Your employees' performance problems may have different causes. However, you as the manager cannot afford to fumble around, as the responsibility for their results is up to you. Perhaps you are too much of a stickler for details, and do not give others the freedom that they would benefit from, or you do not provide adequate training for the team. Revealing the true reasons and weaknesses of your management approach have been described in many articles. But today along with The Daily Muse website, we will focus on how to prepare for a change in your managerial approach.
1. Discourage doubters
Changing your managerial style may produce doubts in the team concerning your authority and convictions about your own abilities. In particular, traditionalists will be probably against changing something they were used to. You do not have to make a big presentation about important changes, and in so doing, scare employees. Briefly familiarize your team with the planned changes and show your people that they are certainly not unreasonable. You may agree on regular one-to-one meetings once every two weeks and verify how the changes that were implemented work.
2. Persevere
The results will not be visible immediately. It depends on which changes you have implemented. If you aim to coach your employees more, then do not let up, no matter how uncomfortable it is to you or to your people. In the first few weeks, you might not feel comfortable in your role, and under the onslaught of everyday stress and responsibilities, have a tendency to take evasive action and go back to your old ways. Do not do it. Keep track of any daily progress that you notice, which will then motivate you to persevere.
3. Be adaptable
Your decision to change your management approach may not always be correct. You may subjectively see that a particular change could help solving your current problems, but if it proves that the implementation failed or has had no effect at all, you have to be able to adapt to the current situation and promptly find another solution. Perhaps as the result of this experience, you will find that there is no problem with insufficient employee training, but in your ability to listen actively to their problems.
Of course, numbers and hard data will help you in assessing your progress. Nevertheless, how do you find out that your people are happier or less stressed in the company? A clear idea of how your management affects your team will tell you if your chosen innovation method is correct, or needs a little fine-tuning.
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