Discover how to turn team management into an efficient and less stressful process with these 7 practical tips
Have you ever felt like an “adult babysitter” at work, carrying all the team’s stress to ensure things run smoothly? Or maybe you’ve spent weekends solving problems that could have been avoided? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. Many managers face these challenges, but the good news is that there are proven strategies to turn team management into a more efficient and less stressful process.
In this article, I’ll share 7 practical tips to manage teams effectively, based on years of experience and insights from experts. Let’s dive in!
1. Ritualize Successful Behaviours
The first tip is to create rituals that lead to success. Instead of focusing on big goals, identify small actions that, when repeated regularly, generate consistent results.
Practical Example:
If the goal is to lose weight, you can ritualize actions like going to the gym every Monday and Wednesday or preparing healthy meals on Sundays. In a business context, this is called “routinizing.”
How to apply it at work:
- If you want your team to review standard operating procedures (SOPs), create a recurring task every 30 days to review the documents.
- Ask yourself: “What do I need to do and how often to succeed in this area?”
2. Make Mistakes Public (and Learn from Them)
Mistakes are learning opportunities, but they only work if they’re shared. Create a public space to record mistakes and lessons learned.
Why does this work?
Adults learn from others’ mistakes, unlike children, who need to experience things for themselves. For example, if someone forgot to update a plugin and broke the website, record it, so everyone knows what to avoid.
Tip:
- Start by sharing your own mistakes as a leader. This creates a safe environment for the team to do the same.
3. Demand Preventive Actions (Not Just Apologies)
When something goes wrong, don’t just accept a “my bad, it won’t happen again.” Instead, ask for concrete preventive actions.
Example:
- If a typo was sent in a newsletter, create a checklist to review content before publishing.
- If a client was “forgotten” in a meeting, establish that there will always be two people responsible for each call.
Key Phrase:
“What can I do today to ensure this mistake doesn’t happen again?”
4. Encourage a Learning Culture
Learning shouldn’t just be a poster on the wall. Integrate learning into the company culture.
How to do it:
- Include a “lessons learned” section in team meetings.
- Celebrate preventive actions and mistakes that led to improvements.
Example:
If the team created a model to track sales follow-ups, celebrate it as a win and share it with everyone.
5. Incentivize the Right Things
Be careful with wrong incentives. If you only reward task completion, you may be discouraging innovation and accountability.
Solution:
- Shift the focus to metrics that generate real value, like “support tickets resolved” or “projects completed.”
- Ask the team: “Why is this your priority this week?” to understand if incentives align with company goals.
6. Don’t Take on Others’ Emergencies
This is the hardest habit but also the most powerful. When someone doesn’t do their work, don’t take responsibility.
Example:
- If an email was poorly written, return the task to the responsible person with a clear comment: “This email is incomplete. Please revise according to the SOP and resend.”
- Let the person deal with the consequences of their actions.
Why is this important?
Taking on others’ emergencies only perpetuates the problem and overloads you.
7. Celebrate the Process (Not Just the Results)
Finally, celebrate the learning and continuous improvement process. This creates an environment where mistakes are seen as opportunities, not failures.
Tip:
- Use questions like “What did we learn from this?” to encourage constructive reflections.
- Model the behavior you want to see in the team by sharing your own lessons learned.
Between the Lines:
Managing teams doesn’t have to be a nightmare. By implementing these 7 strategies, you can transform your team’s dynamics, reduce stress, and increase efficiency. Remember: the goal isn’t to eliminate all mistakes but to create a system that allows you to handle them quickly and effectively.
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