You can’t manage a team until you learn more about individual team members. You need to know their strengths and weaknesses, as well as what motivates them. There are many formal and informal ways to get to know your team.  Read prior employee evaluations. They should identify each employee’s strengths and weaknesses. Stop and chat. One advantage of being the first to arrive and the last to leave is that you have plenty of time to talk informally with people. Ask how their job is going and what they need help with. Host a team dinner once a month and encourage staff to bring along their significant others. Pick up the tab. Seeing people interact informally can reveal a lot about what motivates them in life. You’re going to have to establish a communication style. However, you won’t immediately know what works with your team. At your weekly meeting, pay attention to how your team responds. Some team members might hate regular meetings and prefer communication by email. You’ll need to tailor your management style to the members of your team, which might mean holding one-on-one meetings with team members to see how things are going. Giving feedback is an art, and the only way to learn is to practice. Make sure your feedback is sufficiently specific and actionable. You don’t just want to boost someone’s self-esteem. You want your team members to leave knowing what they should do in future situations.  Use “I” language instead of “you” language. “I think it’s more effective to listen when a customer complains” is better than, “You only made things worse when you argued with that customer.”  Your feedback should focus on actionable solutions. Give employees concrete steps to follow. New managers might think they need to have all of the answers, but listening is vital. Involve your team as much as you can. Ask them what ideas they have for solving problems, and implement the ones that are sensible. Always remember to give credit where credit is due.  Active listening requires that you face your team member and give them your undivided attention. Close your email and send phone calls to voicemail. Be nonjudgmental. If you immediately shoot down ideas, your team will hesitate to share with you in the future.
اعرف أفراد فريقك. أقم اجتماعات منتظمة مع فريقك. تعلم كيف تعطي تقييمًا فعالًا. تدرب على الإصغاء.