Kimberly GrimmsA Forbes article reported that Bloomberg found 8 in 10 new entrepreneurs don’t succeed in their endeavors in the initial 18 months of their career. 80% of these entrepreneurs are driven to their careers’ dead end in the long run.
Such figures just go to show that team management is an integral part of any organization. You’re ultimately setting up your business for disaster if you’re not enforcing a well-coordinated team management plan.
So, how do you know you’re on the right track when managing your team? You may find it challenging to actually get a clear overview of how your team is measuring up to success. Not to worry, as patiently working through studying what works and what doesn’t for your business will eventually produce helpful results.
Micromanaging Your Team
Managing a team can be like content marketing, in the sense that you’ll need to take it apart and study it piece by piece using psychoanalytic approach. One of the most common mistakes of team managers is generalizing the personalities, working and learning styles of their employees. As a result, managers tend to closely manage their employees uniformly.
Micromanaging does not work in this fast-paced, client driven industry. Utilize the psychoanalytic approach in your team management. After doing this, provide a compartmentalized guide that you deem fits on what needs to get done. Allow each member of your team to independently work through the goals within the plan. Inform your team members it’s up to them as to how to achieve the target goals. Reassure them that they can apply their own learning and working styles accordingly, as long as they produce positive outputs.
Independent managing gets your work done fast, which in turn provides quicker desired end results to your clients.
Trusting Your Instincts
As a team manager, you may likely form your own vision on how your client will respond to your services. The problem is, doing this usually causes your team efforts more harm than good. Remember, you’re running your business not for anybody else, but for your clients. Keeping this in mind, work on your goal of getting to know your clients.
Get to know your clients’ tastes and preferences. Take the time in guiding your team members to put efforts in getting to know your clients, too. If you can, have your entire team talk to your clients from time to time. Feel free to do research and observations on similar target markets to get a clearer idea of the marketing strategies that will click with your clients.
Not Committing Wholeheartedly
Don’t forget your team is your business. This means that even if a single member is not functioning efficiently with the entire team, it can spell out doom for your organization. It is quite common to encounter people who may not be as committed as you are in running your business. These people are likely just out there to pursue short-term goals. They may not have the desire to put their heart and soul to the job, just like the rest of your team members do.
To avoid encountering such people, reinforce strategic plan when hiring potential team members. Reinforce a structured recruitment criterion you may refer to during the entire recruitment process. Carefully study the covert long-term goals of the people you’ll short-list for recruitment. Filter candidates whom you suspect don’t have long-term plans to work with your team. This will save you from wasting your time working with people who are not on the same boat as you are.
Making Compensation The Prime Motivator
Photo by gratisography.com, Flickr
Lenient monetary benefit distribution doesn’t work in conjunction with effective strategies for team management in the long run. True, higher compensation may motivate your team members to work harder and more efficiently; but this immediate gratification is likely only going to last within a certain period of time. Once the satisfaction from the raise fades away, team members have the tendency to waive commitment on their responsibilities.
There’s nothing wrong with boosting your subordinates’ motivation by giving a higher compensation. But as much as possible, don’t overdo this. Don’t be impulsive when making a decision to give higher salary. Give your subordinate a raise after careful evaluation of his work progress within a specified period of time. Thereafter, make sure your subordinate has mastered the team management practices. Likewise, ensure he has proven his desire to commit to these practices.
Gently remind your subordinate a raise may easily be taken away from him, if he starts to lax in his job performance. This reminder will serve as the ultimate motivator for your subordinate to not take things for granted after a raise has been given.
A Stubbornly Perfectionist Attitude
If you’re guiding your business based on a perfectionist attitude, you may want to re-evaluate the tactic you have in mind for success. If you’re a perfectionist, you’ll find yourself constantly worrying about taking risks in making important decisions for your team. As a result, nothing ever gets done for your clients. Nurturing a belief that perfectionism equals to success is a false belief.
As Rhondalynn Korolak puts it in her article in The Pulse, business owners who succeed in the industry strictly adhere to the 80/20 policy. Successful business owners invest 80% of their time and energy on the remaining 20% pertinent work outputs.
Don’t be afraid to announce your team’s projects on social media. Take the risk of letting the world know about your management efforts. Don’t be embarrassed if your efforts fail. Remember, in every entrepreneurs’ success lies a possible initial failure. If you fail, move on and learn from your mistakes in order to achieve success.
Nurturing Financials Dread
The success of your business lies on figures. Of course, numbers will always present reality. Mastering the interpretation of your business condition in the process saves you from incurring wasted time, money and efforts. If you’re well aware and stays updated on the key performance indicators of your business, you’ll be alerted on which areas need improvement to lure in cash flow. Breakeven point, productivity ratios, inventory turns, and gross profit margins all contribute in determining your organization’s path.
Team management success does not happen overnight. You need to persevere in order to reap the fruits of your labor in the long run. Don’t hesitate to implement a unique strategy if you find yourself struggling to achieve success. Be open-minded about the endless ways you may take your business for optimal success.
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