Management 101: Everything you need to know about managing a team

It's not easy to juggle your own priorities with managing other people.? Are you an accidental manager: someone who has been given a team to manage without being shown how to do it?? Are you squandering precious?time checking that your team's work meets your high standards?? Perhaps you?end up working late doing?finishing their tasks.? Or do you mostly let them get on with it, apart from?scheduled catch ups which you are starting to resent?? ?

Here’s how to be that rare individual - a really good manager or team leader:

1. You are a manager, so manage Step up to the role wholeheartedly.? It's part of your job, not a distraction from it.? ?The days are gone when you can moan about the bosses - you are one, so act appropriately.? If other managers are lacklustre it doesn't mean you have to be.? Be brave and different. Be the one that gets their team in the office more often because they don't want to miss out. Have lunch together, lively daily huddles, competitions, drinks, team events - be creative.?

2. Say what you want Everyone in the team should know?exactly what they are responsible for and why.? They need??a clear job description?that clarifies your expectations, then one or two?key performance measures to keep them on track.? ?Set clear ground rules– when you expect them to be online,? hours of work, response time to emails, meeting etiquette and so on. Lead by example.? Build?a combined sense of purpose: what do we stand for as a team and how does that fit into the organisation.??Decide a team value or two and weave it into your daily work.

3. Build competency It's a common trap to?assume that new or?junior team members know what they are doing,?until you realise?that they don't.? ?It's better to lean towards micro-managing then to?leave them floundering. Have regular catch-ups until you are both confident.???Now work on your coaching skills so you can support them in their future development by asking great questions instead of telling?them what to do.??

4. Get some boundaries You won’t get your own work done if you are constantly interrupted. Put a process in place to make sure your reports don’t hijack your time. Ask them in the morning if they have all they need to get their work done. If you aren’t completely confident in their abilities yet, arrange a check-in later in the day or week (‘let’s grab five minutes before lunch to catch up’). This should give you – and them – head space to get on with deep work without interruption. ?

5. Eliminate some of your own workload ? You can’t invent more hours. ?Negotiate what percentage of your week you need to allocate to developing others. How will you create space in your calendar? ?Some tasks can be delegated to your team. They might not do it as well as you, but a manager’s job is to help others improve performance, not to do everything.

6. Feedback liberally Feedback should be part of everyday conversations, not saved up for appraisals. I don’t mean unspecific ‘awesomes’, but telling people what they did well, so they can repeat it. ?If you regularly give positive feedback, then negative feedback is no big deal: it’s all handed out with a positive intention to improve output.

7. Trust them so they trust you Don’t feel you need all the answers yourself. Your role is to coach them to come up with the answers. ?Think bigger and orient yourself on problems that could derail you, not detail. ? Build a culture of psychological safety so people feel safe to point out potential issues.? Be consistent.

8. Move the work along Instead of spending time on small details, focus on making the work more efficient. Can you use your knowledge of the organisation to join the dots for them? Can you speed up decision making or remove friction in the workflow? ?Push back to other managers when your authority is needed: ‘we can do that project for you, we’ll start it in two weeks once we have completed our current commitments’. ?Take a tip from sports coaches and look for marginal gains to increase efficiency and performance.

9.? Agree ground rules with your friends and peers If you find yourself managing people who were at the same level as you, then you'll need to have a brave conversation with them about how you will work together in future.? What do they need from you?? What do you need from them?? It's tempting to give them very little input, but that's not doing them any favours. Managers earn respect by challenging their team and creating career opportunities for them. Ask them regularly about their areas for development and advocate for them when you can.? That's real friendship and real leadership.

10. Periscope up Once your team is rocking and rolling, you can start to think more strategically.? Make time to build relationships across your organisation and externally.??Look for opportunities.? What's going on, what problems are coming over the horizon, what's everyone else doing well? Ask?these questions at your team meetings to get everyone thinking like this.?? Invest in your teams.

Please visit?www.zenaeverett.com ?for my books, talks, coaching and leadership programmes.? Feel free to share this with anyone who might find it useful.?

Stay safe and well this summer and please keep in touch

Zena Everett International Speaker, Author, Leadership Team Coach

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