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The manager's knowledge and experience are certainly the foundation for proper team management. Equally important are their personality, empathy, and how they approach employees. And also the ability to select people who will create a well-cooperating team.
“When creating a team, it is worth choosing people with whom we communicate well, who share similar values with us. During the first recruitment interview, we should pay attention not only to the candidate's knowledge, experience, and competencies for the team but also to whether we can have a good conversation with that person. We spend eight hours a day working together; I cannot imagine a well-functioning team that cannot get along” - says Natalia Wcześniak, Co-Founder at Yard Corporate.
She also adds that the maturity and independence of employees are extremely important, as well as their awareness that there are goals to be achieved at work that do not require constant control. The manager's role is to manage, not hold hands. The team must complement and support each other and should be balanced.
Since we have managed to assemble a team of professionals on the one hand, and on the other hand, people with whom we, figuratively speaking, are on the same wavelength, we like each other and enjoy working together - how do we manage it so that cooperation is as good as possible over time?
First and foremost, this requires good work organization, time management, building relationships, and empathy. “A friendly boss who understands people, is open, always willing to help and give advice is appreciated by employees. But it's also a manager who understands that we are only human and may have a bad day or problems in our personal lives. I try to understand and support them, and they know they can always talk to me. A very good employee can have a bad time, and instead of reprimanding them, it's better to support them. Empathy is extremely important in team management. A mature and open relationship allows us to achieve more than setting boundaries between boss and employee” - emphasizes Natalia Wcześniak. - “All of this translates into the atmosphere at work. It is true that we come to the company and leave the boss”.
Many managers focus on professional relationships within their teams. Is this correct? Perhaps better employee performance is achieved when their relationships are more social.
“Similar to the relationship between a boss and an employee, I believe that a manager should create a relationship in their team where employees like each other but also have mutual respect. Social relationships promote a better atmosphere, and this translates into their performance. A conflicted team focuses on mutual accusations, blaming each other for the lack of results and not achieving them.” - adds Natalia Wcześniak.
A lack of mutual sympathy is an easy trigger for conflicts. But these also need to be resolved skillfully. Above all, a wise manager will not allow the atmosphere to escalate, and misunderstandings that can easily turn into serious conflicts. It is important to learn the different versions of events and get to the truth, and the manager must also be a good psychologist. Otherwise, they will be unable to solve the problem, and disagreements between people are part of human nature.
“We cannot avoid them, we must skillfully resolve them. This is what I mentioned before, you need to talk to employees, the boss must be a friend, not an enemy. Then, in difficult situations, it is easier for employees to open up, and without this, it can be difficult to get to the truth.” - emphasizes Natalia Wcześniak
A good atmosphere is also built by proper team motivation. Rewards definitely have a better effect on team performance than reprimands. But are financial rewards the only good motivator?
"Financial rewards are good, but it is not the only form of appreciation. Various types of trips, outings, but also training. A conscious employee likes to develop and it is worth investing in this development. This not only improves the qualifications of our employees, which allows the company to achieve better results but also motivates the team very well. People really appreciate it when the employer invests in them."- says Natalia Wcześniak.
Another important issue in team management is verifying whether employees understand the tasks assigned to them. And here, once again, we return to the issue of talking, talking, and talking again with your team.
“Many employees are afraid to tell their superiors that they did not understand their task, so as not to be considered incompetent. There are also people who simply do not like to ask questions. A wise manager will not criticize for questions and will not allow the team to criticize the one who asks. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. This also gives employees a sense of security that they are not left alone with the problem. Let's remember that problems cause frustration, and this leads to a decrease in the efficiency of a person's work.” - emphasizes Natalia Wcześniak.
It is worth adding at this point that proper task allocation and effective use of employees' experience and knowledge are extremely important in team management.
“Additionally, it is crucial to hold employees accountable in a way that does not make them feel controlled but rather treated as partners. It is also beneficial to outline the points to be accomplished, what is expected, and what the final results should be before assigning tasks. This helps in understanding the task better. Through clear guidelines, it is easier to comprehend the task and its objectives.”- Natalia Wcześniak emphasizes that in her opinion, it is much easier to manage a team working from an office rather than remotely. Does this mean that the manager has more control over the employees? "By working together in an office, we have a better opportunity to learn from each other. Everyone has different experiences in their professional work, which can be more easily conveyed face-to-face. The development of employees is very important to me, as the opportunity to share my knowledge with them and learn about their knowledge as well. Our work involves conversations, and by hearing them, I can advise employees on how to conduct these conversations and how not to. I can verify things here and now, rather than analyze why a particular employee's results are not what I expected. We want our recruiters to be the best recruiters in the market, and the best partners for both clients and candidates. My employees' success is my success. It is also the company's success."- Natalia Wcześniak emphasizes.
The biggest challenge for every company and every manager is to achieve success. Above all, these are goals to be achieved.
“Thanks to this, the company has customers, employees have work and satisfaction. Another challenge facing every manager is to create a cohesive team, a team that collaborates rather than competes. Creating a place where employees enjoy working and can develop is also a challenge. Open communication and teaching people to communicate openly are also challenges.” - says Natalia Wcześniak who adds that there were three most difficult challenges in her career. The first one was to combine achieving her own goals, i.e. acquiring candidates and clients, with the goals of recruiters who were in her team. The next one was working during the pandemic. “I had never worked remotely before, and it was a new challenge for me. I had the impression that calling my employees was controlling them, checking whether they were really working at home or maybe they had other activities. But by far the most difficult challenges were - related to COVID - employment reductions and the need to lay off people not due to their mistakes or bad work, but only because the number of positions had to be reduced. How to tell a good employee, who has no objections, that we have to say goodbye? For a manager who respects their team, this is a really difficult challenge” - emphasizes Natalia Wcześniak.
In the end, it's worth asking the question - how do employees perceive their bosses? According to the study "Janusze czy anioły biznesu? Polacy oceniają swoich szefów" (Januszes or business angels? Poles evaluate their bosses), the behavior of a boss is extremely important - 73% of respondents are determined to leave even a very good job in case of bad treatment by superiors, and 80% would leave a well-paid job. 14% of respondents admitted to being afraid of their boss.
Respondents also indicated the most reprehensible behaviors of bosses. They include:
It is optimistic that 73% of surveyed Poles have respect for their boss.
Source: https://www.prawo.pl/kadry/polacy-oceniaja-polskich-szefow-na-tle-zagranicznych-badanie,516667.html
