Managing people is no doubt a difficult task, and challenges and problems are inevitable. But there’s a way to succeed as a leader, of course. Prof. VGT tells us what that is.
To understand leadership in a corporate context, we must first understand what team management is. Team management is not about motivating people to face their challenges and helping them solve the problems they face in the delivery of their work.
While managing a group of people, one should remember that everyone is different and must be dealt with accordingly. Factors like timing, place or situation should be used to make interaction with people more effective. As a manager or team leader, playing your role more effectively is possible only if you learn to identify problems and know the ways to address them. Experts have identified four broad areas in which most of the issues regarding managing people are centred. These are attitude, communication, concurrence of views and performance.
Problems related to attitude include certain employees needing extra attention, time and guidance as compared to others when it comes to doing their tasks. This might be because they are slow in the uptake or are new to the job. Some others might deliberately ignore the directions of the boss; others might not take their job seriously. Some others derive satisfaction in the reflected glory of others’ achievements and lack motivation to excel.
Subordinates might agree to everything you say because they fear any contradiction or disagreement can make you upset or angry.
– Prof. VGT
As a manager or team leader, your attitude is an important contributor to your success. As one progresses in one’s career, one learns more from relationships with people. The attitude with which we approach our job determines our success.Though some attitude problems may be easy to solve, others require time, tact and patience.
Communication problems can be a hindrance to managing efficiently. When subordinates are talking to you, they might agree to everything you say because they fear any contradiction or disagreement can make you upset or angry, and this might cause them to hide the facts from you or prevent them from giving their inputs to you.
If you are communicating with a subordinate, it may be like the typical manager: quick, to the point and instructional. It could be just giving orders or directions for a task. No reason for doing the tasks is given nor is any disagreement tolerated. Communication problems can also occur when the subordinates fail to communicate clearly with each other.
Communication these days is full of euphemisms; people may say something when they really mean something else. So subordinates who might pretend to agree with you could actually have a different view. This can be a hindrance to managers because they cannot understand what subordinates actually think.
One way to find out what a person thinks is to make them angry, then they will forget all euphemisms and communicate what they really feel, but you must be prepared to hear some unpleasant facts when you provoke a person. Solving communication problems means getting to the root of it and analyzing if it is an extension of some other cause.
A manager or team leader must not expect their subordinates to agree with them always. Disagreements are bound to be there and you will have to learn how to make the best use of them. There may be some who know a lot and express their opinions frankly, and most of the time they turn out to be right. There are others who do not want to disagree even when asked because they do not want to hurt others’ feelings or cause a controversy. Some others go about their work and give their opinions only when they are asked.Others like to disagree just for the sake of it. However, a majority of employees are willing to express their views, provided the environment is conducive and encouraging.
As a manager or team leader, you must identify those people in your team who get things done.
– Prof. VGT
One needs to know the right way to handle disagreements. You must realize that a person who disagrees adds value to the discussion and can give you a new insight into the issue. So, it is vital to create an environment that encourages disagreement but at the same time ensure that differences of opinion do not lead to conflict or distrust. You will have to skillfully handle disagreements and use them to enhance the process of decision-making.
As a manager or team leader, you must identify those people in your team who get things done. There are the doers; they take the initiative and inspire others to get things done. You must identify such people and place them in different teams so that efficiency improves.
Today, managers and team leaders have as much a stake in the business as its owners. The who is also an employee works with the primary motive of improving productivity. For this, they must get the best out of their team, and that is possible only with the right attitude.
