Four misunderstandings of team management

Four misunderstandings of team management

According to my work experience, there are four common management misunderstandings in team management:

As a team manager, "do everything"

Lead the team to become overtime maniacs.

Too much emphasis on "team interests above everything else"

Don't offend anyone. Be a good person.

This section analyzes these misunderstandings one by one, and you can check whether you have been "recruited".

1. The manager becomes the housekeeper of the team.

In the daily management process, we often hear or see such a situation.

"What do you think we should do, Mr. Wang?"

"Manager Li, this plan is always rejected by customers. What do you think should be changed? "

"Minister liu, this problem will never be solved. Can you help me solve it? "

This is a problem that makes many managers depressed. They are very busy every day, but the team performance is still unable to get on.

I have done some research and found that teams with this situation are basically employees who encounter difficulties at work and like to seek help from managers at the first time. When managers encounter such help, they will directly give the answers to questions and solutions, and even directly replace employees' operations to help employees solve problems as quickly as possible.

This is the "bow to bow" manager.

This practice is wrong and will bring two negative results.

1) For employees who have potential and want to grow in the enterprise, they may not get effective guidance and make progress.

To make progress, employees need to be inspired by ideas and guided by methods. If managers become team stewards, the sense of accomplishment of such employees will be greatly reduced, and their sense of identity with the team will also be reduced.

2) For employees who want to muddle along in the team, it may be like a duck to water, because as long as they ask for help, the manager will help them solve it.

In the long run, this will only make employees lazier and less motivated, and the team ability will not be improved.

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2. The manager led the team into overtime maniacs.

Nowadays, overtime is a common phenomenon. Frankly speaking, there will inevitably be some unexpected tasks in the work, which require employees to invest extra time and energy to complete. This kind of overtime is excusable.

But if a team works overtime every day, there must be something wrong with the management of the team, the efficiency of the team, or the company's strategy, resources and culture.

Such a team, even if it has made some achievements in the short term, may not last long in the future development.

In this regard, managers should reflect on the following two issues.

1) How do goals and abilities match?

If the goal is set too high and the team ability is too poor, it is obvious that the goal cannot be achieved with the current ability and resources. Then we can only hedge our abilities with diligence and spend more time trying to bridge the gap between our goals and abilities.

In the short term, this is a last resort, and overtime is inevitable in some cases. If overtime becomes the norm, multi-departmental, long-term and universal, then as a manager, you must be alert: Is there a problem with the matching of goals and abilities?

If the ability is simply low, then we should consider whether there are other ways to help the team improve their ability and reduce overtime day after day.

If we just set the goal too high, we should consider whether the goal can be decomposed and then allocated reasonably according to the current situation of the team and the advantages and characteristics of different members.

2) How to shape behavior and culture?

In order to achieve the goal, it may be necessary to work overtime occasionally. If overtime becomes a common phenomenon, managers should reflect on whether overtime has become a part of the company or department culture.

If overtime becomes a culture, the efficiency of normal working hours will be greatly reduced. Those team members who work efficiently, go to work on time and never work overtime will begin to feel different.

If they can't bear this invisible pressure and choose to blindly follow everyone, then employees who don't work overtime will gradually join the overtime team. As a result, the whole team fell into a state of working overtime every day.

3. Too much emphasis on "team interests above everything else"

It must be admitted that team interests are very important. In the process of management decision-making, team interests are the factors to be considered. Many managers put team interests in the supreme position, and any management measures and decisions must ensure the realization of this goal, which also brings some negative effects.

1) Too much emphasis on team interests will lead to the neglect of personal interests.

As a part of a team, if employees' due interests are not guaranteed, their enthusiasm and creativity will undoubtedly be hit hard, which will affect the cohesion of the team, ultimately affect the overall competitiveness and ability of the team, and the overall interests of the team will also be lost.

2) Too much emphasis on team interests is likely to breed small team spirit.

For a single team, their own team interests are all, while for an enterprise, the interests of a single team are only part of it. From this perspective, it actually belongs to local interests.

Too much emphasis on the interests of the team will lead to the dislocation of the value objectives between the team and the enterprise, which will hinder the realization of the overall strategic objectives of the enterprise.

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The manager became a good man.

Some managers introduce the concept of "the golden mean" into team management. In the face of various problems in the team, managers always hope to strike a balance between many parties and not "hurt" employees.

Especially in the case of contradictions within the team, managers often choose the way of "fifty boards each", and no one will offend. The principle of right and wrong is forgotten first, and interpersonal relationship has become the first consideration.

Enthusiastic about being a peacemaker and pursuing the atmosphere of "hello, I am good, everyone is good", team conflicts will not break out in the short term, but in the long run, it will do harm to team management.

This management will seriously affect the morale of the team. "Good guys" are suppressed, and "bad guys" are bound to be arrogant. In the long run, the organizational atmosphere will be affected and the interests of the organization will be seriously hurt.

Managers who have the idea of being good are not qualified managers. As a team manager, "good guys" are often "big bad guys" and will not really win the trust and respect of employees.

02

How to avoid misunderstanding?

Can the above misunderstandings be avoided by some means? The answer is yes. This section introduces strategies and methods to avoid misunderstanding of team management.

1. Be a coach, not a housekeeper.

Since you don't want to be the manager of the team, you should let the team members grow up independently. Managers can take the following four measures to guide and optimize the team, as shown in figure 1.

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Figure 1 Measures taken by managers to guide and optimize the team

1) Give some pressure.

Managers have the obligation to help employees grow, and appropriate pressure can promote employees' growth. Everyone is a collection of contradictions, all have the idea of pursuing self-worth, and at the same time they are lazy and easily lack motivation.

At this time, the pressure exerted by the team manager can let employees know clearly how to work hard. It should be noted that the pressure must be appropriate, and great pressure will keep employees in a state of tension and anxiety, which will be counterproductive.

2) lead by example

The manager himself must be a person who dares to take responsibility and is good at taking responsibility. When managers can set an example and become the benchmark of the team, employees will have the direction to work hard. This subtle influence is actually more effective than training, publicity and communication.

3) Cultivate employees' self-confidence.

When employees make achievements, managers should give appropriate incentives from both material and spiritual levels, so that employees can realize that they are all great, and as long as they are willing to work hard, they will certainly make more achievements. The pride and sense of accomplishment of employees are also important drivers of self-growth.

4) Let employees think independently

Under the leadership of the "housekeeper" team leader, employees only need to complete some work according to the instructions, and other things that need to be considered are hidden by the "housekeeper". Without the opportunity to exercise, managers have to work hard.

In order to train employees, managers need to constantly throw out problems, let employees think for themselves and give their own solutions. Managers only give some inspiration and a small amount of guidance when appropriate.

Over time, employees will think more and more, and at the same time realize that problems can be solved as long as they are willing to think. In this way, employees grow up and managers can save energy to consider more and deeper problems.

2. Give authorization and don't work overtime.

In order to solve the overtime problem, in addition to team capacity building, there is also a very important factor that is the authorization mechanism.

Through the authorization mechanism, the team work is classified, such as what can be given to employees, what must be done by themselves, what can be done with employees and so on.

By clarifying these things, managers can further stimulate the enthusiasm of employees, let people make the best use of their talents, and finally maximize team performance.

Managers should understand that it is difficult to do big business without knowing how to authorize and putting a lot of things on themselves.

As shown in Figure 2, managers should consider the following five aspects of authorization.

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Figure 2 Key points of manager authorization

According to the ability and level of employees, give appropriate authorization. Authorization that is obviously beyond or below the level of employees is inappropriate and may affect the work effect.

"There is no doubt about employing people, and suspects don't have to." Since it is authorized, we must have full trust. If employees have some deviations or mistakes in their work, they should be given appropriate guidance. If there is a big problem, we should adjust the authorization strategy in time and correct it through auditing and other means when necessary.

Authorization should be equal to responsibility. When employees are authorized, they also need to bear corresponding responsibilities, and they should be guided to take responsibility for the results, instead of just indulging in the use of power.

Under normal circumstances, managers only authorize their direct subordinates and try to avoid overstepping authorization. Overstepping authorization will cause the responsibilities of lower-level organizations to be overhead, which will easily lead to confusion in management and control.

Authorization should be clear and specific. Authorization must disclose and clarify the tasks, objectives, nature, terms of reference and standards of the authorized power to the authorized person and team members, so that the authorized person can follow rules in his work and be supervised by other members.

3. Correctly handle the relationship between personal interests and team interests.

Personal interests and team interests are not antagonistic. In a team, the relationship between managers and employees is synergistic, and both sides should consider the problem from the other's standpoint.

Employees should pay more attention to the interests of the team, and managers should pay more attention to the normal demands of employees to ensure the consistency of personal interests and team interests. When there is a contradiction between individual interests and collective interests, managers need to consider it from many aspects and handle it properly.

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I suggest that managers should be clear about the following three points when dealing with personal interests and team interests.

1) Team interests are the result of team efforts, not the normal interests of cutting employees.

Team managers themselves are individuals, so they should have empathy, find a balance point for the team and employees and achieve a win-win situation. Only in this way can the interests of the team be finally guaranteed.

Managers should attach importance to the work of team members, especially in assessment and motivation, and be fair and just to ensure the balance between team interests and personal interests.

2) Managers should provide good environment and opportunities for team members.

The enthusiasm and talent of employees depend on the support of the team. Only when employees find suitable jobs in the team and make efforts can they show their intelligence better.

Managers should give full play to the creativity of employees, stimulate individual vitality to the maximum extent, and ensure that employees can really contribute to the interests of the team.

3) In case of conflict between personal interests and team interests, employees should be guided to focus on the overall situation.

The achievement of team goals can protect the interests of employees. Generally speaking, excellent employees have team spirit and will work closely with team members to achieve team goals.

When recruiting and cultivating talents, managers should pay attention to identifying individuals with team spirit, cultivate employees' overall situation and build cohesive teams.

4. Don't be a "good person" and stick to principles and positions.

Managers should adhere to principles and stand, and combine the following three suggestions to pay attention to performance from the perspective of behavior and values, improve performance and realize the continuous growth of the team.

1) Express your principles and positions in advance.

Join the team and tell them your principles and positions: what do you advocate, what do you oppose and what is the bottom line.

Once these are made clear, the manager is equivalent to sending a clear signal to the team, and it is easy to manage.

2) When encountering thorny issues or major contradictions, don't please both sides and don't compromise casually.

If there is no clear conclusion or fair judgment standard for the time being, even if it is shelved first, don't hit 50 boards and solve the problem simply and rudely; Don't please both sides, just compromise.

It's better to solve it later than to play Tai Chi.

Not starting from the facts to solve the problem will make both sides feel unfair. No matter how good the manager is, everyone will still be wronged and puzzled. In the end, most of them are thankless on both sides, and the good intentions of managers are in vain.

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3) Formulate clear rules, processes and systems.

Deal with problems according to the system and reduce human intervention.

In daily management, in addition to dealing with conflicts and contradictions, managers also need to sort out and summarize the defects and deficiencies in rules, processes and systems from typical problems that often occur, and improve and correct them in time.

Through system construction and process reengineering, solving problems systematically can at least reduce the occurrence of similar problems. Once the rules and procedures are clarified and the potential problem factors are eradicated, managers no longer need to be good people.