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Take the team out for breakfast or lunch on occasion as a way to interact in a more relaxed setting. Look at every conversation you have with an employee as an opportunity to receive valuable feedback.
Some of the best ideas for your business can come from those who are involved in it on a daily basis. By encouraging their input, you'll also make your employees feel they have a say in the business operation.
Conduct weekly individual meetings with your employees to gather additional input. When you identify a worker who possesses leadership potential, offer to serve as a mentor to enhance her personal and professional development. Give her projects that will challenge her to improve, and offer your guidance along the way. By encouraging the development of talented workers, you will provide motivation as well as groom them for management positions as your business grows.
A sense of humor can have a positive influence on your people management skills in a number of ways. If an employee is angry, a quick joke or quip can defuse his mood. During an uncomfortable situation such as a performance evaluation meeting, a funny remark at the start can relieve some of the tension. If you take their good actions for granted, they will feel unappreciated, opening up opportunities for them to leave or underperform. The worst part is having to lose a good employee because they felt undervalued by you or your management team.
Whether you have to praise or discipline an employee, being timely about it is critical. Not doing so means your feedback will hold little weight.
Imagine being disciplined about something you did years back by your parents. Same goes for your employees. Let them know immediately so they can fix it and learn for the next time. Your team just scored a big win with a client? Praise and celebrate them for their performance. Whatever the case might be, make sure you do it when it happens. Not doing so will make future feedback useless and more like criticism. When it comes to managing people, honesty is indeed the best policy. It makes you approachable and it helps you maintain perspective.
Don't take yourself too seriously. Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time. Remember that your direct reports are people. They are not resources and they are not human capitol. They are people with families, feelings, and problems. It is not possible to separate work from home life. Be aware that people have personal lives and do the best you can to be sensitive to them. Treat everyone as your equal regardless of their title or position.
Remember to smile a lot and always maintain a pleasant demeanor. Know your strengths and weakness. Know the strengths of your team as well as the weakness and allow for improvement. Have a clear plan of what needs to be done. When asked for your opinion, you should have it well thought out and present it persuasively.
You should not waffle or stall. For big decisions, set a deadline, and have the decision by that time. If someone offers an argument that convinces you to change a decision, acknowledge it and embrace the new idea completely. Put them in writing whenever possible. Solicit feedback from the people you are leading. Know what they expect from you. Address any discrepancies immediately and clearly. Have a clear understanding in your own mind of things that you can change and the things that you cannot.
Management would be easy if everyone you managed were hard working, collaborative, and had a great attitude and exceptional talent. The chain of events that leads to strong and sustained business results starts with great managers who defy common management practice at.
Simply accept the things you cannot change and do not apply any energy to them what-so-ever. Then, focus all of your efforts on the things you can change. Action oriented people are always sought after and successful.
Many people become managers because they are good at their jobs. Take some time each day to ask them about their lives or whether are having any particular problems with a work assignment. Consistency in praising, timeliness and an approachable method for delivery has been a winning combination for me. They are not resources and they are not human capitol. Have Fun at Work Fun is not something reserved for outside the work environment, work should have a degree of fun about it. It will give them an opportunity to talk openly with you about their assigned work, their performance and any ideas or suggestions that they may have.
Remember that different things motivate different people and that people will do what they have incentive to do. It is your job to make sure that their incentives match your goals. Maintain the confidence of everyone in the organization.
Managers frequently have access to more information than other employees. It is imperative that you never betray the confidence of the company, your manager, your peers, or your employees. Be sure that people can confide in you. Your actions and reactions must be consistent. Being flexible is very important and it does not conflict with being consistent. You must remain flexible to change directions, change rules, and change resources to remain competitive. Focus only on solutions and not on problems.
People gravitate toward solutions oriented individuals.