Top Ten Management Tips
Leadership and Management are often confused with overlapping definitions. This is compounded, as most of us need to do both all of the time. For our purposes we define the two accordingly:
Leadership: The art of creating (and then maintaining) a successful, unifying theme which resonates so strongly with individuals that they are drawn irresistibly to contribute willingly to the best of their abilities towards the fulfilment of a common purpose.
Click here to see “Top Ten Leadership Tips”.
Management: The art of appreciating each employee’s individuality and using this understanding to help them align their own personal motivations with that of the organisation whilst ensuring that every barrier to performance is removed and equally every aid within reason is provided.
Both have the objective of maximising organisational performance; one through a focus on global factors, such as strategy and culture and the other through a focus on the individual.
Top Ten Management Tips
- Does someone at work understand what I want from work?
In the same way that it is essential for each individual to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, it is also essential that every Manager has a clear understanding of what each employee expects from the organisation. This can be best done through a “Personal Contract” detailing these two, reviewed at least annually.
- Does each individual have a clear “Line of Sight”?
Each individual needs to understand not only what is expected of them, but why it is expected. How does their work contribute to the overall success of the organisation? It is the role of the Manager to bring this line of sight in to sharp focus for every employee.
- Does each Individual feel like their opinions count?
We all need to feel listened to. This is especially the case in organisations, where there is at least some degree of hierarchy. Subordinates need to feel that their observations and views are taken seriously by their seniors; they are, after all, closer to the “coal face” than their Managers.
- Are you fully staffed?
It is amazing how many teams within both large and small organisations run permanently understaffed. These teams are coping with several members of the team missing and are constantly recruiting for a number of positions. It is vital to be constantly prioritising attracting talent and to recruit effectively when you need to.
Click here to see “How to Attract Talent”.
- Is Email out of control?
Increasingly, we are all complaining that we are drowning in an ocean of relentless emails. Emails can force us to be reactive and to work to a plethora of others people’s agendas. They can detract from the individual focussing on getting the right things right. It is unrealistic to expect every employee to manage this bombardment effectively. There are no quick solutions, but organisations can and should take more responsibility in providing advice, support and ground rules form managing emails effectively.
Click here to see “Twenty Practical Steps to Bring Email Under Control”.
- Is each role within your organisation sustainable?
Since Lehman’s collapsed, we are all working harder, often for less reward. Technology means that we are all contactable far more of the time and most of us have a far broader remit to our role than ever before. Most employees have voluntarily signed up to working harder, longer and across a broader remit, which is great, but bear in mind that it has been six years since Lehman Brothers collapsed! Employees will be losing effectiveness if they are continually overstretching on all fronts.
- Are your employees in the right role for them?
The right role is one that gives them the opportunity to do what they do best every day. One where from time to time, they find themselves losing track of time because they are so absorbed and engaged in what they are doing. This “Flow” is a vital component of a being motivated and having a sense of wellbeing.
- Do you employees receive regular and appropriate recognition or praise for good work?
We all need constructive criticism to improve and we all need positive feedback to sustain our self-confidence and sense of self-worth. Often organisations focus on the errors, weaknesses and training needs of an individual in a well-intended attempt to improve them. However this needs to be balanced with feedback. Praise needs to be genuine and feedback needs to be personal. Not just a praise sandwich where it is obvious to the employee that good news is only there to prepare them for bad news.
Don’t rely on bonuses alone. Each individual will value different forms of recognition from a public pat on the back, to a bottle of wine, to winners’ away-days. Bear in mind that Incentive schemes reward the successful, but they rarely incentivise more productive behaviour.
- Is there someone at work who encourages and cares about each individual’s development?
Again, research has shown that it really makes a difference to performance if there is someone who is taking a longer term view of employee’s development and, importantly, that they genuinely care about the growth of not just the organisation but the individual too. Getting the right personality type in these Talent Management roles, and/or getting the right culture to pervade management thinking is a key component to motivated staff.
- Does your organisation have a culture of setting SMART Goals?
If so, beware! Most Goals set in organisations fail. This is because Goals are set too quickly, and often are imposed by management without being embraced by employees.
Company Goals should be meaningful and should be tied in to the Mission (Why you exist) and the Vision (Where you want to be) of the Company. The job of management is to marry these Goals with the motivations and desires of each employee.
Click here to see ”How to Set Goals that Actually Work”
and here to see “SMART Explained & When to Use it”.
Executive Coaching will help improve your management skills. These days, most top performers in business work with a coach.
If you would like to invest in yourself and the value of your business then call me on 07730 700258 to arrange a free introductory Coaching session.