Do you have effective team management skills? If employees are unhappy with their supervisors, rest assured they are out job hunting. According to a study done by Gallup, 50% of employees leave their companies because of their boss. If your business is suffering from constant turnover, you need to learn how to manage a team successfully.
Below are five skills you need to be an effective team manager in 2021
1. You can see the bigger picture
Leaders need to be able to unite their team under one shared vision. You don’t want to get caught up in the day to day minutiae. That just leads to putting out fires and productivity goes down the tube. Once you have that vision clear in your head, you need to be able to communicate it well to your team. Any goals you do come up with should be re-assessed on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis.
2. Communication is key
When it comes to how to manage a team successfully, you need toy know how to communicate effectively. What you think and what you say need to be aligned so that employees understand the ultimate goals of your team. Here are some things you need to be able to communicate:
- The priorities of the team
- What the long term goals are
- A sense of gratitude
- What the strategy is and how will it be executed
Being that all employees have different communication styles, try and understand what those are and tailor your own communication. If you don’t feel like you are a great communicator, take the time to put down a plan on paper. Don’t show up to meetings winging it.
3. You need to be organized
Organization comes easy for some and is a battle for others. It is more than just keeping your desk clutter free. You need to be able to keep your projects organized so that deadlines are met. Lucky for you, there are plenty of tools to help you be more productive.
4. Be a Problem-Solver
Problems can be lurking around the corner for any manager no matter how well prepared they are. Whether it is a budgeting problem or a missed deadline, an effective team manager is a skilled problem-solver. You need to be able to evaluate a challenge, come up with solutions and execute them effectively. This is a necessary skill of any team leader.
5. Exude Confidence
Confidence is great and if you feel you are lacking a healthy dose of it, don’t worry. Confidence is a practiced skill and something anyone can get a hold of. It is about knowing yourself well and what your strength and weaknesses are. Your strengths you can leverage for success and recognizing your weaknesses and working on them can lead you on the same path.
Take a personality test like Myers-Briggs or DISC assessments. Tests like these provide an objective look at your strengths and weaknesses.
6. Fairness Is Key
When it comes to effective team management strategies, being fair is key. Favoritism is not something that employees will tolerate without frustration. You will naturally be drawn to certain team members more so than others, but blatantly expressing those feelings can be poisonous to your teams. In order to make sure the playing field feels even for everyone, never leave anyone out of a lunch date or any other outing. If there is an issue in the office, that needs to be dealt with fairly. If one party knows that you like one of them better over the other, you can guarantee the situation will not end well.
