Lean Tip #2776 - Focus on Alignment.
A key part of managing your team is to ensure
that they understand how their jobs and actions directly align to business
goals. Knowing how and why what they do matters to the company as a whole helps
to create a sense of shared responsibility, and can improve employee engagement
in significant ways. Transparency with your team about goals also helps workers
understand that targets are not arbitrarily chosen.
Lean Tip #2777 - Manage by Trust, Not by Fear
A healthy workplace is one where the key energy
is trust, while where fear predominates is a fear-based workplace. You’ll see
employees run away from a place that is managed by fear. Where managers use the
power of their position to control their team. Management by Fear is Simply Not
a Successful Strategy in Business. You do not have to be such kind of manager.
Because no business can afford to lose a team member, so let it be the trust
that keeps the team together and not fear.
Lean Tip #2778 - Empower Teams and Do Not
Micromanage
What does empower mean? Empowerment is exactly
defined as the process to enable an individual to behave, act, and control
activities in an independent way. If you are managing an un-empowered
workforce, you’re probably a bad manager. Likewise, managers seem to do a
blunder by micromanaging. Google’s manager research revealed that good managers
empower their teams by giving them opportunities to grow. Micromanagement is one quality that
frustrates employees. So, focus on giving the right balance of freedom and advice
to your team.
Lean Tip #2779 – Spread Positivity
You’d never realize it, but the psyche of your
employees is what you can change—change the overall working environment. Though
many of you may not consider it a part of the project manager role, when you
play you’ll see the difference. It’s true that whatever vibe you walk in with,
your people will pick it up. So, if you’re positive and energetic, your team
will more likely to feel that way. Keep projecting a positive attitude, because
happier employees are more productive, more creative, and create a more winning
working environment.
Lean Tip #2780 - Point out Other People’s
Potential
It is evident that every employee is different
having their own set of experiences, values, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds.
The best leaders identify and appreciate the differences that individuals bring
to the table and understands how to put them to full use. When managing, always
be mindful of pushing your teams so they see full potential in themselves to
increase their performance. Talk to them about their strengths or find an
efficient process they’re more likely to love it. If you want to build upon
some of your project management skills, learn to bring out the potential of
your people.
Lean Tip #2781 – Respond Instead of Reacting.
A common behavior when presented with a
challenge is to let your emotions drive the situation. We all have a
fight-or-flight reaction when we feel unsafe. Incorporate a technique into your
workplace culture that will help you take a moment to respond instead of
reacting. A responsive solution may take a little more time in the beginning,
but it can save you the hours of cleanup for a reactive action to the
challenge.
Lean Tip #2782 – Build Trust to Reduce Fear
Building trust takes time. It is not usually a
one-time event. You can build trust by maintaining authentic interactions
during daily work activities. One highly effective way to build trust is to
make sure that verbal commitments and behaviors match the actions. For example,
if your company identifies in the mission that the organization is a friendly
or caring place, then employees would want to exemplify this behavior as a
measure of the authenticity of the individual. Or an employee who commits to
completing a task at a particular time would want to either complete the work
on time or communicate the change in timelines. When you give employees a
culture that maintains trust, you reduce fractures to the organization. Leaders
who exhibit an authentic alignment of words to actions give employees a place
where they can focus on the work instead of the breakdowns in behaviors.
Lean Tip #2783 – Maintain a Process.
A process offers employees a roadmap for what
they need to do, how they need to do it, and when it should be done. You reduce
fear at work when employees have this process-driven roadmap in place to
monitor workloads and timelines. The process provides an organized sense of
movement that gives constant feedback and accountability of individuals for
each part of the project.
Lean Tip #2784 – Never Shrug Someone Off
When two parties cannot agree on a mutual
solution, we call it an impasse. Impasses happen all the time and aren’t worth
overreacting to, but you can create fear when you determine to go separate ways
when you can agree on a solution. The next time that person thinks you don’t
agree with them, they could avoid the discussion altogether. For you to be an
effective leader, you need people to know for a fact that even if they reach an
impasse with you, a professional conclusion will follow.
Instead of shrugging them off, become both a
student and a teacher, and ask your partner to do the same. You are at an
impasse because you have different information, goals or opinions. Often, a
logical and mutually beneficial conclusion will emerge by way of mutual
understanding or compromise.
Lean Tip #2785 – Acknowledge an Idea Before
Accepting or Rejecting It
In group settings, it’s common for someone to
raise an idea just to be quickly shut down. The embarrassment attached to being
shut down in front of everyone can be tremendous, and can even be enough to
cause them to choose to never raise an idea again. This is stifling to an
organization, and instantly creates a culture of fear.
First, acknowledge the idea. This proves that
the person is valuable and the idea has value (even if not enough to actually
accept), and that raising ideas is simply a part of the process. Others will
build comfort and confidence purely through observation. Then the idea can be
accepted or rejected based on objective or subjective criteria, whichever is
more appropriate. Not only have you prevented from introducing fear into the
workplace, you’ve subtly trained everyone in the room how to pre-qualify their
ideas before raising them — ultimately improving the productivity of the rest
of the session.
Lean Tip #2786 – A Good Manager Always Listens
and Communicates
Listening might sound cliché or a vague
concept. Quoting Andy Stanley, “Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be
surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” As a manager, you have to strike
a balance between giving instruction and listening to feedback. Being in this
position of privilege doesn’t mean that you have monotony of knowledge, rather
the buck of decision making stops with you. Your employees and the folks under
you are the ones bringing the vision to life while you are providing overall
direction to this vision. If you don’t listen, there is a high chance that you
will get disjointed from the process and progress of this vision.
Lean Tip #2787 – Effective Management Means
Taking Responsibility
Most new managers find it difficult to assume
responsibility when things don’t pan out as they hoped, for example, a late
deadline, an undelivered or under-delivered work item, or a project that didn’t
go according to plan. Whatever the scenario is, it is crucial that you hold
yourself to the same high standards that you hold other team members. If it was
a failed team effort, be the first to assume responsibility instead of shifting
blame onto others. This will make your employees respect you and also stand up
for you in the future.
Lean Tip #2788 – Be at the Forefront of Problem
Solving
Being a manager and a leader requires an
affinity for solving problems and providing direction at the most crucial
times. At an impasse, there is often a tendency by managers to pass on
responsibility to employees, especially when things aren’t going as planned.
Some go as far as hogging all the glory when positive results come back.
Resolving problems requires that you be at the forefront of accountability,
even when things are tough.
Lean Tip #2789 – Focus on Alignment.
A key part of managing your team is to ensure
that they understand how their jobs and actions directly align with business
goals. Knowing how and why what they do matters to the company as a whole helps
to create a sense of shared responsibility, and can improve employee engagement
in significant ways. Transparency with your team about goals also helps workers
understand that targets are not arbitrarily chosen.
Lean Tip #2790 – The People You Manage are a Direct
Reflection on You.
How well your direct reports perform can be a
reflection of your effectiveness as a leader.
The best leaders groom employees and help them
grow. In addition to overseeing others’ work, you now have a hand in their
career development. Take the time to learn about your team members’ short-term
and longer-term goals. Explore ways in which you can help them reach those
goals.
Offer support that helps them develop new
skills and elevates their performance. It takes more time than just downloading
a to-do list, but you will end up with a more engaged, successful employee —
which is a great reflection on you as a manager.
