Are you looking to be a better manager? The business world is changing as we know it right now due to the pandemic, which is creating all kinds of unique and new challenges for managers. While this can be daunting, you will find that it is also an excellent opportunity to improve and become a better leader. During times of change, great leaders are needed to help their teams through these periods, and many tips should help you achieve this.
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Read on for a few tips for becoming a better manager in the new normal.
Provide Flexible Working
First, you need to offer flexibility. For many people, working from home has been a dream and something that has greatly improved their work-life balance.
Some have missed the office and find that they do their best work in the office. Offering flexibility allows people to find their best way of working and shows that you trust your team.
Provide High-Quality Remote Tools
When you have staff working remotely, it is vital that you provide high-quality remote tools that can overcome the challenges of remote work.
Communication and collaboration can be challenging, but when you are using cloud services, screen-sharing software, and group chat platforms, it becomes much easier. It will help everyone to stay on the same page no matter where they are working.
Check-In and Make Yourself Available
These are challenging times, and everyone has been impacted by COVID-19 in one way or another. There are serious concerns over mental health in the months and years to come, so as a manager, you need to do all that you can to support your staff. This is why it is important to check in regularly and make yourself available.
As a manager, you need to do all you can to look after your team, and offering support is key.
Find Ways To Unite Your Team
Many people are struggling when it comes to isolation due to remote work. This is why it is important to find ways to unite your team, whether with virtual hangouts or organizing social events. A good manager will find ways to bring their team together and encourage strong bonds, which is important for employee well-being.
Encourage Idea Sharing
As a manager, you should always encourage your team to come forward with ideas and involve them in the decision-making process. This is particularly true right now when so much of life and business is changing and new opportunities are arising.
This is helpful for bringing new ideas and viewpoints to the table, but it is also helpful for encouraging employee engagement and will help your team feel like valued members of the team.
Provide Positive Feedback
Positive feedback is important for boosting morale, creating stronger relationships, and helping staff to know that they are on the right track. You also need to make sure that you are offering positive feedback to your remote staff, as it can be easy to feel disconnected when working from home.
Thanking staff for their hard work will help them to feel valued and will keep their motivation levels high.
Seek Feedback
Feedback goes both ways, and the best managers are those that seek feedback from their team and work to improve on their weaknesses. It is not always easy to seek feedback on your own performance, but this is the best way to improve, and you might be able to identify weaknesses that you did not know you had. Additionally, this will show that you value self-improvement and should encourage your team to develop their abilities.
Take An MSc Management & Analytics Course
One of the best ways to improve your abilities as a manager and to prepare for the new normal is with an MSc management and analytics course. This course will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to utilize big data and make smarter strategic decisions.
Data will play an even greater role in business moving forward so that organizations can reduce risk and improve their decision-making, so a course like this will be hugely valuable for managers moving forward.
Offer Training & Development Opportunities
Following on from this, you should always offer staff training and career development opportunities to your team. You want to keep hold of your top performers, and the top performers will be the ones that have aspirations to improve and develop their careers. You can keep them happy by allowing them to do this within your business, plus it will also allow you to develop your workforce and promote from within.
You should take the time to know the goals of each team member and then find ways to help them to achieve these within your business.
Play To People’s Strengths
As a manager, it is important that you are aware of and play to the strengths of each individual team member. Not only does this help you to get the most out of your team, but it also helps them to feel an important part of the team and secure in their role. When many people have concerns over job security, playing to people’s strengths can give them a win and help them feel safe in their job.
Create A Positive Workplace Environment
When staff comes into the office, you need to create a supportive and positive work environment for them. This will include upgrading the office furniture, maximizing natural light, office plants, a comfortable break room, and tasteful decor. This should help to lift morale, improve performance and create an enjoyable atmosphere in the workplace that everyone can enjoy.
These are a few tips that should help you be a better manager in the new normal and hopefully help your staff adjust during this period of change.