Managing people
People management is key to successful research teams.
- What is people management?
- Why is people management important?
- How can you improve the skill of managing people?
How to manage people effectively
Effective people management leads to flourishing teams.
Read our guide below, which has actionable advice to how to best manage your people.
What is people management?
People management involves supervising, motivating and inspiring others. It also extends to providing support and encouragement to achieve results and outcomes.
Why is people management important?
- Managers and research leaders need to have their teams working optimally to ensure the level of work is met and deliverables achieved.
- Success depends on team performance, so the team and individuals need to be motivated.
- The manager’s role has a significant impact on the motivation of the individuals within the team.
- As a manager, you can motivate individuals with elements such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, progression and other factors.
How can you improve the skill of managing people?
Implement different styles of management
effective managers adapt their managing style to match the individual or situation. Some examples of different management styles include directing, coaching, supporting and delegating.
Focus on self-motivation first
set a good example to your colleagues by focusing on what motivates you to perform well. A motivated manager, who can motivate others, will generate positive results.
Match tasks to individuals
spend time getting to know the strengths and talents of your individual team members. Assign tasks to the individual most suited to them, while balancing the productivity of your team. Ask more than one person to work on a task if their skills are complementary, or if they could gain necessary new skills.
Include colleagues in decision making and ideas generation
it is motivating to have opportunities to contribute to decisions and new ideas, this will earn you people’s support and commitment. Keep colleagues informed of decisions so that they can track progress. If decisions are taken without consultation, still communicate openly the rationale and importance of these issues.
Allow people to take on responsibility
enable the individuals in your team to become as independent and autonomous as possible. Review project tasks that can be potential development opportunities.
Set clear and realistic goals and expectations
ensure that the overall goal is communicated clearly and understood, as well as the shorter-term goals. These need to be realistic as unrealistic goals can be demotivating. Ensure that people know what is expected of them and check in with what the team are struggling with.
Be visible
even if your workload is high, don’t be tempted to hide away from your team to do your work. If people don’t see you, then they will discuss their problems amongst themselves, which isolates you and could lead to a negative atmosphere. Even when working remotely, remind people of your ‘presence’ through scheduled communication.
Reward and challenge
Respect is one of the hardest things to gain, but the easiest to lose. Effective managers can recognise and reward good performance but can also deal with underperformance or inappropriate behaviour. It’s recommended to undergo coaching and training to develop this skill (and others) as a manager.
Final takeaways
- People management involves supervising, motivating and inspiring others. It also extends to providing support and encouragement to achieve results and outcomes.
- Managers and research leaders need to have their teams working optimally to ensure the level of work is met and deliverables achieved.
- Include colleagues in decision making and ideas generation – it is motivating to have opportunities to contribute to decisions and new ideas, this will earn you people’s support and commitment.