Managing a team in this new technological age can be challenging. You have team members that come from different backgrounds, like using different collaboration tools, and sometimes even speak different languages.
Nowadays, team leaders are often presented with the task of managing remote teams that are dispersed around the world. Whether it’s a team that is located in the same office or a one that is remote, team leaders need to adopt a few strategies if they want each team member to be fully motivated and engaged.
The benefits of effectively managing a team are multiple. From employee satisfaction and retention to increased competitiveness, any modern leader must collaborate with their team in order to accomplish the projected goals.
So how can you be a great team leader who displays authority, but at the same time is friendly and respected by the team? Here are a few of our recommended tips.
Hold Essential Meetings but Skip the Unnecessary
Meetings are a great reminder that you’re a part of something great. You belong to a group of people, your voice is heard, and together you have a shared purpose. Meetings can be inspiring and energizing, motivational, and informative.
The most common types of meetings include:
- Onboarding meetings
- Team building meetings
- Status update meetings
- Decision-making meetings
- Feedback meetings
- Brainstorming meetings
- Budget meetings
- Innovation meetings
As a team leader, you have the responsibility to choose the most important meetings and rule out the unnecessary. It’s not recommended to overwhelm your employees with a string of meetings that don’t benefit anyone. According to a recent report, the statistics showed that:
- 47% of employees think meetings waste time
- 15% of employee’s time is spent in meetings
- 67% of meetings are considered a failure
Most leaders consider onboarding meetings, brainstorming meetings, feedback meetings, and status update meetings to be most effective. By holding the most essential meetings, you’ll be able to cultivate transparency, build trust, and allow your team to be more effective.
Encourage Open Communication
The secret ingredient in any successful organization? Open and honest communication! When you encourage your employees to be honest and speak up, you’ll create a team that’s united and focused on meeting deadlines and overcoming challenges.
But how can you create an environment of open communication? Follow these tips:
- Make it safe for the team members to speak openly. They shouldn’t be afraid to state their opinion. Encourage them to communicate regularly and honestly what’s on their mind.
- Give options. Some people are not comfortable with sharing their ideas and stating their opinion in front of a large audience. For this reason, initiate more one-on-one, casual conversations so that your employees have different ways to express themselves.
- Don’t wait for them to come to you. Instead of waiting for the employees to speak to you, you should go out and ask them yourself. Take them out to lunch individually and ask for feedback. Give them a call one-on-one and ask for their honest opinion.
- Make it a routine. You should try to make speaking up part of a routine. At the end of each meeting, set aside a few minutes to ask if there are any issues. Once everyone speaks up, the next step should be coming up with a plan on how to deal with these challenges together.
Use Collaboration Tools and Software
Collaboration tools make teamwork efficient and delightful. They can help managers and teams communicate, share ideas, manage change, save time, and remain effective.
A recent study shows that in 2018, millions of teams around the world are using collaboration tools like Slack and Asana to do work. Some tools let you discuss everything, from rocket-ideas to small talk. Others, help you with project management of tasks.
These collaboration tools especially come in handy when you’re managing remote teams who work in different locations and different hours. With their help, you can avoid poor planning, having unclear objectives, and missing important updates.
Good collaboration software will:
- Enhance communication
- Organize your work in one place
- Help you deliver projects on time
- Encourage open communication and sharing of ideas
- Keep everyone informed.
- Let you share files.
- Let you schedule projects and tasks.
- Allow you to communicate seamlessly.
Define a Code of Conduct
A code of conduct can provide the basic ground-rules that guide team members’ behavior. This can be a great idea for building trust and respect between team members. A good code of conduct should contain a common set of norms and expectations that an organization considers significant and believes are fundamental to success.
The code of conduct can encourage:
- A friendly team environment.
- Creating a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities.
- Everyone on the team to be considerate of others.
- A respectful treatment of coworkers.
- Avoidance of discriminatory jokes and language.
Reward Accomplishments
Rewarding accomplishments are one method of motivating employees to stay engaged and productive. By rewarding your employees, you’re also rewarding your business. A simple “Great Job” or “You’re a great employee” can have a tremendous impact on your employee’s motivation levels.
There are many tools available that can help you show gratitude. Tools like HeyTaco are a fun way to make employees feel appreciated and as they belong to the team. They can spark conversations, build stronger relationships, and let your employees know you really care.
The key to a successful organization in which employees thrive is to:
- Praise their good achievements.
- Saying thank you.
- Making them feel valued.
- Offer them chances for growth.
- Infuse more positivity into their lives.
- Motivate them to be better versions of themselves.
Final Word
If you want to grow to become an effective leader of your team, you need to develop a new set of skills and make use of new tools and techniques. Adopting these strategies will help you organize, motivating, engage, and inspire your team.
To conclude, every successful organization in which employees thrive has a leader who:
- Holds essential meetings but avoids the unnecessary.
- Encourages open communication.
- Uses collaboration tools and software.
- Defines a code of conduct.
- Rewards accomplishments.
Do you have anything to add to the list? Please let us know in the comments below!
