Management Training – Page 58 – STL

Being a manager of anything is a great responsibility that needs to be taken seriously in order to make an impact. There are plenty of managers in the world that simply don’t respect what they do, resulting in poor communication between team members and a generally unproductive business. If you want to improve your company’s efficiency and productivity (we help businesses achieve this with our management training programme), then here are 10 key skills that every successful manager should possess.

1. Ability to collaborate with team members

Managers might be the ones giving orders to the entire team, but it’s vital that you start thinking about your staff as team members and not subordinates. It’s vital that you learn to collaborate with them on a regular basis so that you can work more efficiently as a team instead of clashing constantly.

An important management skill is collaboration — Collaboration with your team is key; find management training courses near me

2. Being emotional when the situation calls for it

Managers often focus too much on the bigger picture and will only look at statistics when judging decisions and employees. However, having empathy and understanding your staff members can help you become a better manager since you’ll gain a better idea of how your team operates. If this is a skill you would like to develop, you may wish to consider one of our emotional intelligence work courses.

3. Knowing the difference between micro and macro management

Micromanagement is usually seen as a bad practice but it can often be useful especially if you’re dealing with new employees or staff that have recently switched their role.

4. Using positive motivation to get your team more productive

Positive motivation is not threatening to fire someone. Instead, it’s all about encouraging your team and putting your faith in them so they feel like they have a place in the company instead of being treated like a disposable asset.

Your team will thrive if you focus on positive reinforcement — Be positive with your team to improve productivity

5. Ability to accept feedback and criticism

You’re likely not a perfect manager so it’s vital that you learn to accept feedback and criticism if you made a mistake. You’re only human, after all.

6. Not being afraid of confrontation

Confrontation happens in an office environment and you shouldn’t be afraid of it especially if an employee isn’t performing well. As long as you’re understanding and not unfair, confrontation is nothing to be scared of.

7. Becoming the coach that your team needs

Your team will likely look up to you because you’re their manager, so be a coach to them and guide them to being a more productive group.

8. Promoting your company culture

Company cultures can have a huge impact on the efficiency of your business, so nurture yours and reinforce it with your people.

9. Effectively switching between multi and single tasking

Multitasking for too long will stretch out simple tasks and put more stress on your mind. However, it’s undoubtedly an effective way to get multiple things done at once, but you should learn to switch between multi and single tasking to make the best use of your time.

10. Developing effective communication skills

Lastly, it’s important to develop effective communication skills so that your team functions like a cohesive group and not a disorganised mob. To help you out, we’ve also added an infographic that touches on some of the most essential communication skills that a manager needs .

Essential communication tips

When it comes to managing change efficiently, understanding the various stages is paramount to optimising productivity. Initially, it’s about keeping on track and ensuring that each stage has full buy-in and collaboration. The one thing that can make or break organisational change’s success is communication. Taking a few moments to consider the correct positioning of the new information will not only help the transition and integration process, it will also encourage the team to challenge their own performance.

1 – Know the fear

When change comes, it often arrives with fear. Most employees, especially long-term staff, will not like change. It will challenge their sense of safety. Getting ahead of ‘the fear’ will create the foundation for your people to embrace the difficulties and search for the opportunity. An initial overview of what is being considered either by a blanket email and/or face-to-face with department heads will prevent rumours and confusion, and can pre-empt any possible objections.

It gives others time to consider and put forward suggestions for change
It allows you to clearly present the opportunities the new direction could offer
It sets in place a precedent for open discussion and invites thoughts and feedback
It encourages others to be involved and present new perspectives

2 – Understand the anger

‘Why is the company doing this?’ will be the anticipated reaction. You can minimise emotional backlash by launching small team discussion groups once the decision has been made to proceed. These meetings should be run by the department heads with a clear agenda who, amongst other things, could look at;

Possible start dates and proposing key delegations.
Asking for the best ways to implement.
Allowing others to freely voice concerns and give feedback.

The priority at this stage is to create buy-in and help others to see what the vision of change could mean to them (you can learn how by attending our change management training course London). Look at the roles and responsibilities and how change will affect them, including;

Time frames and schedules, partitioned by review points and milestones
Risks and priorities to consider
Health and safety (where applicable)
Affects on clients and suppliers
Additional training needs

3 – Implementation

Uncomfortable, unsure and awkward are often present as change begins to hit. Sitting down 1-2-1 with department heads to set and agree objectives and WHY, will eliminate a lot this confusion.

These 1-2-1’s should be encouraged by the department heads with their key staff to allow for transparency and individual delegation. This also enables team members to grow within their roles.

The key staff can also use their 1-2-1 with the team to;

Set objectives and time frames
Allow open discussion on concerns and solutions
Present clear targets for what change means individually
Look at company targets
To build support mechanisms

4 – The comfort zone

Change has been rolled out and teams are starting to find their feet. 1-2-1 reviews should be in place. As people begin to get comfortable, productivity and efficiency may very well become key to evaluating the ultimate success of the process.

As the implementation level continues, individuals are far more likely to try new ideas, new training and take greater responsibility. Don’t be too quick to disregard the opportunity that change presents. Evolution and growth are powerful forces. Change can offer you the opportunity to direct these forces into continually improving performance, without boundaries. You can also learn how to in our change management course London.

So, what is the one thing that you’ve seen, read about or personally experienced that stood out as a superb method for managing and implementing change?

If you need more ideas, take a look at our Managing Change infographic:

Infographic with advice for organisational change — Key tips for managing change

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