5 Ways to Build a Strong Team

When I first became a manager, I really struggled with figuring out the best way to develop my team. I was so used to doing it all myself, that I didn’t realize that I had to unlearn a few of the practices that had gotten me to management level. I soon realized that as a manager, your teams’ success equates to yours. And not only that, but your ability to inspire and develop people is critical to your own future, as the higher you climb up the leadership ladder, the more you depend on the success and strengths of others to achieve key objectives and goals.

Empowering staff is an essential part of a manager’s job and assist them to reach their potential and it is an aspiration any manager should have. It’s also important to remember how tricky management can be because it requires dealing with different types of people and they all have their own personalities, goals, behaviors and motivations. This means there’s no single encompassing solution when it comes to managing a team.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for the best way to manage a team, there are effective approaches that managers can adopt to support their staff, help them be productive and achieve their potential. Here are 5 ways that you can develop your team and earn yourself some kudos at the same time:

Build time into your schedule to devote to their growth

You’re busy, so are they, so you need to plan time for development, rather than just hoping it falls into place. It simply won’t happen if you wait for some time to crop up. See their development as something so important that it’s worth setting time aside for it.

Identify the skillsets that will make the team member more valuable to you

Do they have strengths in a specific area that would really advance your department in the eyes of customers or stakeholders? Are there skillsets they demonstrate that would add real value to your team or wider constituents? By identifying what you need and helping people develop those skills, you create an observable increase in the value of your team member.

Create opportunities for further growth and development

It won’t happen on its own. You have to pro-actively work towards developing those opportunities. What self-development could the person carry out? What e-learning and blended learning sessions could they immerse themselves in? Is there any mentoring sessions you could take with them? Identify what you could put in place for them, so they see the value in devoting the time to it.

Create a learning culture within the team

This means acting as the conduit to their learning, growth and development. Encourage them at every opportunity; acknowledge the efforts they are making; recognize any progress and success they are experiencing. A learning culture with drive their confidence and their will to improve.

Feedback, review and enhance learning processes

Feedback is the breakfast of champions, so ensure that you identify progress and feedback what successes they have enjoyed. Review the learnings and their applications. Create chances for them to share learnings within the team. That way, you build more reasons for your team member and others to enhance their knowledge and act upon it.

The last thing I want to emphasize is a caution. None of this will work if you don’t focus on building trust among your team. Your team needs to know they can trust you. Treat them with dignity, respect, and let them know that they are each valuable. If they know their success matters to you, they will respect your development feedback and reward you with the effort of improvement. And that’s one of your most important responsibilities as a manager – one that can be very rewarding as you help people achieve their personal best.

These 5 tips will help your team member take responsibility for their learning and choose their direction, rather than just seeing their role as a job that won’t augment their career opportunities within your department or company.