7 Steps to Become a Great Team Manager

Without great managers, teams - and organisations - can’t be successful.

We have all heard the phrase “people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses” and although this isn’t always the case, management does heavily influence an employee's experience and engagement at work.

They make or break culture, drive performance and encourage loyalty.

Not only do they need to balance the needs, wellbeing and expectations of each team member, managers need to keep the greater business goals, objectives and budgets in mind.

Finding, keeping, and developing great people isn’t easy, but finding, keeping, and developing great managers is even harder.

It’s not a tick box activity and will take continuous learning but there are a few key places to start when it comes to becoming a great team manager.

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1. Get to Know Your Team

?If you want to become a better manager, start by getting to know your team.

This goes beyond learning their names, you have to understand them on a personal level and learn about their lives, what they like and dislike, their preferences and their strengthens, weaknesses.

Find out about their backgrounds and who they are outside of work. It all helps to develop better connections and stronger relationships between you and your team.

The best way to do this? Talk to them.

Remember not everybody likes sharing in a group and they might not feel comfortable speaking up about themselves, their role and their challenges. Ensure you speak to individuals personally so you can get to know everybody better.

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2. Learn to flex

Unfortunately, there’s no one way to be a great team manager; every individual requires a different approach.

In his book, Leadership That Gets Results Daniel Goleman said, “the best leaders don’t know just one style of leadership – they’re skilled at several and have the flexibility to switch between styles as the circumstances dictate.”

Different situations and different team members call for different leadership styles. You cannot assume that all employees will all be motivated by the same things and driven by the same goals or that they think and learn in the same way.

Rather than trying to change a team member's style or support everybody in the same way, great managers know they need to flex their style.

Some members of your team may be more data driven and work best when left to their own devices and are given time to research, plan and analyse.

Whereas others may be better focused on the big picture and like to collaborate and discuss ideas with others before they get started.

Learning to flex to each individual and situation makes sure you’re supporting your team to reach their potential, consistently perform and reach their targets.

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3. Make the most of team strengths and weaknesses

The most effective teams play to each other's strengths and weaknesses.

?As a manager you need to make sure you’re taking the time to fully understand each person and have a clear idea of what they are drawn to or struggling with.

Ask your team what tasks they enjoy doing and what things they don’t, and spend time walking around the office or workplace to observe for yourself.

Just because somebody is actually quite competent at a job, it doesn’t necessarily make it a strength. They may be able to complete the task but if it drains them of energy or they dread doing it and all they can think about is stopping, it should be considered a weakness.

Harvard Business Review suggests using the question “what was the best day you’ve had at work in the last three months?” to get the employee thinking about the tasks and assignments they enjoy doing. According to their answers, you can then tailor how you delegate tasks to this employee to obtain the best possible outcome.

You can also ask the opposite: “What was the worst day you’ve had at work in the last three months?” Conversations like these help you to understand what is not working so that you can remedy the situation.

4. Focus on communication

There is so much more to the art of communication and being an effective communicator than talking.

You have to consider non-verbal communication, written communication, listening and - most importantly - individual communication styles and preferences.

More often than not, project mistakes come down to a communication error rather than a performance issue. Being clear with your communication, and understanding that of your team, minimises the potential for error and keeps everybody on the same page.

To gauge if you’re communicating effectively, ask for feedback. You need to give honest feedback to your team, but you also need to create opportunities to receive it.

Feedback and performance reviews are great ways to start the conversation about how you can become a great manager in the eyes of your team members.

Alternatively, you can try anonymous forms and surveys that will help you understand your role better and identify ways you can improve.

Read more about how to improve your communication as a manager and understand your team’s preferences on my blog here.

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5. Create a positive and inclusive work environment

For people to be able to bring the best self to work and perform to their potential they need the right environment to do so.

It’s a manager's responsibility to drive culture and create a positive, fun, psychologically safe and trusting environment that makes people feel included, respected and valued.

Acts like rewarding good behaviour, recognising achievements and celebrating success shows appreciation for your employees and lets them know that their hard work is being noticed.

In fact, research found 66% of all employees said that they were more likely to leave their job if they didn’t feel properly appreciated.

Offering praise can boost team morale and build a positive work environment. However if good work is consistently left unnoticed and unappreciated, your team may become apathetic and unengaged.

In addition to daily recognition, leadership coach Leah de Souza recommends motivating people through team bonding and celebration, “Set aside time for team bonding – pure fun – and team celebration – reward for a milestone team achievement. Each of these team events are important to the cohesiveness and element of fun in the team. What is fun can differ culturally and from team to team, so make sure to get feedback on ideas.”

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6. Practice self-awareness

The greatest managers understand that they don’t know everything and should always be learning and growing alongside their team.

Self awareness is essential for managers and like any skill it can be developed.

At its core, self awareness means being aware of different aspects of the self, including traits, behaviors, and feelings - especially in the context of other people’s point of view.

It’s an ongoing process that requires continuous reflection and commitment. Depending on your preferences, there are a number of practical ways you can grow your self awareness.

Try journaling or set aside time on a daily or weekly basis to think and reflect over any situations and interactions you have had.

Alternatively, you can implement tools like personality profiling to give you an idea of your own style, preferences, behaviors and communication.

You can also learn directly from your team and get insight into any ‘blind spots’ you may have by asking for feedback.

Every interaction should be a learning moment and used to develop self awareness around yourself and your teams.

As you continue to evolve as a manager, it’s important to check in with yourself regularly and identify any changes.

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Become an Evolved Manager

Over in the Evolved Manager Free Resource hub there's a range of webinars and articles to help you develop your skills as a people manager and better support your team so they can reach their potential and perform to their best.

?Sign up to the Evolved Manager Free Resources Hub here.