How To Improve Team Management Skills And Team Cohesion
Team management is one of the most difficult functions that every leader has to perform. The fact is that it is impossible to find an individual approach to all employees because there is simply not enough time for this. That is why managers should adhere to the most versatile management style that will provide a comfortable environment for the majority of subordinates. Learn how to improve your team management skills in this article. Also here you will find effective ways to increase its cohesion. Useful information was shared by the Lifehack edition.
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How to improve Team Management skills
Successful entrepreneur and millionaire David Carpenter shared these tips. Use them to improve your management skills.
Set specific goals for your team.
Better yet, write them down on a piece of paper and post them prominently in your office. But keep in mind that “we are going to make the world’s best mobile applications and make a lot of money from it” is not the goal. The wording should be as specific as possible. For example, “Developers need to speed up page loads by 10%, and marketers need to develop a strategy to increase user base by 20%” is a good example of setting a goal for the team. David Carpenter, based on his own experience, says that setting each specific goal correctly leads to a 10 percent increase in profits.
Identify steps that will help you achieve your goal
Setting a goal is only half the battle, as you still have to find the right steps to achieve it. For example, if your goal is to increase customer loyalty, then the steps to achieve that goal may be to increase the speed of delivery and reduce its cost. Of course, it’s worth involving your team in finding the best moves.
Find competent employees
Perhaps the main and most difficult task of a leader is to form a team that is truly capable of fulfilling the set goals. But that doesn’t mean you should only hire experienced professionals. Firstly, finding such employees is a great success, and secondly, you should strive to ensure that subordinates are constantly developing. You can hire a student and make him a high-quality specialist. If you manage to build a professional and cohesive team, then all you have to do is set goals and get out of their way.
Meet with your employees regularly – Team Management
Carpenter believes that the essence of the art of Team Management is that the leader must notice problems even before they lead to serious consequences. Of course, for this, you need to talk a lot with subordinates in order to be aware of all the difficulties they have encountered or may face in the future. For example, the reason for the late delivery of goods may be hidden in the too slow operation of the warehouse. And only in conversation with the warehouse manager can you establish that there are not enough employees. Sometimes it takes real investigations to find the root cause of a problem.
Respond to employee mistakes correctly
Even your best employee will someday make a serious mistake that will lead to financial or reputational losses for the company. This is indeed inevitable, so you must be prepared to respond appropriately to the situation. It is worth starting a conversation with an explanation, the employee is so valuable to the company. Highlight his recent accomplishments, then go directly to the unpleasant topic. Consider the problem together and identify steps that will prevent similar errors in the future. It is worth ending the conversation with what it began with – praise and a positive assessment of previous achievements. Carpenter calls this the “sandwich method.”
Admit your mistakes
People tend to make mistakes, so you can be sure that someday it will be your turn to apologize. And you should definitely do this because, in fact, the leader is also a member of the team, from whose actions everyone else can suffer. If you do not admit your own mistakes to the team, then do not expect anything like this from subordinates. In this regard, all employees of the company are absolutely equal.
Look for employees who can compensate for your weaknesses.
For example, if you are not very strong at long-term profit forecasting, then your team should have a person who is better at this business than you. There is nothing wrong with delegating some of your responsibilities to subordinates. This will not stop you from being a qualified leader. On the contrary, you can learn a lot from your subordinate. In addition, Carpenter recommends not rushing to recruitment. If this does not critically affect the business of the company, then the vacancy may remain open for several months. There is no point in hiring someone you fire throughout the year.
Maintain a positive attitude – Team Management
In TeaCarpenter believes that the best leader is the person who can get the team to work harder without raising his voice or even wiping his smile off his face. In fact, there is nothing difficult about it. You just have to build good friendships with most of your subordinates.
Encourage employees
Many managers believe that a significant proportion of their subordinates are outright loafers. But, firstly, in most cases, this is not the case, and secondly, you yourself hire employees and set tasks for them. If a part of the team gets money in vain, then the leader is solely to blame. Those employees who work hard on projects need to be encouraged. This can be either a cash bonus or an additional time off. In addition, Carpenter believes that a good leader must include the word “thank you” in his vocabulary.
How to build a team
The effectiveness of a team’s work directly depends on its cohesion. This is the second most important factor, after the professional qualities of each individual employee. Here are some effective ways to build a more cohesive team
Compliments
All participants glue A4 sheets of paper to their backs and begin a friendly conversation on any topic. Then each person approaches all colleagues and writes compliments or some pleasant wishes on their backs. In the end, the participants can try to guess who is the author of the warm words.
Common features
Participants sit on chairs opposite each other and talk for 1-2 minutes. The goal is to find several common features that unite the interlocutors. Then the employees switch in pairs and do the same with Asset Management.
Line
The Line Game is a great way to warm up in the morning or afternoon. The supervisor reads out a list of factors, depending on which employees should line up in the correct order. For example, it can be age, height, or any other parameter. By the way, you can arrange a small competition by dividing the participants into 2 teams.
Facts- Team management
Each participant fills out a sheet of paper with any numbers and drawings that are important in his life. For example, it can be some kind of encrypted facts from the biography. Then the rest of the participants should try to solve these puzzles.
3 truths and 1 lie
Each participant in turn tells 4 facts about himself, one of which is fictional. The rest should try to guess where the lie is hiding. Each participant can ask one additional question.
What is my name?
Each participant sticks a small sticker to their forehead with the name of a celebrity. The challenge is to understand what name is written on the forehead. To do this, you need to ask questions to other participants, to which you can only answer “yes/no”.
Coins
Place a few coins in an opaque jar. Please note that no coin should be older than the youngest employee. Participants then take turns taking out coins, looking at the year they were issued, and talking about events that happened in their lives around that time.
Perfect square
Divide the participants into groups of several and give them the pieces of rope tied at the end. Then ask the teams to blindfold and form a perfect square from the rope. This is much more complicated than it seems at first glance. Participants will have to learn how to coordinate their actions.
Node
Ask participants to stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle. Then they should extend their arms and place them on the shoulders of the other participants. This will lead to the fact that they are literally confused. To free yourself, you have to learn to coordinate actions.
Minefield
Scatter any objects on the floor that make a sound when stepped on. For example, you can use dog toys. The task of the participants is to overcome this minefield blindfolded, guided by the hints of colleagues.
Reverse charades
Instead of one person doing charades for the group, it should be done by the group for one participant. This is a great exercise that makes you work together.
Electric fence
Simulate an electric fence with a string stretched between the chairs at about waist level. The participant’s goal is to complete this blindfold maze without touching the rope. The rest should help him with tips.
Desert island
Prepare a list of items for the participants and ask them to choose a total of 5 things that they would take to a desert island. This will force team members to listen to each other, which is very important for teamwork.
Business plan- Team management
The participants are divided into two groups. The first must develop a business plan in a strictly limited time, and the second acts as an investor. The goal is to convince colleagues that the idea is worth the investment.
Marketing
This exercise has a lot in common with the previous one, but it develops completely different skills. The first group gets a random item and quickly creates a strategy to advance it. Other participants act as potential buyers.
Quest room
Going to the quest room together is a great idea, as all participants will have to work together on solving various puzzles. Today, such entertainment can be found even in small towns.
Development of new exercises
Divide the participants into groups and ask them to come up with a completely new exercise for their colleagues. Then test the proposed methodologies and select the winners.
Theatrical production
Fill a large bag with completely random items and ask the team captains to choose 5 items each. Teams must then prepare small theatrical performances in a limited amount of time using random items as props.
Puzzles
Divide the participants into several groups and invite them to put the puzzle together as quickly as possible. The bottom line is that you must first replace a few parts and give them to another team. To win, the groups will have to negotiate with each other.
To-do list
Create a to-do list for participants to complete throughout the day. About half of the tasks should be impossible alone. This will force the participants to form groups and work in teams.
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