy with their situation. You may be busy, but take time to chat to them on a personal level.
A good manager understands the person they’re managing and how to get the best out of them. What’s their personality profile? What makes them tick? What motivates them? This really helps you to assign appropriate tasks to them, and know how to enthuse and engage them.
Prioritise Work-life Balance
You’ll become a popular, and responsible, team manager if you encourage employees to leave the office on time or follow a more flexible work schedule. Set specific boundaries, but employ some adaptability to suit different people’s needs. Some people work better from home, whilst others thrive in the office environment. Some like to start early whilst others need to sort childcare, exercise or do a lengthy commute before they can start working. By accommodating people’s specific needs, you’ll have happier and more productive employees. Importantly, you’ll help their mental and physical health and reduce the risk of burnout.
Performance Management
Be very clear about a person’s role, responsibilities and expectations. Set specific goals and KPIs, definite milestones and review progress towards them. Regular performance reviews can be motivational and also highlight gaps in knowledge and any need for professional development.
Good Problem Solving and Decision-Making
Depending on your management style, you may take on board viewpoints from your team members or you may just rely on your own instincts. But a good manager is able to solve problems for their teams, and make the best decisions to achieve team goals.
Regular communication with their team members, along with active listening, can help to detect problems and find solutions before they impact a project.
Conflict Resolution
It’s not always plain sailing, managing a team. Don’t ignore underlying issues or avoid difficult conversations. Learn how to resolve issues and conflicts before they escalate.
Prepare a conflict resolution strategy (with training if necessary) to maintain a positive work environment. You’ll build trust and earn respect from other team members if you address issues head on and find an appropriate way forward.
Keen to Work on Your Management Skills?
I have years of experience both as a team manager, leader and business coach. I’ve learned so much along the way, and I’d love to share my insights with you. I offer one-on-one business coaching or group coaching sessions to help you hone your business and management skills.
I also share business growth advice from time management and KPI setting to winning recruitment and sales processes.
