What is the most difficult job of a manager? … yes it is “managing people”
Managing people is one of the most valuable skills you need in any kind of job. You always interact with people in any office job. You probably had to manage people you work with, without being their manager sometime. In this article I am going to give you some advises on how to manage people effectively.
How can you learn to manage people effectively and making them work effectively with you or with your team?
First impression counts, there is no need to be friends to be able to work with different people. Being clear on each other’s role and responsibilities from the start is the first rule. This will help to avoid confusion that can become a negative perception later on – yes first impression counts.
Ask: “How are you?” , “Anything I can help with?”. people may have extra work issues that would explain why you are not getting the best work from them. Do not assume that everybody is open to ask for help when needed. Ask questions and make sure you support the individuals and the team.
Supporting environment, make sure you have periodic catch-up with your team to create a more supporting environment. Especially now in Covid-19 crisis and working from home, you need your team to stick together and support each other. We are not in the same office but we can use Zoom, Hangout, Slack or any other messaging and conferencing tool to keep the team talking to each other regularly.
Adapt your style, usually you don’t choose the people you work with. You will have to manage different characters, some easy and some more challenging. Everybody is different and will have different response to the same input. Understand your team and their personality, when managing people you need to adapt your style to that individual to get the best from them. It may take some time to get to know a person but it will make work easier and more enjoyable for you and the person.
Explain why, When asking for something done explain why you wan it done. You will get more ownership from the individual or team when you explain why you ask it. The team member will be more motivated when he feels part of the solution, and they may suggest a better solution to the one you asked for.
Continuous learning, mentor them to be better but remember that you always learn new things from your team members. Learn from them, do not close doors to improvements, suggestions from your team.
I hope these advises on how to manage people effectively will help you. Please add a comment or feedback on the article if you have any question. If you are interested in managing project you may be interested in this article, or if you are more interested in people management check our articles in Human category
To be continued…..
I am a problem solver, a communicator and a digital entrepreneur. I have more than 20 years experience in digital and advertising, I went through all the digital revolution / evolution, starting my career as a developer and ending up on the dark side as a Manager.
