Best Way to Manage My Team

Best Way to Manage Your Team

Are you interested in learning what is the best way to manage your team?

The professional standards for managers fall under six categories.

These six major headings for best practice as a manager, are as follows.

1. Setting and achieving objectives. (SMART targets, Goals).
2. Excellent communication skills.
3. Prioritisation skills, time management and delegation.
4. Handling conflict and poor performance issues.
5. Self-motivation, self-control, self-confidence, self-awareness.
6. Leadership; the ability to inspire others.

1. Setting and achieving objectives (SMART targets, goals).

The purpose of the team is to achieve its goals. Therefore, the first task of the manager is to decide what goal is to be achieved. Goal setting is the first and most important task of the manager, because SETTING THE GOAL is the first step to achieving it.

2. Excellent communication skills.

Setting the goal is step one. Communicating the goal clearly, and persuasively is step two.

The manager must be a good communicator, and on many levels:

The manager must understand how to inform, explain, persuade, and motivate others.

The manager must also be a good listener.

The manager must know how to ask the right questions; the manager must also know something about body language and voice tone.

The manager should be good at communicating in the written form.

Communication is a major skill to master.

3. Prioritisation skills, time management, and delegation.

The goal that you set at point one will require a plan capable of achieving it. So, planning is on the list of skills sets for the manager to master. The ability to plan, breaks down into an extensive list of subset skills, namely:

Prioritisation, delegation, preparation, prediction, problem analysis and organisation.

The manager's role is to try to ensure that the right things are done, by the right people, in the right way, and to ensure it is done in advance of need.

4. Handling conflict and poor performance issues.

Even though you may have made good plans, some people won't follow them. That means that you will have conflict situations to deal with. Conflict is inevitable, since not everyone does what you need them to do.

You need to handle conflict situations properly: meaning;

You need to handle the conflict situation quickly; in private, professionally, non-emotionally, calmly. You need to be clear in your use of language - polite, firm and to give a precise explanation of where the person is out of line, then to make a clear request for a change of behaviour and to gain agreement to a corrective action.

Conflicts must NOT degenerate into an emotional war, or battle of wills. Conflict situations should not escalate, by the use of too much bad temper.

Nor should conflict situations be evaded or ignored.

Handling conflict within the team is one of the trickiest parts of the management role and you may need some training to achieve your best results. If that is true, please check out our one-day Conflict Management course.

5. Self-motivation, self-control, self-confidence, self-awareness.

To a degree, managers must be emotionally self-sufficient. Meaning, before they can manage others, they must first be able to manage themselves. Self-management breaks down into multiple subsets:

• Self-control, Self-discipline, Self-motivation, self-awareness, Self-confidence.
• Self-control means the ability to stop yourself doing things, that you really do want to do.
• Self-discipline means the ability to make yourself do the things, that you really don't want to do.
• Self-motivation means the ability to inspire yourself to move towards the goal.
• Self-awareness means understanding the likely effects of your words and actions on the minds of others.
• Self-confidence means trusting yourself when others doubt you, whilst still being able to take note of the reasons for their doubts.

The most important person to manage is yourself.

6. Leadership; the ability to inspire others.

The last and the most difficult role of management, is that of leadership.

All managers need leadership skills. And all leaders need management skills.

Leadership is the art of inspiring others to willingly work to achieve a goal. That definition has three major terms:

1. Inspiring others.
2. Willingly work.
3. Achieve a goal.

You inspire others, by being a being a role model and a good example.

You can get people to willingly work, by showing them the goal, the plan and the benefits of achieving the goal.

You can achieve a goal, only by utilising all six qualities of management.

1. Goal setting.
2. Good communication.
3. Good planning.
4. Excellent conflict management.
5. Self-control.
6. Inspirational Leadership.

Leadership and Management Training Course

You can learn the above management qualities on our two-day Leadership and Management training course, which is currently run as an open course in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Gloucester. We also offer you the opportunity to run the course 'in-house' at your organisation. Please contact us to discuss your needs.

Leadership Training - The Effective Leader Manager

Leadership Training - The Effective Leader Manager

As the team leader or manager, you know that, on the technical level, you are very good. In your role as an effective and inspirational leader-manager, you recognise that there may be some gaps. Now you are searching for a method to help you to improve your skills as a team-leader and manager - click here to find out more!

Definition: leadership

In business, leadership is a skill. A leader sets a clear goal, inspires people, secures their willing effort, and shows the way through personal example. If any of these four acts is missing, true leadership is not taking place.

Article Summary

The best way to manage a team is simple: set clear goals, speak with clarity, plan and delegate tasks, tackle conflict early, master your own mind and lead by example; these six habits turn any group into a high performing unit.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Did You Know: Key Statistics

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years' experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

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Further Reading in Team Leadership

• What are the Key Skills and Knowledge for Team Leaders?
  Team leader skills drive results. Learn six essentials: technical know-how, goal focus, clear talk, smart planning, conflict control and a positive mind-set.
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• Best Way to Manage My Team
  Learn the best way to manage a team: master six skills-SMART goals, clear communication, delegation, conflict resolution, self-control and leadership.
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• How to Re-build Effective Teams
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• Six Leadership Qualities Required by Team Leaders
  Learn six leadership qualities that lift team leader skills: ownership, clear talk, collaboration, constructive feedback, appraisals and continuous improvement.
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• How can I develop a good team?
  Learn how to develop a good team by setting a shared goal, mixing diverse skills, driving cooperation and writing an intelligent plan for lasting success.
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