Management Training Tips To Help You Thrive
Stepping into your first management role is a huge career milestone. You have achieved a lot over your professional career to build you up to this pivotal point in your professional journey.
However, moving into a management position can be a time of both immense learning and great stress. Whether you are leading a team of 2 or 200, you are now required to step up and lead and, even for the most experienced professionals, there is always something to learn.
Learning the skills so that you not only survive your first management role, but thrive is the key to making sure you are destined for success as a manager.
Developing the ability to effectively manage yourself, your team and adopting an effective management style are just some of the cornerstones of team management.
We cover the core management training skills below:
1. Managing yourself
Greater responsibility comes with greater stress. Being able to manage yourself in a management role is fundamentally one of the most important aspects to becoming an effective manager.
Your new position will demand more of you both personally and professionally, as being the point of call for a group of people requires you to be at the top of your game at all times.
Your team will look to you in times of challenges to lead and make the right decisions; how you respond in times of stress and difficulty will set the tone for your team.
Managing stress levels with effective self-care strategies will help you be at the top of your game.
2. Practice self-awareness
Building self-awareness helps you to develop a greater understanding of your own emotions and how to manage them as well as being able to constructively read and respond to the emotions of others.
There is an element of vulnerability required to build self-awareness that requires an open inquiry into your strengths and weaknesses and a willingness to commit to continuous self improvement.
3. Setting boundaries
Navigating new relationships, expectations and demands from your team can be one of the biggest learning curves for a new manager.
With a whole team looking to you for support and guidance, it is integral to learn how to respectfully but assertively set boundaries.
Setting boundaries depends upon your unique working environment, however they come down to being able to effectively manage relationships, expectations and maintain boundaries all contribute to maintaining a professional working environment.
4. Time management
Integral to your success as a first-time manager is your ability to effectively manage your time.
Making your way to manager already indicates that you can successfully manage your own time, however there are always new methods you can adopt to improve your time management so you can be more effective at work, stay on top of your tasks and support your team to do the same.
Effective time management is the key to productivity and a feeling of overall achievement not only in your professional life but in your personal life as well. Time management is also a fundamental management skill: knowing how to effectively plan, prioritise and schedule your workload will help you manage an ever growing number of tasks and people.
Being able to manage a large number of impending tasks and coinciding schedules requires the ability to be able to manage priorities according to urgency and importance, not only your own, but your teams as well.
Learn how to get more done with less time and enhance your time management skills with Pathways Australia’s Time Management Course.
5. Set a monthly, weekly and daily schedule
When you’re coming to the end of a busy week, knowing where you and your team stand on a range of tasks and projects will help everyone feel on top of the workload. Not only will this help with general workplace organisation, it will help to prevent stressful situations from arising.
A comprehensive and well planned schedule you can review at the beginning of your day, will let you know exactly the direction you and your team are headed.
6. Embrace a flexible mindset for when things don’t go to plan
As we all know, even the best laid plans can take unexpected turns. Unforeseen challenges arise: this is the nature of both work and life.
Allowing for flexibility in your schedule for when things don’t go to plan requires being able to adapt plans and expectations to changing circumstances. Being able to adapt and modify your own and your teams schedule accordingly is a key component of being a successful manager.
7. Developing your own management style
Developing a robust management style that works for your unique team and organisation is one of the most important aspects of becoming a leader.
There are a wide range of management styles, ranging from the authoritarian to the democratic.
Learn more about a range effective of management styles and one’s to avoid here.
The wrong management style can have a negative impact on both your team and organisation resulting in lower productivity, decreased work quality, increased turnover and reduced profitability.
Finding what works for you and your team is another big learning curve you will face as a new leader.
8. Planning for team wide success
At the end of the day, the success of your team comes down to everyone being on the same page. This requires clear lines of communication, effectively managing expectations and setting clear, achievable goals.
From effectively managing your own tasks at work, you are now managing and supporting a team of people to do the same. Getting all members of your team on board for a project deadline can be a precarious balancing act that requires careful planning, frequent updates and clear relaying of information. Effectively delegating tasks, ensuring schedules are clearly defined and communicated across teams in a respectful and supportive manner will help you and your team reach targets and work effectively as a group.
If you are a first time manager looking to develop team building skills, Pathways Australia’s Building Teams Course will give you the knowledge and skills to build a high-performing and motivated team.
9. Creating a supportive workplace culture
Creating a culture where your team members feel that they can talk openly and honestly about their work is essential to being a successful manager. So much of coming into a management position is about developing and maintaining relationships. Getting to know your team, their individual attributes, their roles and responsibilities and building positive working relationships is vital to ensuring the individuals in your team and your team as a whole can flourish.
10. Understanding your team as individuals and as a collective
Being able to successfully manage a team requires an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of each team member.
In your new role, you may be managing a team with a wide range of skills and areas of expertise. Having a deep understanding of each staff team member’s role and responsibilities and an accurate understanding of the time it takes to complete tasks is important to ensuring projects are effectively delegated and scheduled.
How can a management training course prepare you for success?
Investing in a management training course can help you build the skills you need to become an effective leader.
The leading Management Training Course developed by Pathways Australia will help you develop:
- Clear insights into what leadership and management techniques work (and don’t work!)
- A ‘toolkit’ of practical tips, techniques and ideas
- More confidence to deal with management challenges
- Prepare for higher level management roles
Pathways Australia’s management training course will support you in developing the skills to manage yourself, your time, your team and much more.
We offer free post-course support to provide you with the assistance and guidance you need during this pivotal point of your career.
For more information, download our free management training course flyer.
