Managers are responsible for the team putting out the work as much as they are responsible for work output. Thus, they must be able to guide and help team members as and when needed. While most managers don’t interfere with their team members’ work at the risk of coming off as micromanagers, they can help in ways that prove useful.
Here are five ways through which managers can help team members and improve team productivity:
Providing Regular Feedback
Providing regular feedback is the most effective way to improve team productivity. While it can feel tiresome, keeping team members updated on their work quality is easier when done consistently than once in three months.
Regular feedback, no matter how small, can drastically improve an employee’s work. It allows them to fix their mistake quickly and avoid repeating them. Over time, employees who receive regular feedback progress at work much faster and greater than those who only receive feedback once in a while.
Promoting Honest Communication
Honest communication is essential to building a positive relationship between a manager and their team members. Managers must be honest about pay scales, opportunities, layoffs, transfers, and office policies.
Moreover, managers must allow honest communication both ways, meaning they must be receptive to feedback as gracefully as they expect the team members to receive it. When done right, communication between managers and their teams allows everyone to stay focused on the goal and avoid conflicts.
Respecting Employees
Those described as bad managers by their team members are essentially disrespectful managers. They lie to their team members, make false promises, give off threats and punishments, and try to push their responsibility on others. These managers make it difficult for their team to work by decreasing their motivation and productivity.
Thus, giving respect is the easiest way to help team members improve productivity. Respect allows employees to feel safe at work. It also allows them to trust their manager, greatly improving their communication and professional relationship.
Having Employees’ Back
As much as managers must never disrespect their team members, they must never allow customers to disrespect their employees. They must remember that employees are a company’s first customers. So preferring a potential one-time customer over someone who costs a lot more to replace is business-savvy. With managers having their backs, team members can feel more confident in their abilities, which can significantly improve team productivity.
Encouraging Career Growth
While managers can have reasons to feel threatened by their over-achieving team members, discouraging their growth decreases team productivity. They send a clear message of feeling insecure in their abilities to their team members. Thus, increasing their chances of getting replaced.
On the other hand, managers contributing to the personal and professional growth of their team members also help their own careers as they improve team productivity. Team members going above and beyond for their work reflect their manager’s support and skills that directly benefit them.
Finally, managers can help team members by being flexible in their approach toward work and promoting creativity, efficiency, and innovation.
