By skyforbes 
But as I mentioned, managing a team can also be rewarding. Personally, I get a huge rush from helping people discover and maximise their strengths and this is one of the greatest rewards that I have taken from team management. One of the greatest difficulties I experienced was balancing the needs of my team with the needs of the organisation and this has prompted me to share my top tips for managing a team, with emphasis on both success and your own happiness.
Understand the motivations of your team members.
Because everyone is different. The first rule of managing a team is to understand that a one size fits all model simply doesn’t work. Each one of your team members will be driven by different things. I learned this quickly when creating incentives for my staff.
As the manager of a sales team, I put in place an incentive where employees would guess the number of lollies in a jar. Each sale of a specific type was eligible for a guess. The winner would take home the jar of lollies. The team was split. Half of my team members were excited about the prospect of winning this massive jar of lollies (a tangible reward that they could touch, feel and taste) while the other half of the team remained nonchalant. When I asked one of my employees what I could do to make the incentive more exciting, he replied, “Put five dollars in the jar. Then I will fight to win.” You see, some people are just driven by cold, hard cash.
Understand the learning styles of your team members.
Similarly to point 1, everyone has different learning styles and to get the best out of your employees, you need to work to their preferences. In an environment where most of the key learning is completed through an online course portal, it can be challenging to vary your method of teaching, especially when the formal course completion is mandatory. Where a learning method can’t be replaced, consider how it can be complemented – for example, could you also include some on-the-job training to reinforce the material that is covered in the online modules?
By considering your employees’ learning preferences, you will not only ensure that they are improving their knowledge, you are also showing that you are committed to their professional development. This creates buy-in and loyalty, particularly when employees have not experienced a tailored approach to learning in previous roles.
Establish a balance between achieving company goals and advocating for your employees.
As I hinted to at the beginning of this post, balance was the most difficult thing for me when managing a team. In my article on The Huffington Post, I explained that I am a people-focused introvert, which means that I have very loyal and protective tendencies. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing. I wanted my team to be successful, but I also didn’t want them to lose out in the process. This lead to a number of arguments with company Directors, particularly when it came to changing commission structures or employee conditions, but arguments in this sense can be quite healthy.
My greatest advice when establishing your own balance is to choose your battles. Work within the framework that you are given, to do the best for your team that you can. Advocating for your team builds trust and shows your employees that you are willing to back them. It also shows your employer that you are passionate about your work and that you are committed to delivering outcomes.
Lead from the front – demonstrate you can be trusted and are willing to get down and dirty in the trenches.
Leading from the front is something that, in hindsight, I could have improved on when I was managing a team. I focused on managing the people and convinced myself that I didn’t need the technical knowledge, but I can see now that pushing myself to learn more about products, services and systems would have only added to my influence.
In general terms though, what I mean by leading from the front, is showing your team that you can be trusted, by getting down and dirty in the trenches with them. Don’t expect your team members to work until 6pm if you are going to knock off at 4pm every day. Don’t expect your team members to attend after hours training or events if you aren’t going to show up with them. You see what I mean? It is all about proving that you aren’t “above” the tasks that need to be completed.
Be human – have a sense of humour, show that you have feelings and the ability to make human connections.
Hopefully, if you are a regular Pop Your Career reader, this goes without saying. A sense of humour and a little humility will go a long way in convincing a team to follow your lead. People connect with people and if you can show your team that you are human and have feelings, half the battle is already won.
I know that some of you may think that managers have to be serious and not get involved in joking around with the team, but I disagree wholeheartedly. By developing human relationships with your team members you are proving that you are approachable. Your employees need to feel comfortable with you, if they are ever going to come to you with queries or concerns.
Foster a joint purpose, direction or vision and consistently drive towards it with determination and confidence.
What are you working towards? Is it clear to your employees? In a sales environment the targets are usually very well set out, but in other workplaces, the goals can seem a little murky. If you want your team to work cohesively, one of the most important things for you to do is be ridiculously clear about what it is you want them to achieve. Then you need to convince them to work together to drive towards the common goal.
Some managers miss this step, because people are paid to do their jobs, so they shouldn’t need any more motivation than that. Right? Sure, but it depends on the type of team culture you are trying to foster. Do you want your employees to come to work because you pay them to or do you want them to come to work because they are excited about what you are working towards. Your choice.
Recognise your employee’s achievements and reward them.
This ties to my last point in a way, because some of you may believe that an employee’s pay cheque is reward enough for the work they have done. I live in a totally different camp though and believe that by recognising your employees’ achievements and by rewarding them for their work, they will be more engaged and will work harder towards your common goal.
What should you reward them with? I am glad you asked. Refer back to point 1 and consider what motivates them. Your budget doesn’t have to be high, but if your employee’s are motivated by cash then a small bonus will suffice. If your employees enjoy tangible rewards, a physical prize is a great idea. Other rewards might include longer lunch breaks, an early mark, a day in lieu, scratch cards, free lunch, gift cards, edible rewards, a week off from bin duty or something else entirely. The options are endless.
Provide specific, timely feedback.
As important as I believe it is to reward your employees, it is also important to provide them with feedback on their work. Feedback should always be very specific and timely.
By specific, I mean, tell your employee exactly what they have done that either deserves praise, or needs improvement. The more specific you are, the better chance you will have of getting through. Instead of “Thanks for all of your hard work.” try “Thanks for all of your hard work on the XYZ project. The report you prepared was very detailed and included the exact type of information we needed for the meeting”.
By timely, I mean, don’t wait three weeks to tell someone they did a good job. If you see one of your employees having an excellent conversation with a customer, tell them as soon as the customer leaves the store (or as soon as possible after). This way the behaviour is fresh in both of your minds.