Managing Your Team - 10 Top Tips for Success
Colin Thompson
![Colin Thompson]()
Colin Thompson
Managing Partner Cavendish/Author/International Speaker/Mentor/Partner
1. MBWA
Management By Walking About –you cannot beat it! Aim to talk to as many as you can, every day, to know what is going on with them as well as to know what is going on in the business.
2. Remember – you are always on show
Whatever your role as a manager, your staff will be observing you closely whatever you do. Unfortunately, you will not be allowed many ‘off-days’! Whatever the pressures on you personally, keep these to yourself. Engage in eye-contact, do not make anyone feel they are a ‘nuisance’, offer a sincere smile where appropriate, and do not make it all a business transaction only. However great your issues, a genuine personal enquiry about your staff and their well-being first can work wonders.
3. Set the example you want others to follow
Do not ask your staff to behave in ways you do not. If you want your staff to be at work on time, make sure you are. If you want your colleagues to go the last mile, don’t knock off early.
4. Never make a promise you cannot keep
Make sure your word is your bond. If you cannot guarantee a promise, at least with the very best intentions, either avoid making one or be very clear on the conditions of fulfilling it.
5. Catch your people doing things right
Many managers think their task is to catch people doing things ‘wrong’, but your staff will want most to be appreciated for what they do well. Try it? Reinforce the positive wherever you can.
6. Keep everyone informed
If you have recruited the right staff, they will want...to know from you how the business is doing. The essence is to do this regularly, consistently, appropriately for each audience and, above all, openly and honestly. Encourage a culture of appropriate questioning and honest answers, good times and bad, and you will build trust. Otherwise the grape-vine will take hold, which can be amazingly well-informed from all sorts of sources you never expected – and astonishingly mis-informed at the same time. So hold regular face-to-face team briefings for all to achieve this, and if these need to be cascaded through a hierarchy, do make sure your fellow team-briefers are also adequately trained to do this well!
7. No measurement – no management
It really is true: without setting objective and quantified measures, of both activity and achievement, it is very hard to manage almost anything very well.
8. Provide regular feedback on performance
Every team and individual should know how they are performing, at any level. Otherwise, work can become meaningless and a drudge. Best practice is to provide feedback both often and informally, and more formally and at least annually, through a well-crafted, two-way appraisal process.
9. Never take others for granted
Praise and appreciation go a long way and cost little. Never spare the ‘thank you’s!
10. Be fair and consistent - no favouritism
’Fairness’ can be a variable and very emotional judgement, highly dependent upon the specific point of view. Even so, ‘felt-fairness’ is vital. While your staff may quite reasonably not have parity between each other, whether in terms of pay or job status for example, they will all want to be treated equally amongst their peers and, above all, consistently.
TEAM
(Together Everyone Achieves More)
prides itself on the team’s excellent reputation, credibility and expertise
`Collaboration = Teamwork = Long Term Success`