Management Tools, Tips and Techniques
By pegem insights team, 1 March 2021 | Read it in under 7 mins
Here is a list of handy tools, tips and techniques for being a better, inspiring manager of people or yourself as the manager. There may be nothing new for you if you are an old hand, but in any case they will serve as a refresh in best practice. There are no hard and fast rules so just dip in and out. Try some if you haven’t used them before or simply refresh yourself on the ones you are already familiar with. Just be sure to use them to get the most out of your team and yourself!
#1 – Skin in the game
Dig down and identify how each team members’ actions make a difference to peoples lives. Explain their value in the big picture/strategy and scheme of things. We all want to feel valued. Money is never the sole motivator, it’s the enjoyment, personal development, challenge, responsibility and achievement that drives productivity.
#2 – Who’s in the team
Know the team dynamics. Who are the assertive ones driving things forward? Who has the analytical mindset making sure the team stays on the right side of the rules? Who’s bringing their expressive nature and keeping the morale up? Who is bringing their amiable self and keeping the team harmony. Remember, everyone plays a role and contributes to team dynamics and a company’s culture. It is the mutual respect of these roles that underpins high performing teams.
#3 – Set objectives & targets
Set realistic and measurable targets and objectives. Make sure they align with the strategic agenda from above and that the team can see how they relate to their day jobs. What gets measured gets done! Use the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).
#4 – Praise in public and criticise in private
A good rule of thumb for giving feedback is to praise in public and criticise in private. Make sure it is simple, timely and meaningful. Fake praise is easily spotted and following up public praise with a personal one will carry more weight. However, “Public Praise / Private Criticism” is a rule of thumb, not a hard and fast rule. The key things to keep in mind are showing that you care personally and you are challenging directly? If you are doing both of these, even when breaking the rule of thumb, then you’re probably ok. There is one further consideration when giving out praise. Your goal is to let them know what they did well as clearly as possible and in the way that will be best received for them! If their nature leans towards private praise then do it one-on-one.
#5 – Run effective & efficient meetings
Avoid setting up meetings as the default position. Look for quick wins such as a phone call, a quick one to one or a short to the point email for decisions. If you really really need a meeting, then make sure that you do the basics well.
- know the objective
- only include essential attendees,
- give adequate notice, set a clear agenda (no AOB!)
- keep appropriate control (minutes, actions and keep to the set agenda)
- start on time,
- mix it up a bit (outside venue, standup meeting, board room etc)
#6 – Set clear expectations and boundaries
Ensure your team know what is expected of them. Whatever it is, make it clear and police consistently. I’m not necessarily talking about things that are in the staff handbook but more around the way in which your team interacts with each other. The values and cultural aspects of your team and company. If there is a boundary on punctuality or core value of mutual respect, then call out any late comers to meetings and don’t entertain any exceptions otherwise that will become the rule! Being firm and calling out the non compliance sends a clear message to the whole team on what will and will not be tolerated. It shows you are in control. Just be sure to acknowledge the good bits as well and remember to praise in public and criticise in private.
#7 – Place the right people in the right seat
For any team to perform at its highest level it needs to have each player in their right position. If you find somebody is out of position then you have 3 choices, put up with it, change it or end it. Use insights and tools to see who is in the team, what is their influence, are they performing or out of position and then take appropriate action(or not and accept the current performance levels). If you replace a member, then use tools and insights to ensure that anyone coming into the team has the right traits and behaviours to positively impact the existing team culture and performance.
#8 – Create trust within the team
People perform at their best when they work in a trusting environment. They speak freely and openly, share their ideas and take initiative. Sure there will be mistakes along the way, but each of these will have a learning opportunity. Here is a list of key things you can do to create trust.
- avoid the temptation to micro manage by letting people make mistakes and learn from them
- accept some limitations as it’s the differences in the team that make it high performing
- take the rap as the manager and explain how you are going to improve on it in the future
- get the best resources to support your team so they can get on with it
- keep an eye on any friction and act quickly around conflict
- inspire loyalty through genuine praise, motivation, rewards and setting challenges
- encourage new ideas remembering they don’t all have to be adopted but insist on a pilot so you can fail fast and limit the resource spend
#9 – Create an encouraging environment
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar is a well known English proverb. A bit of praise costs nothing and produces better results, just be sure it’s genuine. Set some stretch targets, provide praise along the way and exceed expectations. Encouragement shows trust which breeds confidence and improves outcomes.
#10 – Create a positive atmosphere
People like to surround themselves with positive people. Others will want to join your team if it’s oozing a positive vibe. Create a positive atmosphere by doing the following.
- celebrate and reward individuals and the team, not just their achievements but also their effort, including any failures
- give credit to the team when they deserve it (don’t take the glory as the manager)
- insist on the basics from everyone by being friendly and polite, showing kindness and respect
- listen to what people have to say and extract new ideas, thoughts and improvements
- use positive motivational language and make it simple, often, timely and above all make sure it’s authentic
#11 – Managing distributed or remote teams
Many organisations have distributed and remote employees. There are a number simple tools, practices and management techniques that can help maintain their productivity. Here is 10 simple ones.
- The importance of routine – encourage staff to maintain their usual routines because it will feel like a weekend so its important to get up at their usual time, eat their usual breakfast, dress in work attire and start work at their usual time
- Stay connected using some software – utilise WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Slack or other collaboration software to keep your teams connected and engaged in a similar way to being in the same office
- Importance of targets, KPI’s and SLA’s – if you haven’t established any, then simply set some up using the SMART principle to help you
- Keep the focus – checkin with the whole team at a regular time to communicate team targets, priorities for the day and the week ahead
- Remind staff that key policies still apply – the staff handbooks and contract terms and conditions remain in place and security and confidentiality remain just as important (maybe even more so) away from the office
- Set up your office-like environment or workspace – if team members don’t have an actual office then encourage them to try and set aside some dedicated space for working (away from others, some clear desk space etc)
- We are social beings so continue socialising but virtually – arrange a morning virtual coffee checkin(chat or video) for a few minutes to kickstart the morning, start a meeting with a social 2-3 minutes relax time, mix it up
- Inject some team fun – consider introducing some morale boosters such as a team quiz, a virtual happy hour or bake off at the end of the week etc
- Maintain team dynamics – here’s where the expressive behaviour types (the yellow’s) come into their own so identify them and utilise their natural energy
- Virtual meeting rules (no hiding behind an avatar or picture) – unmute and go into video mode when asking a question or sharing a thought, use muted thumbs up, smily faces or other suitable engaging emojis
Looking to build high performing teams or improve existing team performance? Then let’s talk.
