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People Management

Build Better Management Skills

Leadership can be lonely. You’re in a challenging and complex role if you are a supervisor, manager or other workplace leader. Your role includes motivating team members, assessing their performance and helping them improve. You assist them in navigating workplace changes, and you strive to give them opportunities for professional growth. You also need to manage the many demands on your time.

Keep in mind that—despite your many challenges—tools are available to help you make the most of your leadership position. This issue of Your Source offers tips on:

  • How to get more control over your time
  • How to support your team while managing workplace changes
  • How to better motivate and reward your team

It’s important to remember the full range of management tools available through your program. On your program’s website (see link below; select the “Managers” menu), you can access a wealth of material that supports your growth as a manager. The tools can help you improve your people management skills. You can learn how to deal with troubled team members and refer them to your program for help. You also can become more skilled at resolving workplace conflicts, learn how federal regulations affect your workplace, and much more.

So whether you need information on a specific topic or want to build your overall management skills, your program offers resources to help you succeed.

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Log on to access helpful resources in the Spotlight section.

Leadership Can Be Learned

Are all good leaders born that way? Not necessarily. A number of techniques are available to anyone who wants to lead others in accomplishing an organizational goal.

Give team members control over their work. Team members take more interest and have more pride when they determine work procedures, prioritize, schedule, communicate with customers and vendors, and identify the need for changes. Instead of closely managing every process, try giving feedback and help at checkpoints along the way.

Show employees how their work is meaningful. Boost your team members’ business acumen by encouraging them to see the big picture. Show them how their roles and contributions affect the organization’s financials. Ask for their ideas on how to improve the organization.

Promote personal growth on your team. Provide opportunities for training. Change individuals’ jobs or rotate tasks so people can learn more skills. Let your team members work with others whose roles require advanced skills. Assign people to projects outside their job descriptions.

Reward teamwork, not individual competition. When rewards are based only on competition—and only a few people can “win”—it won’t help overall morale. Instead, make sure rewards are tied precisely to the work behavior you’re trying to motivate. Instead of having people compete against each other, try having them strive to achieve individual or team goals. Then reward all who succeed.

Stay positive despite challenges. Even when situations make it hard to stay positive, try to evolve your mindset by focusing on solutions rather than problems. Maintain a can-do attitude and you are likely to attract people who will support you in achieving your goals.

Good leaders believe every team member matters. Even when the economy is tough and personnel resources are stretched, good leaders try to maintain a work environment that makes everyone feel important.