Sound familiar?
Are your management team complaining that they’re sick & tired of ‘people problems’ alongside balancing their own workload?
Tips to help your managers engage their team & remain productive:
Get organised
Plan ahead & get consistent. Weekly 15 minute slots to ‘check-in’ on individuals in your team. What day is best? … Fridays! – what went well in the week, what is priority for the following week?
It engages teams so that they leave with a positive image to start the weekend with.
A weekly team meeting on Mondays is a must! Stick to an agenda, make it fun, get coffees, promote open communication and look at positives and possible difficulties for the following week/department pressures and promote a teamwork approach to meet deadlines.
Honesty
Are your managers asking q’s of their teams. Are your managers approachable? If they aren’t then teams are less likely to be honest and communicate with them if they are behind on a deadline, thus adding team/management pressure.
Time
Employees aren’t likely to feel appreciated if managers make minimal effort in meetings, constantly move 121’s or use the line “I’m too busy this week to meet with you.” Managing people isn’t hard, but building trust is! Managers must make time for their teams, ultimately without them they wouldn’t be able to fulfil their roles or targets.
Remember: managers are not counsellors and therefore if they feel uncomfortable holding certain types of meetings, are approached with sensitive topics or don’t feel equipped, then consider external HR support; however most managers can learn how to listen and respond. It just takes practice.
