Your Guide to Recruit, Manage, and Motivate a Strong Team
Resources may be abundant, but when it comes to the right talent for your company, it becomes scarce. The equation is simple: not every person is the right fit for your organization. Here are 11 effective team management strategies to recruit, manage, and motivate a strong team.
11 Effective Team Management Strategies
1. Identify your core values
The first of our team management tips is about identifying and living your core values. One (often surprising) way to know the core values of your company is by remembering those people you’ve fired. Primarily, think of the terminations that were based on behaviors, not performance. Hidden in those circumstances are your core values. Once you identify those negative behaviors, it can be easier to find the right behaviors.
After that, you can create a powerful phrase that your whole team can remember and implement in their daily tasks.
2. Conduct interviews with these values in mind
The second step in how to build an effective team is executing behavioral interviews based on your core values. Be creative in the framework for the behavioral interviews to find out if the prospective employee fits the company culture.
Heineken did a great job a few years ago when they created unique job interviews that put their candidates in some awkward situations to test their compatibility with the company.
3. Use positive reinforcement
Every possible time you and your staff identify actions which honor the core values, acknowledge it. By doing this, you encourage all employees to model the core values in actions—not just with words. Use incentives to enhance that encouragement.
4. Share the company’s purpose with your team
One of the most powerful motivators in a company is its purpose, and that should not just be about making money. Profit and revenue is a measurement of moving forward, not the core purpose.
Your company’s purpose is the reason, beyond the money, that you wake up in the morning. It’s the dream you want to achieve, the change and the impact you want to make.
5. Stay interested in your employees’ personal goals
Ask your employees their personal goals, instead of trying to give to the employees what YOU think they want. Sit down and ask your staff what their goals are. You may be surprised by the answers, and knowing that information could help you become a better leader for them.
6. Encourage performance
The next of our effective team management strategies is about tracking performance, often called key performance indicators. Your team needs encouragement from your C-level group. Track and measure their performance, link it to their personal goals, and congratulate them when they reach certain benchmarks toward those goals.
7. Set clear goals
When determining how to manage a team, one of the biggest steps you can take is to set goals. Define milestones for your team. This can help create more actionable steps towards them. Celebrate when your team achieves those goals.
8. Enable trust
As every team member contributes to the goal, it is essential that the players have trust in one another and trust in the team as a whole. Team building activities are a part of effective team management strategies that help your team learn more about each other and enhance the trust between members.
9. Resolve conflict in a healthy manner
Dealing with conflicts openly and swiftly will strengthen trust and team spirit. Team members don’t want to be right; they want to be heard. So, create and implement a healthy method to resolving issues.
10. Develop clear roles and responsibilities
Setting clear boundaries will help everyone to know who is accountable for what. The key word here is accountability. Make sure your employees’ roles and responsibilities are clearly stated and accessible to your team.
11. Walk the talk
If you want your team to be inspired and motivated, you need to be the first one to demonstrate good behaviors and skills. Your attitude and effort will show your team you mean business and that you also care about their personal success.
Lead a Stronger Team
In the C-level group of a company, you’ve got a lot on your plate as it is. Contact Assured Strategy for executive leadership training to help ease the role of being a company founder, executive, entrepreneur—a leader just like you.
