A guide to team management: Strategies and techniques to help you succeed

Anyone who has held a job will agree that team management can have a profound impact on productivity, morale, and overall success within an organization. Research confirms that well-managed teams consistently outperform others. The question is: what does it take to deliver effective team management? In this blog post, we will take a look at proven strategies and techniques to improve employee management.

We’ll discuss the importance of fostering a supportive culture within your team, defining the team’s vision to ensure everyone is on the same page and motivated, and using productivity software to streamline management. These elements together contribute to a healthy team environment where everyone can thrive.

The importance of effective team management

In almost any organization, you will find that teams are composed of different people. There are various roles and skill sets, diverse personalities and backgrounds, and so on. These people have to work as part of a team to achieve certain goals. To put it simply, team management is the glue that holds it all together – or doesn’t, in the case of poorly managed teams. 

Team management is the art that makes teams more than just a bunch of people trying to do their jobs. You can have the most skilled and diligent employees but still fail if they don’t work together as a team. Effective management is the deciding factor that can turn teams into well-oiled machines that deliver the best results for an organization. 

Let’s explore techniques and strategies that managers and leaders can use to improve their team management.

Foster a team culture of safety and support

A few years ago, Google launched a comprehensive study titled Project Aristotle to understand what makes the perfect team. After examining hundreds of teams within their organization and beyond, they discovered that psychological safety, above all else, was the key ingredient for a successful team.

The idea is to create an environment where people feel valued and heard, and where the manager is seen as another member of the team, not someone above and beyond.

To foster this kind of culture, managers should focus on these key principles:

Active engagement

Good managers show they care by actively listening in meetings and conversations. Ask questions, learn from your team, and share your thoughts – it shows you’re engaged. Simple things, like saying “That’s interesting, tell me more” go a long way. Open body language also helps: lean in, face the speaker, and make eye contact. It shows you’re truly listening and interested in their opinion.

Inclusivity

To foster a sense of inclusion, leaders should set a positive tone by sharing their work styles and preferences, encouraging their team to do the same. This kind of transparency builds trust and promotes better collaboration. Managers should also make themselves available for both casual chats and dedicated feedback sessions. 

This also extends to decision-making – you should actively seek input, opinions, and feedback from your team. When making decisions, it’s important to explain the reasoning behind them, either in person or through email. Be sure to acknowledge the contributions of your team members.

Confident leadership

Good management involves walking the fine line of being decisive without becoming inflexible. At the end of the day, decisions have to be made, and leaders must show full confidence in what they are doing. Don’t be afraid of disagreements, but make sure to keep these discussions constructive and respectful. Make sure to take ownership of supporting and representing the team in both success and failure. If your work involves taking risks, be the first in line to do so.

Provide a vision and direction for the team

As the old saying goes, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” A crucial element in building a successful team is providing direction and vision. This is the team’s objectives, both long-term and short-term, and the strategies for achieving them. It ensures everyone is working towards the same goals.

Mission statement 

This is the team’s long-term aspiration, a powerful statement that encapsulates the ultimate goal and provides a sense of purpose. It answers the question: What are we ultimately trying to achieve? For example, “we are creating the best e-commerce platform in the world”.

Short-term goals

These are the more specific, measurable objectives that serve as stepping stones towards the long-term vision – like key performance indicators (KPIs) or objectives and key results (OKRs). They allow the team to track progress and stay motivated along the journey.

Meaning 

Today, employees are more attracted to work that aligns with their personal values. Team members should understand and support the overall vision of the organisation they work for – ideally, finding a personal connection between its goals and their own values and aspirations. As a leader, you should be an effective ambassador of your organization’s values and vision to your employees.

Direction and vision provides your team with a roadmap for success – but you still need the right tools for the job, which we will discuss next.

Manage your team with the help of productivity software

In today’s data-driven environment, having the right tools can make a big difference in how well you can manage your team. Productivity software can make the job easier by providing valuable insights on key metrics related to your team’s performance – as well as give employees a better understanding of their own time management and workflow.

Let’s look at the main benefits of using productivity software for team management:

Precise time tracking

One of the most basic aspects a manager needs to be aware of is their team’s work hours – when they start, take breaks, and end their workday. With the rise of flexible work arrangements where team members may be located globally, it’s not feasible to physically monitor their activities. App-based time tracking solves this by providing precise real-time information on what employees are doing at any given moment.

Data-based performance evaluation

A classic challenge for a manager is understanding the team’s performance: who is working hard and who is hardly working? Who deserves recognition as the employee of the year? Productivity software provides rich data insights that eliminate guesswork – you can see how everyone performs and make informed decisions on improving your team’s workflow.

Streamlined project tracking

Managers often have to juggle multiple projects at once. Keeping an eye on everything – progress, costs – is not an easy feat. However, project tracking makes project management much easier by consolidating all necessary insights in one place.

With all these features in mind, productivity software is the way to go for anyone who wants to manage their teams more effectively. The good news is that DeskTime offers all these core features and more. Try the demo and see for yourself how it all works in action.

Effective team management requires the right environment and tools

We have come a long way in our understanding of what constitutes good team management. Thanks to the extensive study Project Aristotle by Google, we now recognize the importance of a supportive environment where employees feel safe to express themselves. When managers also provide a clear vision and objectives for their team to achieve, it lays a solid foundation. 

The winning formula is completed by the use of productivity software, which provides data-based insights and streamlines day-to-day management tasks. If you are a manager and you master all of these elements, you are setting your team up for success.