What is people management?
What is people management?
People management is the act of organizing
employees and building teams to optimize business performance. Successful
people management involves onboarding, coaching, mentoring, evaluating
competencies (Knowledge, Skill, and
alignment of behaviors) the employees, guiding and empowering each employee to
reach their maximum potential and performance; additionally effectively
communicating across all teams, and directing all team members toward a common and
agreed goals, and finally monitoring and managing performance and analyzing
performance gaps and finding and implementing solutions to improve performance.
What is the defining contribution of great people
managers? They boost the engagement levels of the people who work for them.
According to Gallup research, only 28% of U.S. employees are engaged, or are
actively pursuing top performance on behalf of their organizations, and Gallup
studies show that this has a direct impact on the bottom line. Engaged
employees lead to engaged customers, who in turn drive a company’s growth, long
term profitability, and stock price.
So what distinguishes managers who not only
retain valuable employees but, by boosting engagement, also extract their full
value? According to Coffman, coauthor with Marcus Buckingham of First, Break
All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (Simon &
Schuster, 1999), the answer lies in rejecting conventional wisdom in four core
areas of managing people: selection, expectation setting, motivation, and
development.
Selection
Most managers select employees according to the
skills needed for the role, but great managers select people for their talent. Talent
defined as a recurrent pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior and accounts
for the different results produced by those with the same skills and training. Talent
is abundant, yet people whose natural talents fit their role are a rare and
valuable commodity.
Consider what differentiates top performing sales
staff, All sales staff in a firm get the same training, but the best take more
orders than the average. Why? Because they use the phone as a tool of
intimacy—they can envision what the customer looks like, what environment he is
in; they smile and nod even though the customer cannot see what they are doing.
Instinctively, their talent leads them to manage each customer relationship in
the most effective manner.
Great managers resist the temptation to hire
people whose skills are a good match for how a job is already configured;
instead, they seek those whose talent will redefine how the job is done.
Expectation setting
Conventional wisdom says managers should
specify the steps that employees need to take to accomplish a specific task.
But great managers define the outcomes they seek and let each person use her
individual talent to achieve them. For example, while great managers do not
usually mandate steps to be taken, they do provide specific direction when
accuracy or safety is involved, or when a company or industry standard is at
stake. But even then they don’t let the steps obscure the focus on the outcome.
Motivation
Conventional wisdom says that “anybody can be
anything they want to be,” and thus managers tend to focus on finding and
fixing a person’s weaknesses. This leads to reviews and development plans that
focus on negatives— where the emphasis is on “improving” a person into someone
he is not.
In contrast, great managers emphasize the
development of their subordinates’ unique strengths so as to help further their
talent, while finding strategies to support their weaknesses. The key here is
determining how to take greater advantage of what people already do well.
Development
Conventional managers rate the person and
develop the performance; great managers rate the performance and develop the
person—they realize that every person is different and should be treated as
such.
Most companies view promotion as the natural
path of progression. But is that always the right course? No, says Coffman,
because success in one role is not necessarily an indication of success in
another.
Consider how many outstanding account
representatives fail miserably when they are promoted to sales managers. The
ability to sell is entirely distinct from the ability to manage. What’s more,
promotion removes the high-performing salesperson from the position in which
she has been producing substantial value for the company.
Great managers seek the right fit for a
person’s talent, they work to see that he is rewarded for his performance, and
they endeavor to ensure that his talent is developed through progressively more
challenging and meaningful assignments.
People management vs. team
orchestration
Rather than acting in a dictatorial manner, an
effective people manager strives to empower their employees, which can greatly
impact a business's bottom line and company culture.
When a business emphasizes team orchestration,
they see the approach and attitude of their managers’ shift in three major,
beneficial ways:
1.
Managers
move from focusing too narrowly on the individual level to focusing more
holistically on the activities and output of the team as a whole.
2.
They
transition from telling and directing employees to supporting, empowering, and
encouraging the autonomy of "the team."
3.
Rather
than communicate rigid expectations, managers encourage exploration and
experimentation.
Why is people management important?
A poorly managed team can negatively impact
multiple aspects of your business; a properly managed team, however, can
improve company morale, optimize your production levels and efficiency, and
give your company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Company morale
Companies that have low morale and engagement
often have high rates of employee turnover and burnout. Implementing optimal
people management strategies, however, can give your employees a strong sense
of ownership over their work and improve their overall job satisfaction.
Creating a solid environment in the workplace
will lead to happier and more productive employees, and that shows in the
quality of output in their work
"Only when a company truly takes care of its people will it
become a success."
Productivity and efficiency
People management involves organizing your team
in a way that increases productivity and optimizes efficiency. When you have
the right employees in place, properly train your team, and collaborate with
employees to reach their goals, you set your team up for success.
"[Successful people managers] are focused
on helping the team align around a common goal and mission, and are able to
help the team isolate, prioritize, and focus on high-value work (vs. low- or
no-value busy work),"
What are people management skills?
There are several qualities an individual
should possess to become an effective manager. HR and management lectures listed integrity,
communication, organization, and empowerment as the top four people management
skills.
· Ethics and integrity: Team members want to know that a leader does
the right thing. A great manager is honest, accountable and acts with
integrity. Lack of trust in a team is a culture killer.
· Clear communication: An effective leader communicates clearly,
frequently, and thoughtfully, keeping team members apprised about what is
happening in the business. Good managers encourage two-way communication and
are receptive to feedback.
· Organization and conscientiousness: Well-defined goals, objectives,
processes, timelines and "what great looks like" are clearly defined
by managers to their teams. Each goal is aligned with the company's overall
mission and vision statement.
· Empowerment: Great leaders develop others. Leaders who enable and
mentor employees can create high performers and improved retention within
companies.
Other people management skills include empathy,
patience, achievement recognition, relatability, adaptability, conflict
resolution and decisiveness.
How to develop people management
skills
Not everyone is a natural-born leader, and
that's OK. People management skills are considered "soft skills" and
can be learned and improved upon. There are several easy and organic ways you
can enhance your people management skills.
Ask for frequent feedback from your
team.
Effective communication in business is a
two-way street. Just as you want to provide your team with constructive
feedback, you should frequently ask for feedback from your team in return. Ask
employees to offer their honest feedback, formally and informally, without fear
of retaliation.
Asking for (and embracing) feedback will:
· Help you to soften your ego
· Offer you valuable insight that will promote your growth
· Make you more likeable, approachable and respected
· Find an experienced coach or mentor who can guide you.
Seek out a skilled and experienced coach or
mentor who can provide you with unbiased feedback and guidance. They will point
out areas where you need growth, offer experienced advice and insight, and
accelerate your development. This person can be either within or outside your
organization, but your mentor shouldn't be your direct boss.
Maintain a growth mindset.
Everybody, not just managers, should have a
growth mindset. To grow (in business and your personal life), you acknowledge
that you don't know everything and that you are willing to learn.
Having a growth mindset means that you
fundamentally believe that everyone has the ability to adapt, learn and grow
into a better version of themselves,". "This eliminates (or at least
controls) the impulse to blame and replaces it with a desire to develop.
When you have a growth mindset, you set a
powerful example for your team. Part of people management is leading by
example.
People management training resources
There are countless online resources to help
people managers develop their leadership skills. These resources can include
paid and free options like people management books, videos, articles, courses,
training calls, and coaching lessons.
Consider one of the companies below, which
offer training courses in people management:
· Coursera: Coursera is an online learning platform that provides
teams and businesses access to online courses and degrees from a variety of
universities and companies.
· edX: edX, an online learning platform, offers a variety of free
courses, with the option to pay for add-on certificates.
· LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning offers a plethora of business
training options, including ones for leadership and management, soft skills,
and performance management.
Reference
https://hbr.org/2008/02/how-great-managers-manage-peop-1
https://www.business.com/articles/people-management/
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