One of the trickiest, yet most important parts of being a manager is being responsible for your team and managing their relations. An efficient team leader will know how to handle different people and their personalities, as well as create a harmonious environment for all. No matter how much experience you have, there’s always room for improvement in your leadership skills.
However, not everyone knows where to start with their development. So, if you want to improve your managing skills and successfully deal with people in your team, check out these tips that might come in handy.
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Get to know your team
As a manager, your job is to work with different kinds of people. Therefore, one of the first steps of effective and efficient management is getting to know your team. Besides their roles and backgrounds, try to meet your team on a deeper more personal level. That will help you understand their way of thinking, as well as, make it easier for you to manage the relations.
To get to know your team, besides talking to them and observing their actions, you can also organize team bonding activities. An informal surrounding can help people show their true colors and create a stronger bond. Team bonding helps you create a more coherent team and manage individuals within it.
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Know how to delegate
Once you get to know your team members well, you’ll gain deeper insight into everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. This will help you delegate tasks and make the workflow as smooth as possible. However, things aren’t always that simple. For proper task delegation, full trust is needed. How can you achieve that?
Your team members should trust you enough to confide in their goals and expectations from their roles. Taking their goals and expectation into consideration shows how much you value and trust them. Similarly, to create a safe space for everyone, delegate even the hard and crucial tasks to demonstrate your trust in their abilities.
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Manage conflict
Even though getting to know each team member individually and personally is crucial for the work process, you need to take into consideration the way the entire team functions as a whole. You need to be aware of the team dynamics and how each team member functions within the team. However, even in the best teams conflicts are inevitable. It’s up to you as a manager to know when to intervene.
Many people don’t know that healthy and unhealthy conflicts exist. Healthy conflicts result in new knowledge and insight beneficial for the entire team. On the other hand, unhealthy conflicts may interrupt the workflow and create workplace tension. So, by encouraging healthy conflicts you’re on the right track to improve teamwork and collaboration.
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Organize support programs
As HR practices change yearly, following new trends is one of the most efficient ways of managing people relations. Since employees are stressed now more than ever, showing support and teaching them how to handle nerve-racking situations will result in a more harmonious workplace environment. So, consider implementing a workplace support program.
A workplace support program is conducted by psychologists or similar experts who know how to help your team deal with stress. They will teach your employees useful techniques of stress management that lessen the effects of stress on the workflow. Once the stress is minimized, the chances of unhealthy conflicts are decreasing. Also, by introducing such benefits for your team, you’ll ease the management process and build a happier and more satisfied crew.
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Improve communication
Every type of management relies on communication. To get your message across to your team, you need to be able to communicate with different kinds of people. Assertive communication is one of the best tools you can use in business, however, what are some of the best ways to apply assertive behavior?
Set healthy boundaries with your employees. After all, you are their manager. But that doesn’t mean that you should be distant. Build an adequate strategy that will include a friendly approach and exchange of needed information. If you’re unsure how to do so, look for internal communication examples that can help you create a strategy you and your team will enjoy.
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Give and ask for input
The key to harmonious workplace relations is communication. However, feedback is an integral part of one, yet many managers cease to provide their team with enough input. To build a force that functions well together, you need to provide your employees with input and ask for some yourself! How can that help?
By giving your team feedback information, they can correct their behavior and improve their performances. Similarly, when you ask for honest feedback, you may gain insight into practices you do that no longer suit your employees. On top of that, your team will feel heard and appreciated, which increases team trust and connectivity.
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Wrapping up
As you can see, managing people relations can be a thankful task. Even though different people and opinions exist, creating a coherent team is possible. On top of that, your differences are your advantages when it comes to projects, therefore use them as such! Treat your team how you like to be treated.
