If you have ever had an authoritive position then you know managing people is one of the biggest challenges. It’s nearly impossible to get a group of people to work at 100% all of the time, but with a little effort and knowledge you can come close to achieving this most of the time. If nothing else your overall productivity will be much higher.
Leading a group of people to become successful takes a winning strategy. There are probably hundreds of them that work you just have to find the one that works the best for you. Below are some tips from my personal experience that have helped out tremendously and I wanted to take the time to share them with you.
- Treat Everyone With Respect – This should go without saying. It is one of the most important characteristics of a good leader and it promotes respect within the group. If you respect people even though they are under you, then they will have more overall respect for you. It’s that simple.
- Lead By Example – Show others that you aren’t afraid to do the work you ask them to do. Get your hands dirty every once in awhile or simply lend them a hand with their work. They will feel more loyal towards you and work harder, even when you aren’t around.
- Be As Fair As You Can – Life isn’t fair. You can still make life easier for people in a group that you are in charge of. Don’t spend all of your time with one person or showing favoritism to a particular idea. Let everyone get involved and make life as fair as you can for everyone you can.
- Take Your Work Seriously – If you want productivity to improve, then do this. If people see you taking your work seriously then more than likely they will do the same thing. Remember they are mirroring to some extent everything you do.
- Allow Them Room To Be Unique – Give you people a chance to express their opinion, ideas, and concerns Allow them to give suggestions and feel like they have put in their input. People love it more than anything to feel like they have contributed to something larger than they could achieve by themselves.
- Be Relentless – People want to see a tough leader. They want to follow someone who is determined and has enough drive to get the job done. If you show this characteristic you will motivate the people you are managing to be stronger and try harder.
- Stay Positive – Positive attitudes spread. Enough said.
- Don’t Talk About Others Behind Their Backs – Keep your conversation of others as brief as possible and away from the he said she said garbage. Focus on the task at hand and leave out your personal opinions. If you do have to discuss another individual in an negative way try to make it as constructive as possible. You never know when that person is listening or if the other person will tell them everything that you have said. This can destroy the moral of people very quickly.
- Make People Do Their Jobs – Holding people accountable for their jobs is crucial to the success of a group. They need the discipline and feedback when they are doing something wrong. If you don’t correct a bad behavior before it gets out of hand then it could turn into something that will bring everyone down. Take immediate corrective action in a positive and respectful way.
- Use We Instead Of I – The “I” mentality is a real motivation killer. I did this or I did that etc. You should always give credit to everyone else and take as much of the blame as you can. This will earn you more respect from your crew and they will understand that you have their backs.
I hope my list gave you some ideas to help you with managing people. Remember always put yourself in the other persons shoes and think of what might help make the situation better. Never belittle your people and show them just as much respect as you want them to show you. Stay successful!