We know the age-old axiom that states, ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. Whether in a nation or an organisation, a healthy, competitive, goal-oriented, and productive team can skyrocket growth and development. Needless to say, this team consists of people who bring something unique to the table. When handled correctly, these people can put huge efforts into taking the company forward, directly translating into significant ROIs and notable profits.
In a nutshell, effective handling of team members contributes considerably to a company’s success. This ability is commonly called people management skills. It deals with the way you manage your team members.
But what is people management? This management skill involves hiring, training, and leading the members to assist in achieving the company’s goals. As a manager, you must ensure they are always motivated. This, in turn, will help the overall company.
Are you looking forward to being promoted as a people manager? Or do you want to apply for a people management job post? Then, you must read this article to learn the eleven ways to become an effective leader.
1. Develop Emotional Intelligence
You must have noticed how your manager would try to suggest a solution without hurting anyone’s emotions. This is precisely called emotional intelligence. Check below for more details.
1.1. Definition and components of emotional intelligence
‘EI’ is the ability to handle your and your team members’ emotions. This ability is paramount for honing your people-handling skills. You can never be a good leader until you are empathetic towards your employees. The five components are – self-regulation, empathy, social skills, self-awareness, and motivation.
1.2. Strategies to improve self-awareness and empathy
Self-assessment is difficult but equally important. Here are some ways you can enhance your skills
- Conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself
- Be attentive to your emotions
- Be open to criticism and ask for feedback
- Practice meditation and mindfulness
- Listen actively without interrupting and judging
1.3. Importance of managing emotions in the workplace
Your display of emotions will have a significant impact on your members. If you are too emotionally sensitive and react negatively to inconsequential matters, your subordinates might be demotivated and vice versa.
2. Communicate Effectively
Another very fundamental manner to enhance your leadership and people management skills is communicating. However, communication refers to more than long monologues. Scroll down for more details.
2.1. Active listening and clear communication
Listening to your team members is a must. This is also part of proper communication. Engage more in conversations rather than being authoritative.
2.2. Adapting communication style to different personalities and situations
As a manager, you must be pretty flexible with your tone. Another way to hone your people management skills is to practice altering your tonality with the situation and individual.
2.3. Providing regular feedback and recognition
Words are compelling; hence, take steps to encourage and appreciate their efforts and achievements. Additionally, you must also provide time-to-time feedback for improvement.
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3. Foster Trust and Transparency
Building trust is essential for effective people management. Mutual trust and transparency are necessary, especially while working together to achieve the same mission.
3.1. Building a foundation of trust through honesty and consistency
The key to building a ground of trust is by being consistent and honest in your decisions and actions. For instance, they should treat every employee equally, retain patience even when something goes wrong, be truthful about things, etc.
3.2. Encouraging open communication and sharing information
Try to facilitate frequent meetings or outings for everyone to engage. This will help to foster conversations that will form the basis for sharing information.
3.3. Leading by example and demonstrating integrity
As a leader, you must set the right example. For instance, you can keep your promises, respect colleagues’ privacy, etc. Taking responsibility for your actions is also a way to demonstrate integrity.
4. Empower and Delegate
Trust your team members and their abilities. This is another tip to enhance your people management skills. If you are unsatisfied, give them proper feedback and help them improve. However, looking down upon them will neither help you, them, or the company.
4.1. Benefits of empowering team members
The team’s productivity is bound to spike if your team is empowered. This will lead to customer satisfaction, thus benefitting the entire company. Additionally, you will feel accomplished in the process.
4.2. Identifying strengths and delegating tasks accordingly
Learn the art of delegation. As a manager, you must know how to efficiently assign tasks to your team members. For this, first, learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your subordinates. This will enable you to delegate tasks that ensure a project’s success properly.
4.3. Providing necessary resources and support
You can only achieve efficient outcomes if the resources are adequate. Hence, as a people manager, you must ensure sufficient resources and support are provided to complete a project satisfactorily.
5. Encourage Collaboration and Teamwork
Encourage more teamwork so that there is a healthy relationship between them. This will also increase the level of creativity and will benefit the company in the long run. This is a very easy way to improve your people management skills.
5.1. Creating a collaborative work environment
This kind of work environment will become beneficial while working on a team project. This approach will help to reduce conflict between team members. Secondly, professional operations become smoother and more efficient.
5.2. Facilitating team-building activities and fostering relationships
The best way to encourage teamwork is by arranging team-building activities like group discussions, planning outings, celebrating birthdays, arranging other office events, etc.
5.3. Encouraging diverse perspectives and ideas
Teamwork will prove to be efficient during brainstorming sessions. With such an approach, you will get multiple ideas to choose from. Additionally, the various perspectives will also enable you to comprehend customer demand and mentality.
6. Resolve Conflicts Constructively
Your ability to effectively solve conflicts will gauge your people management skills to a certain extent. Hence, be very meticulous while you resolve conflicts.
6.1. Identifying the roots of conflicts and addressing them proactively
The first step here is first to find the source of the conflict. Additionally, be proactive and prompt to resolve them. It will speak of your efficiency as a leader.
6.2. Mediating disputes fairly and objectively
Unknowingly or knowingly, partiality can lead to a lot of internal issues. Hence, be highly careful about how you solve their disputes. Your decision in one incident will have multiple repercussions in the future.
6.3. Finding win-win solutions and promoting compromise
Your primary objective while proposing solutions is to safeguard both interests. Hence, you must devise them to build a win-win situation. Additionally, seize such opportunities to encourage compromise.
7. Provide Growth Opportunities
Your duty is not only to empower them. Instead, under your leadership, they must grow and move forward in their career. This is the best way to establish your people management skills. You must offer the necessary training and coaching to ensure the development of your team members.
7.1. Identifying individual career goals and aspirations
Conduct light sessions where your subordinates will speak of their dreams, goals, and chosen career paths. These will enable you to provide them with the appropriate grounds for enhancement.
7.2. Offering training, mentoring, and development programs
The most convenient way to conduct this is by providing them with appropriate training. Additionally, you can help them enrol in relevant programs for betterment. Moreover, you can also find mentors for them with an individual approach. This will help the company since more efficient employees will be built.
7.3. Supporting career progression and internal mobility
When you are a manager, you are responsible for your team’s performance. Additionally, you are also accountable for their career enhancement. Hence, always try to support their career progression. Moreover, you must support the movement of employees to new career opportunities within the company.
8. Manage Performance Effectively
Your team’s overall performance on a particular project will justify your people management skills. Hence, ensuring their efficient performance is crucial. Additionally, it will affect the company’s success in the long run.
8.1. Setting clear expectations and SMART goals
The first step is to fix proper and reasonable goals for them. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, etc. Never set unachievable expectations from them. Rather than working hard, most of them get demotivated, and others get overstressed. This hampers their work quality and productivity.
8.2. Monitoring progress and providing regular feedback
Delegation of tasks does not mean that you have no responsibility. Remember that everyone will hold you accountable if something goes wrong, not that team member. Hence, keep track of their work progress. Additionally, provide them with constructive criticism and feedback for the best results. However, remember to avoid micromanagement during monitoring. This will provide them with the right opportunity to grow.
8.3. Addressing performance issues promptly and constructively
Procrastination is the last thing you can even imagine. It sets a wrong example and questions your leadership and people management abilities. Instead, be proactive and address performance issues as early as possible. You must explain to them where they have gone wrong. You can also provide other additional feedback as necessary. This will help save both time and effort.
9. Lead with Empathy and Compassion
Most of us struggle to survive in one way or the other. Hence, generalising the challenges and problems of your team members is not justified. Rather, try to understand their issues and be empathetic towards them.
9.1. Understanding and considering individual circumstances
This is definitely another aspect of people management skills. Listen to their worries before suggesting a solution. Conduct a one-to-one session if possible, and then provide your constructive advice. You need to understand them so they can do the same when you are in need.
9.2. Offering support and resources during challenging times
If you find their troubles genuine and they are going through tough times, provide them with the necessary support. If possible, ask them how it will be convenient for them. This will help you to comprehend how to provide them with all the required resources.
9.3. Promoting work-life balance and well-being
Avoid promoting an unhealthy work culture. Rather, encourage them to maintain a healthy work life. Team members should understand that you are concerned about their well-being. For instance, motivate them to finish their work within the stipulated time and engage in various other activities.
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10. Embrace Diversity and Inclusion
Another fundamental way to enhance your people management skills is by breaking cultural barriers. As a leader, you need to initiate it first for others to follow. Members from different social, cultural, and religious backgrounds must not feel outcasted.
10.1. Fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment
It is essential to acknowledge the differences positively. You must respect their beliefs and culture to foster such a work environment. Additionally, you must understand the importance of their cultural customs and behave accordingly.
10.2. Addressing unconscious biases and promoting equity
Only your conscious efforts are not enough. Instead, you must set an example and encourage others to follow. You must take steps to promote equality, such as joining their celebrations.
10.3. Celebrating differences and leveraging diverse strengths
In an environment where multiple people from different backgrounds work together, it is essential to celebrate the differences. Additionally, including them in your celebration and taking an interest in theirs is necessary. You can opt to modify internal policies to leverage diverse strengths.
11. Continuously Learn and Adapt
Never say no to learning. Resistance to learning can hinder your process of adapting as well. Hence, always embrace gathering knowledge about new trends and practices. Additionally, try to learn about yourself and rectify yourself wherever necessary.
11.1. Staying updated with industry trends and best practices
The industry is continuously changing; hence, you must keep your team and your company updated with all the necessary trends and practices. This will make your company more competent.
11.2. Seeking feedback and learning from successes and failures
You will also go through successes and failures; hence, more than getting demotivated, learn from them to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Additionally, you must improve yourself from the criticism and feedback you receive.
11.3. Adapting leadership style to different situations and individuals
Your techniques of leading must be flexible. Always try to adapt your style according to the situations you encounter. Also, you must know how to alter your leadership style while dealing with different kinds of individuals.
Conclusion
It is easy to be a boss but challenging to be a good leader. Hence, you must possess proficient people management skills to achieve the latter. This will help you set an example, earn respect, and enhance your career graph. Here, we have discussed ‘what are people management skills’ and eleven strategies to improve them. We hope the information provided will help you fulfil your duties more efficiently.
FAQs on People Management Skills
Q1. How do you define people management?
A1. This is organising and leading a group to fulfil the company’s mission and vision. The job can be quite daunting and requires proper management and leadership skills.
Q2. How do we improve people management skills?
A2. There are several ways to hone your management abilities. However, the most important ones are proper communication, continuous learning, openness to feedback, constructive criticism, etc.
Q3. What is the importance of people management?
A3. A company’s success depends on how their employees will perform. Hence, people management is necessary to ensure everyone knows the company’s goals. Additionally, the manager must keep them motivated toward achieving that mission.
Q4. What should I avoid to ensure effective leadership?
A4. Try not to be partial while resolving conflicts. Never underestimate or distrust your employee’s abilities. Avoid improper delegation of tasks. Avoid engaging in micromanagement.
Q5. Why is it necessary to improve my people management skills?
A5. Your people management skills are key to becoming a good leader. It will help you perform better and enhance your career growth.
