How can you develop your team management skills?

As a leader in any business, it's crucial to assess your current strengths and weaknesses. Self-awareness is the foundation upon which you build and improve how capable you are viewed by your teams, other leaders, and executives in the business. When building my career, it was important that I understood where I excelled and what areas I need to focus improving. This self-awareness helped me make better decisions for the organization, while avoiding situations that could expose my weaknesses. Career-wise, understanding my strengths as I decided what my path would be helped me to choose a career that best suited me as a leader. It also helped me identify areas where I needed further training or education to continue on the pat I had chosen.

Practice Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Develop empathy by actively listening to team members, understanding their perspectives, and considering their needs and feelings when making decisions. Enhance emotional intelligence by recognizing and managing your own emotions and effectively navigating interpersonal dynamics within the team. Promote a supportive and inclusive team environment where team members feel valued, respected, and motivated to contribute their best efforts.

The Five Stages of Tuckmans Ladder will always be in effect when forming a new team. As a Project Manager, it is my job to ensure that when conflict arises, I can quickly and absolutely resolve the conflict to ensure a synergetic environment. It is important to ensure all team members are open to new ideas and ways of thinking in order to create a cohesive team environment.

Communication: Foster open and clear communication with your team members. Empathy: Understand and appreciate your team's perspectives and concerns. Delegation: Learn to delegate tasks effectively, matching responsibilities with team members' strengths. Feedback: Provide constructive feedback and be receptive to feedback from your team

I like Richard Hackman's comments on this (Harvard University)teams don't work. Research consistently shows that teams underperform, despite all the extra resources they have. That’s because problems with coordination and motivation typically chip away at the benefits of collaboration, and so when assessing skills it's important to start here, focusing on assessing your daily/weekly habits which bring the team together and stay motivated.

In my experience as a leader, Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals help managers and leaders guide their teams to success. These goals typically support a business strategy that aligns with the company’s vision of its future.

Enhancing team management skills starts with setting clear and SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. Align these goals with the organization's vision, fostering clarity and motivation. Communicate effectively to ensure everyone works in sync towards a shared objective, boosting team performance and success.

I often find it incredibly rare for a team not to know what they are there to do. What I find more helpful before structuring smart goals, is consideirng the team purpose, this is why the team is paid but why does *this* team turn up every day. What are the motivations of the individual team members and how can the team use this information to come up with a collective team purpose and goal.

I believe that goals are an essential part of growth. One must do more though than just have goals in order to be successful which is where SMART goals come in to play and can help us to clearly define where we want to go in the future. Along with helping up clearly define our goals it is also widely accepted that writing your goals down and defining them ensures a much higher chance of success in achieving your goals.

The Situational Leadership model works by acknowledging that different situations require different leadership approaches. It's based on two factors: the readiness level of the individual or team and the leadership style best suited to that readiness. 1. Telling/Directing: High direction, low support - used for low readiness levels. 2. Selling/Coaching: High direction, high support - used for moderate readiness levels. 3. Participating/Supporting: Low direction, high support - used for moderate to high readiness levels. 4. Delegating: Low direction, low support - used for high readiness levels. The model aims to optimize performance, increase team competence, and foster a culture of empowerment and growth.

In my experience, proper delegation and empowerment is what makes a good leader. It is key to understand each one of your team members strengths and weaknesses which will in turn help you to delegate roles and responsibilities properly.

To enhance team management skills, actively seek feedback from your team members and peers. Regularly reflect on your leadership style, identify areas for improvement, and adapt accordingly. Additionally, practice effective communication, foster a positive work environment, and provide constructive coaching to address specific challenges or areas of development within the team. Consistent self-reflection and a commitment to ongoing learning will contribute to your continuous growth as a team manager. Incorporate, for example, the "GROW" model—Goal, Reality, Options, Wrap-Up—when coaching teams. This structured approach helps identify goals, assess the current reality, explore options, and conclude with actionable steps for team development.

To develop management skills through coaching and feedback, actively seek input from colleagues, listen attentively to their perspectives, and be open to constructive criticism. Use feedback as a learning opportunity, set specific goals for improvement, and work with a mentor or coach to enhance your managerial capabilities. Regular self-reflection and a willingness to adapt based on feedback contribute to continuous growth in management skills.

Elevating team management involves offering feedback and coaching. Feedback guides performance insights, while coaching nurtures skill enhancement. It's about learning from successes and failures, acknowledging achievements, and fostering growth in team potential and performance.

Strengthening your team's ability to have strengths-based language and give strengths-based feedback and coaching is one of, if not the most important skill/habit you can bring to a team. Nothing is as effective a tactic for creating energy, developing trust, psychological safety and sense of inclusion, and ultimately team performance/productivity.

Seek Feedback and Mentorship: Actively seek feedback from team members, peers, and supervisors to identify areas for improvement in team management. Engage in mentorship relationships with experienced leaders who can provide guidance, advice, and support in developing effective team management skills. Create opportunities for regular feedback exchanges with team members to assess leadership effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.

Develop management skills through celebration and rewarding by recognizing and appreciating the efforts of your team. Acknowledge achievements, whether big or small, and create a positive work environment. Be specific in your praise, linking accomplishments to organizational goals. Implement a reward system that aligns with performance and encourages a collaborative and motivated team. Celebrate milestones, birthdays, or special occasions to foster a sense of camaraderie and boost morale, ultimately enhancing your management skills through a positive and supportive workplace culture.

In the real World. No Social Media or online training. Develop by doing it. Treat people with intrinsic respect, recruit based as much on personality and how they will fit the team, as a list of courses they have done. Once they are onboard show them you trust them, be a door that's always open for advice, NEVER call them out in front of others. If things need to be discussed do it in the "locker room" not the press room. Encourage their best traits, coach them through their weaknesses and help them address them in a calm supportive atmosphere. Don't be scared of developing them to be better than you, that's a great win not a negative. Achieve that, to help develop the person to be their best, you did well and so did they.

Ensure you are communicating effectively. While this seems like a simple solution, being a communication prowess can be quite the opposite. Learn to listen for understanding, not to respond. Learn to properly adjudicate your feelings and others. Employ empathy. Make sure the received information is what you intended to send.

Personalmente creo que la experiencia es la mejor fuente de aprendizaje, estar en el día a día del equipo y reflexionar sobre las situaciones que se van presentando, las necesidades que surgen, los resultados que se esperan. El funcionamiento de un equipo es un todo que no se puede analizar por separado, cada elemento tiene un efecto sobre el otro.

Communication: Foster clear and open communication within your team. Actively listen to team members and ensure everyone feels heard. Delegation: Learn to delegate tasks effectively based on team members' strengths. Trust your team and empower them to take ownership of their responsibilities. Motivation: Understand what motivates each team member and use various techniques to keep morale high. Conflict Resolution: Develop skills to address conflicts promptly and constructively. Encourage open dialogue to resolve issues and build a positive team environment. Decision-Making: Improve your decision-making abilities by considering various perspectives. Involve the team in decision-making processes when appropriate.

Invest in Continuous Learning: Enroll in leadership development programs, workshops, or courses focused on team management and leadership skills. Encourage team members to participate in training sessions and provide resources for self-improvement in relevant areas. Foster a culture of continuous learning within the team, where knowledge sharing and skill development are valued and supported.