8 Realistic Ways to Become a Better Team Manager
Being a good team manager isn`t an easy task. Even if you`re not a leader by nature but you need to arrange people in a nice way, there are some useful hints at how to become a great team manager. Managing is all about being responsible for the success of the team and many people are afraid of these huge responsibilities. If you`re one of them, take a look at the tips on how to develop your leadership skills and become a great team manager…
1. Set a goal
You`re not a manager if you don`t have a goal. When you don`t have any plan, you don`t know what you want and when you don`t know what you want, you can`t explain your team what they should do. Spend a day searching and thinking of all the possible ways to contribute to the company’s overall success and let your team know about them. You`ll see how much higher the results of team`s work will be then.
2. Make it easy to talk to you
It’s tempting to be a strict team manager, but it’s not good for your company. Stay positive and show that you`re ready to listen to any question they have. Try to be peaceful and polite. If someone comes to you in a bad moment, ask if their question can wait a bit. Create an impression of an approachable calm and peaceful manager and your team won’t spend hours gossiping about terrible manager and his/her pointless tasks.
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3. Create a team spirit
Building an unshakable team spirit is tricky. You might spend a lot of time and effort to teach your team to work together and help each other. As a team manager, you should offer your help too. Giving tasks is easier than accomplishing them so your team members shouldn`t feel like they work on their own.
4. Ignore your ego at work
Just because you are a team manager doesn’t mean you`re somehow better than the rest of the team. Don’t let your own ego interfere with your work. Take care of your team`s success because you`re responsible for it. Showing your superiority isn`t the part of your duties so focus on your tasks and ignore your personal ego. You may be wrong at times, like all other people, thus the fact that you`re a manager doesn`t make you a god.
5. Be interested in their lives
I don’t mean asking them about their dates or marriage problems. If you know that one of your team members has some health issues, for instance, find out how you can help them. Do it sincerely and you will win their respect and obedience. You can also share some information about yourself to show that you are as ordinary as they are.
6. Be a role model
When your boss comes late to work and go home earlier while you work all day long without a minute break, it’s so frustrating that you have no desire to work at all. It’s all about unfairness. Do you think your team members want you to behave like this? If you want to be a successful manager, then become a strong role model for the staff. Work hard every day and your team will do the same.
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7. Appreciate their success
If one of your team members did a great job, tell them about it. Don’t take their hard work for granted. This way, the others will see that their work will be appreciated as well, if they do a good job. You don’t have to shower them with compliments though. Constructive criticism is also needed to motivate your team to work better.
8. Provide your team members with a career path
Your team members can work a lot harder when you provide them with a career path. Sure, you can’t promise a promotion to everyone, but they will at least know that one of them can get that promotion. People do their best only when they`re interested in the final result of the task. As a manager, your task is to help them improve their career paths. Find time to hold individual meetings once a month to show your team that you are interested in their promotion.
As a team manager, you should never stop developing your leadership skills. Don’t be too proud and strict. Stay positive, polite and inspire your team members to reach success at work. Appreciate their work, and don’t laugh at their mistakes. Remember the first time you started working for this company – you were not a professional worker, I bet. And you still make mistakes. Being a better team manager comes with being a better person so don’t stop improving yourself. Are you a great team manager?
