As a manager, it isn’t easy to manage a group of people.

Sometimes, it feels like you’re

team isn’t listening, or that you’re not doing a great job.
Thankfully, you can always improve the way you manage people. If you employ our 12-
step process, you’ll be well on your way to creating a motivated team that’s as powerful
and strong as you are.
Here’s the process to improve your management skills and better manage your team:

3. Talk to Your Team

Your team has a wealth of information on your leadership

performance that can help you improve. Looping in your team to your
pursuit will help them help you.

 Tell your team you’re working on improving your leadership

skills.
 Send out a survey, allowing your team members to remain
anonymous. Ask employees how you’re doing as a manager,
where you could improve, what they do and don’t like about your
style.
 Conduct one-on-one meetings with your direct reports and ask
them point blank how you could be a better manager.

4. Get Organized

One of the reasons leaders are ineffective is because they’re all over
the place. They don’t have the right software solutions, they’re unsure
of their goals, and they have difficulty resolving conflicts. Organization
can help.

At the start of every month or quarter, outline areas that are

disorganized and confusing, and strategize ways they can be
improved. Maybe you need a software solution to help you organize
your calendar, or a new meeting schedule with your reports.
5. Take a Leadership Course

Sometimes, it’s difficult to improve on your own. Courses can help.

Look to your local colleges and universities to see if they offer any
courses on leadership. There are tons of online courses as well that
you can take at your own pace.

Dale Carnegie Training offers affordable leadership courses on

decision-making, critical thinking, how to disagree agreeably, and how
to lead change effectively. Udemy also provides a large array of online
courses– we especially like their course on habits of highly effective
leaders.

7. Learn How to Listen

One of the biggest complaints of employees everywhere is that they

don’t feel heard. They don’t feel as though they have the ability to
express their opinion or positively make a change in the organization.
When they speak up, they feel ignored, and that makes them unhappy
and unmotivated.

According to Udemy, there are five aspects of good listening—

receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and
responding. You need to be able to understand all five of these steps
to listen to your employees.

8. Practice Praising and Rewarding

To be a good leader, you have to give feedback to your employees,

especially praise and rewards. When you’re praising an employee, be
specific.

Instead of saying “you’re doing a great job,” highlight a specific

project, and explain why their help was so important. Try “the project
for client ABC was very difficult, but the way you communicated their
needs to the entire team is what made us get it right. I was really
impressed with that. Nice work.”

In a Harvard Business Review survey on employee engagement, 72%

of survey respondents said that recognizing high performers had a
large impact on engagement.

9. Find a Mentor or Coach

It can be difficult to accurately assess your own leadership skills.

That’s why many turn to executive coaches, mentors, and others they
can trust. Perhaps you already have a mentor, or maybe there’s
someone you can turn to for honest assessment of your skills.

Executive coaches are also a great option. Those who specialize in

leadership can work with you to identify your strengths and
weaknesses, then help you put a plan in place to tackle your
goals. Harvard Business Review suggests executive coaches and
gives a great outline on how to find one who’s a good fit for you and
your organization.

10. Learn How to Effectively Communicate

Effective communication is one of the most important parts of

leadership, and different team members will respond to different
styles.

Workplace psychologists have defined four communication styles that

we all fall into. By reading about and understanding these four styles,
you’ll be better able to communicate with those that you work with.
  Thinkers – Thinkers need time to process and think things
through before responding. They work slowly, deliberately, and
want to make sure everything is just right.
 Socializers – Socializers thrive on talking with others and get
energy from their colleagues. Socializers work fast, have great
ideas, and process information very quickly.
 Directors – Directors are known for getting things done quickly
and efficiently. The process things quickly, make fast decisions,
and like research and proven facts.
 Relaters – Relaters are relationship-oriented and enjoy working
with others. Unlike the socializer, they move at a slower, calmer
pace.

11. Be Transparent

Companies are beginning to embrace transparency in the workplace.

As a leader, you should embrace it with your staff.

Today, about 25% of employers don’t trust their employer, according

to the American Psychological Association. That’s bad news.
Employees who don’t trust their company or their boss are unlikely to
put themselves on the line for their company. But this can be fixed!

Harvard Business Review found that 70% of people are most engaged
if senior leadership updates them about what’s going on with the
company as a whole.

As a leader, you’re in a great position – you can be transparent with

employees and let them know what’s going on. In turn, they’ll be more
engaged and regard you as a better leader.

12. Create a Feedback System

It’s great that you’ve invested so much in becoming a better leader,
but you have to continually go back to your people to find out how
you’re doing.

How to do this? Implement a system for giving feedback, so that your

employees always feel as though they can express themselves when
something is wrong. For example, many companies offer performance
reviews on a quarterly basis, but these reviews should also allow
employees to make suggestions to their managers.

Keep a good sense of humor. It makes you approachable and it helps you maintain
perspective.[2] Don't take yourself too seriously. Everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.[3]

Remember that your direct reports are people. They are not resources and they are not
human capitol. They are people with families, feelings, and problems. It is not possible to
separate work from home life. Be aware that people have personal lives and do the best you
can to be sensitive to them. Treat everyone as your equal regardless of their title or
position.[4] Remember to smile a lot and always maintain a pleasant demeanor.

Know your strengths and weakness. Know the strengths of your team as well as the
weakness and allow for improvement.

7
Communicate your expectations. Put them in writing whenever possible. Solicit
feedback from the people you are leading. Know what they expect from you. Address
any discrepancies immediately and clearly.[8]

9
Remember that different things motivate different people and that people will do
what they have incentive to do. It is your job to make sure that their incentives match
your goals. For example, if you pay a bonus for people to produce a higher number of
pieces, don’t be surprised if quality starts to suffer in favor of volume.[9]

10
Maintain the confidence of everyone in the organization. Managers frequently have
access to more information than other employees. It is imperative that you never betray
the confidence of the company, your manager, your peers, or your employees. Be sure
that people can confide in you.

11
Be Consistent. Your actions and reactions must be consistent. You don’t want to be
the type of manager that everyone asks what kind of mood you are in before they
approach you with an issue.[10]