Leading a team of people in the workplace is a monumental responsibility. Not only are you charged with maximizing productivity and efficiency, but it’s your job to keep morale high, have an open door and make sure expectations are clearly communicated. If you’re in a position of leadership you’re sure to encounter difficult situations that hamper the productivity of your team. How you handle these challenges can be the deciding factor in whether your team is successful or not. Below we discuss our best strategies for managing your team effectively and making sure productivity is maximized.
Communication is Essential
At some point in your career, you’ve probably had a manager that constantly made you feel like you were walking on egg shells. You never knew whether you were exceeding expectations or failing miserably. Simply put, this individual didn’t communicate and trying to do so with them was difficult at best.
If you’re team is going to succeed, it’s paramount that you not only clearly communicate with each member of your team, but make clear the expectations of up-front professional communication to everyone involved. If communication happens through appropriate channels in a safe space, job responsibilities are clearly defined and people feel empowered to ask questions or seek help, cohesiveness can thrive.
Know Strengths and Weaknesses
Whether you want to admit it or not, as a leader you have strengths and weaknesses. While being aware of your own skills and shortcomings is essential, knowing those of each team member is vital as well.
Maybe someone on your team is great with analyzing raw data and numbers. You probably don’t want to employ this individual to strategize a creative presentation. Leave that to the outgoing creative person that thinks outside the box.
When you create an environment that allows everyone to stay in their lane and utilize their innate abilities, you foster a freedom that allows everyone to feed off of each other and be excited about the work they are doing.
Environment is Key
It has been widely documented that the physical environment in which people work greatly affects how they feel. Does your team function best in an environment where everyone has their own office and a door they can close or is a shared space that welcomes creativity and sharing of ideas better? Whatever your team’s work environment is, it should reflect the culture of the organization and allow people to comfortably go about their tasks in the most efficient manner possible.
While the physical environment in which people work is key, having the necessary infrastructure in place is equally important. Making sure that your internet connection is solid, that IT help is readily available and that all systems are functioning properly and up to date allows team members to do their job with limited interruptions.
Incentives
There is nothing more motivating than incentives in the workplace. While monetary bonuses and rewards are always popular, there are plenty of other ways to motivate your team with minimal cost. If a deadline is on the horizon or a sales goal needs to be met, incentivizing your team with things like paid time off, a catered lunch or skipping out of the office early on a Friday for happy hour can do wonders. Frequent rewards for a job well done keep everyone’s spirits high, are motivating, and make people feel like they are working toward something greater than themselves.
Stay Out of the Way
One of the struggles for almost every leader is striking a balance between managing and giving people the freedom to do their job. While it’s important that you make sure each person on your team is performing as expected, creating the space for individuals to fully utilize their skills is important as well. When you build trust within your team and allow individuals the autonomy to do their best work, they do so with tremendous pride and your team can flourish as a result. This is also a key to keeping your best performers from looking for challenges elsewhere.
Mutual Feedback
It’s human nature to want to know how you’re performing. Consistent feedback is crucial so that everyone is on the same page and expectations are met. Scheduling frequent reviews with each team member is a must.
During these reviews, it’s important that the conversation be an open discussion about performance and anything that might be missing. This can go both ways however. As the manager of a team you need to have a conversation about a team members’ performance, but taking it a step further and asking for feedback about the job you’re doing as a leader as well can provide important insight. Ask them what you can do to help them be more effective in their job. You may learn about issues you hadn’t even thought of. When professional back-and-forth dialogue exists that is helpful for all parties involved, your team only stands to benefit.
It’s no mystery that leaders are needed in every organization. Without leaders to provide direction, motivation and oversight, most companies would perish. Some leaders are better than others though. If you find yourself in a position of managing a team or department, utilizing some of the tactics above can mean the world for your teams’ productivity and set you apart as someone who is both respected and effective.
Do you want to learn more? Contact me, Jeff King, owner of RQ Focus. I help business owners match with the right employee for their job opening in the life science industries.
