7 Strategies for Managing People Effectively in 2024

How can we manage our teams not just efficiently but also effectively to ensure your team doesn't just survive but thrives?

Digital acceleration, remote work, hybrid teams, and shifting demographics have transformed how we manage people. But here's the thing: while the tools and terrain might have evolved, the essence of leadership remains centered around humans.

This article will uncover ten cutting-edge strategies designed to help you manage your team with confidence and precision in 2023. 

These aren't your grandma's management tips; these are fresh, focused, and formulated for today's dynamic business landscape.

🤹 What does managing people mean? 

Managing people often referred to as human resource management, refers to the process of guiding, motivating, nurturing, and directing individuals or teams within an organization to achieve specific goals and objectives.

🚨 Managing people goes far beyond simply overseeing tasks and maintaining order. 

The aim is to harness each staff member's skills, talents, and potential to achieve the organization's collective goals.

Effective management is what sets successful companies apart from the rest, as it has the potential to affect an organization's performance dramatically. 

Managing staff encompasses many tasks, such as setting clear expectations, providing feedback, encouraging professional growth, resolving conflicts, and ensuring proper communication. 

Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. 

So, managers are vital in shaping employees' attitudes toward their jobs, commitment levels, and productivity. Engaged employees are known to have higher productivity, lower turnover rates, and a more positive impact on customers. 

Plus, career development issues, which closely relate to people management, were the primary reason employees chose to leave their jobs, demonstrating the crucial role of leadership in talent retention.

💪 7 Practical strategies for managing people 

With the advent of the digital age, the landscape of managing people has shifted significantly. Traditional hierarchical models make way for more flexible and collaborative approaches, and remote work and digital collaboration tools are increasingly prevalent. 

As managers, you must adapt and equip yourselves with the necessary skills to meet these evolving demands. 

Managing people is both an art and a science, requiring a delicate balance of technical expertise, emotional intelligence, and strategic foresight.

Effective leadership involves building trust, promoting open communication, inspiring motivation, and fostering team cohesion. 

Enhancing your leadership abilities is crucial in showcasing your potential at work and facilitating your team in achieving their objectives. 

Let's look at a few strategies to manage your workforce. 

Setting clear expectations

Effective management hinges on clear expectations. 

Consider the example of a project manager launching a new initiative. 

The manager outlines each team member's roles, responsibilities, and specific objectives in the project's kick-off meeting, setting the tone right from the start.

Regular follow-up meetings can serve as checkpoints to ensure everyone remains on track, helping to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.

💬 Check out 17 free one-on-one meeting templates for powerful employee conversations.

Providing constructive & continuous feedback

Feedback can be a catalyst for personal and professional growth. 

For instance, a team leader might observe an employee struggling to meet deadlines. 

Instead of reprimanding them, the leader could have a one-on-one meeting to offer constructive feedback, highlighting areas for improvement while also recognizing the employee's successes and fostering a spirit of continuous improvement.

Continuous feedback ensures that there are follow-ups on the previous input and that the employees are on the track envisioned by the managers.

Motivating and rewarding team members

Motivation can fuel productivity. 

For example, a sales manager might observe a team member consistently achieving their sales targets. 

By publicly recognizing this success during team meetings and offering a reward such as a promotion or bonus, the manager can foster a sense of achievement while encouraging ongoing high performance across the team. 

🏅 Discover 42 employee recognition ideas to boost employee morale and engagement.

Handling conflicts

Conflict is an inevitable part of teamwork. 

Suppose two team members have a disagreement about a project approach.

An effective manager would encourage open communication, providing a safe space for both individuals to express their perspectives.

If necessary, the manager can mediate the conversation, striving for a resolution that respects both viewpoints.

📖 Check out our guide to conflict resolution at work. We included nine expert-backed strategies for managing and resolving conflicts in the workplace.

Promoting professional growth

Supporting team development is vital to long-term success. Imagine a company that offers regular in-house workshops or sponsors employees to attend relevant seminars and conferences.

This emphasis on continuous learning can boost job satisfaction, productivity, and organizational loyalty.

Also, the manager needs to understand how the team members want to grow. 

Having career development conversations in the form of a one-on-one meeting with a set frequency can help managers structure the process.

The managers can help the employees set their own development goals and keep track of these goals to ensure that the employees achieve them.

Having career conversations

Frequent career development discussions can be mutually beneficial for employees and the organization.

For instance, a manager might schedule a quarterly meeting with each team member to discuss their career aspirations and potential opportunities within the company.

Suppose the employee wants to grow in certain areas. In that case, the manager can coordinate with the internal learning and development team to ensure the employee gets the right assistance.

This shows the team that the manager is committed to their professional growth and advancement.

Getting feedback and acting on it

Embracing feedback is an essential aspect of effective leadership.

A team leader might distribute anonymous surveys to gather insights on their management style and potential improvement areas.

Employee feedback surveys are an effective way of understanding how well you are managing your team.

By acting on this feedback, the manager betters their leadership skills and demonstrates respect for team opinions and commitment to personal growth.

✅ How do you effectively manage people? 16 Fundamental principles

Prioritize your own responsibilities 

As a manager, your first responsibility is ensuring your workload is well-managed. Set aside a dedicated portion of your day for handling your tasks without interruptions. Overcommitting to your team can lead to burnout and impact your leadership effectiveness. Once your work is under control, you can better focus on supporting your team members.

Understand your team members 

Effective leadership involves understanding those you lead. Team members with different personalities may respond differently to management styles. Some thrive under direct supervision, while others flourish with more autonomy. 

As a strong leader, you should tailor your management approach to suit individual team members, maximizing their potential. 

To understand your team, you need to know what motivates them, their working processes, the factors that help or hinder their work, and their skills and knowledge. 

This understanding can help you assign tasks more efficiently and address issues without damaging morale.

Begin by honing your active listening skills when discussing with your team members.

Assign tasks effectively 

Delegation is a critical management skill. It involves trusting others with important tasks, enabling you to focus on broader managerial duties instead of overseeing every detail. 

You can delegate tasks appropriately after understanding your team member's strengths, weaknesses, experiences, and skills. 

Establish clear expectations and ensure team members are confident in their abilities to complete their assigned tasks.

By doing so, you show trust in their capabilities, fostering a sense of ownership over the project's outcome.

Take charge of communication 

Be proactive in communicating with your team. Establish clear communication protocols instead of waiting for team members to approach you. 

Define the main communication channels and ensure everyone knows how to proceed if they encounter an issue.

Regularly check in with your team, collectively and individually, to monitor progress and foster open dialogue.

Establish clear workflows 

Understanding each role and its impact on the project helps you manage expectations and create realistic timelines.

A lack of knowledge about project workflows can lead to confusion and delays, hindering your ability to pinpoint and address issues effectively. 

Set well-defined goals using technology 

Set up collective as well as personal objectives to steer your leadership approach. 

Setting goals at the start of a project provides a roadmap for your team. It keeps everyone focused on how their actions contribute to project success.

Document these goals and refer to them when assessing project progress.

Discuss the steps necessary to achieve these goals with your team and allow room for questions and strategy suggestions.

Tip: Use the SMART method for setting goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based. Goals following this framework are easier to manage as you can tailor them to each team member's role and provide clear metrics for accountability.

Practice consistent leadership 

Trust-building is essential for successful management. Demonstrating consistent behavior is one way to earn your team's trust and respect. Be reliable and follow through on your commitments. 

While adapting your management style to individual needs, uphold the same behavior standards for everyone to avoid favoritism.

Some organizations use a leadership competency model, ensuring all leaders are on the same page.

A leadership competency model serves as a tailored blueprint, pinpointing the crucial abilities, behaviors, and characteristics that leaders within your organization must possess.

This framework aligns with your company's unique business objectives and core values, providing a foundation for successful succession planning, focused leadership development, and proficient leadership.

Offer positive reinforcement 

Acknowledging excellent work is a powerful management technique. Celebrate your team members' successes and encourage them to do the same for each other. 

Recognition can range from verbal praise to a formal reward system, depending on what motivates your team the most.

Deliver honest feedback 

Effective managers provide candid and tactful feedback. 

Be honest about team members' strengths and areas for improvement, identify subpar work, and strategize on improvement methods. 

Frame failures as learning opportunities rather than discouraging incidents. 

Tip: You can share real-time feedback using employee feedback tools.

Address conflicts proactively 

In addition to managing individual relationships, monitor the dynamics among team members. Conflicts can disrupt productivity and cause miscommunications.

Should conflicts arise, intervene and help mediate a resolution before it escalates and impacts the workflow.

Seek feedback

Solicit feedback about your managerial style from your team. Their insights can help you improve your leadership and provide the support they need to succeed. 

Consider an anonymous feedback channel to encourage honest responses. 

Foster flexibility 

Promote a respectful work culture by offering flexibility in areas like dress code and workspace personalization. This can enhance job satisfaction and productivity. 

Demonstrating concern for your team's well-being increases their receptivity to your guidance and motivates them to perform their best.

Model expected behavior

Demonstrate leadership by embodying the very principles you expect your team to follow. Despite having a degree of managerial leniency, ensure you meet the same deadlines and standards you've established for your team.

Communicate your contributions towards project achievement to underscore your dedication to the collective triumph of the team.

Conduct regular check-ins 

Schedule routine group and individual meetings to track everyone's progress. 

Proactively check on your team members and maintain a record of these check-ins to identify recurring or long-term issues needing attention at the organizational or procedural level.

Motivate your employees 

Effectively managing people requires a deep understanding of what motivates them. 

Different factors often drive people. It could be career growth, job satisfaction, compensation, or accomplishment.

As a manager, you can tap into these drivers by creating a supportive environment that recognizes and rewards employees for their efforts. 

Establish clear goals and provide constructive feedback while fostering an atmosphere that encourages innovation and creativity. You will inspire your team to perform at their best and feel fulfilled in their roles. 

Focus on development

Employee development is crucial in successful people management. This involves investing in their growth and advancement within the organization. 

Encourage a culture of continuous learning by providing opportunities for skill enhancement through training programs, workshops, or further education. Also, a good manager should offer regular constructive feedback, guide employees on their career paths, and provide them with challenging yet achievable tasks to help them grow. 

This not only benefits the employee but also significantly contributes to the success of the organization.

😟 9 Common challenges of managing people

Dip in performance 

In an increasingly competitive business sphere, there's a constant expectation for employees to perform optimally and meet productivity targets. 

Regularly monitoring employee productivity is vital to counteract dips in performance and motivation. Establish transparent work goals, devise structured work procedures, delegate tasks clearly, and provide helpful feedback.

Underperforming employees need a good coach, and if their managers have good coaching skills, they can learn more quickly as the managers would have more context about their areas of improvement.

Coaching in work relationships requires managers to build trust with team members through clear communication, active listening, and appreciation. Key skills include emotional intelligence for empathy, powerful questioning to provoke thought, goal setting aligned with long-term visions, and storytelling for motivation. 

Additionally, effective coaching encompasses continuous learning, timely feedback, and inclusive leadership that recognizes and understands diversity, all aiming to create an environment conducive to personal and professional growth.

Assess workflow, identify underlying issues, and adjust accordingly. If performance doesn't improve, enforcing work discipline or altering team structure may be necessary.

Managing a diverse team

Facilitating smooth communication is a common managerial hurdle due to diverse team personalities, genders, and races.

Miscommunication can strain professional relationships and hinder productivity.

Enhancing verbal, written, and listening skills, having open conversations with team members, and continuous feedback by implementing a messaging platform can help streamline communication.

Many companies have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(DEI) programs to sensitize their managers & employees on DEI topics by creating awareness and understanding and suggesting effective strategies everyone can include in their daily work.

Leading during change

Managers must be equipped with effective leadership practices during times of organizational change. This gives them a structured approach to managing adversity, focusing on transformational leadership, preparing for change, and enhancing transparent communication. 

Change leadership is crucial for managers to take the team forward in times of crisis, like the recent pandemic.

In certain circumstances, companies may need to let go of employees due to business model changes, relocation, downsizing, or policy violations. 

Though challenging, managers can handle this by tactfully informing employees in private meetings, suggesting other company roles, or providing job recommendations, if possible.

Lack of team cohesion 

Disjointed teams often struggle with communication and cooperation, affecting the project and broader company objectives.

To foster teamwork, elucidate the project's objective, periodically engage in team-building activities, and model collaboration methods.

Handling problematic employees

Dealing with challenging employees is a recurrent issue in management.

Such employees create a tense working environment, damaging team morale and productivity and potentially driving talented workers away. 

To mitigate this, understand the situation through open discussions, attempt to mediate disputes, remind them of the company's policy against unprofessional behavior, and enforce disciplinary measures if required.

Time management 

Ensuring that tasks are completed within the deadline is a manager's responsibility. 

Falling behind can create stress, leading to poor work quality and additional delays. 

To avoid this, draft a detailed project timeline with deadlines and consistently monitor progress. Setting deadlines ahead of the actual submission date provides buffer time for revisions.

Pressure of performance 

Managers often feel stressed due to constant scrutiny from superiors or clients, long working hours, and the need to maintain high standards. 

Structured workdays, a calm approach towards unexpected issues, a focus on solution-finding, and early communication of issues with seniors or clients can help manage this pressure.

Lack of trust 

When employees feel detached from supervisors or think the workload is uneven, they question management transparency. To overcome this skepticism, clear communication and honest discussions about task delegation and its role in overall objectives can build trust.

Retention of top performers 

Maintaining a team of highly skilled employees is a crucial managerial responsibility.

To retain these individuals, offer competitive pay, recognize their efforts, and incentivize them with rewards, benefits, and career advancement opportunities. 

Providing flexible work options and skill-enhancement programs can also be effective. 

➡️ Manage and grow your people with Zavvy

Great managers don't just oversee; they inspire, motivate, and guide their teams to greatness. Zavvy equips managers with a suite of tools designed to unleash their people's true potential.

Whether it's addressing dips in performance, nurturing diverse teams, or retaining top talent, we provide comprehensive solutions to meet the evolving challenges of influential people management in modern organizations:

1. 🌱 People development: Sculpt your people's growth with tailored precision, aligning management and employees for maximum impact.
2. 👨‍🎓 Learning experience platform: Access a diverse course library and personalized skill development paths.
3. 📊 Employee performance reviews: Ensure unbiased evaluations with competency-based performance appraisals and gain strategic insights.
4. 🔁 360-degree feedback: Collect and use input from multiple sources to fuel employee growth. 
5. 💬 One-on-one meeting tool: Strengthen connections and collaborate effectively with recurring agendas, pulse questions, and private notes.
6. 🤩 Engagement software: Craft adaptable surveys, drive engagement, and focus on well-being and culture.

Transform people management into a strategic advantage. Zavvy empowers your teams, unlocking potential, nurturing growth, and fueling a thriving workforce.

📅 Book a free demo if you'd like to see how Zavvy can support you and your people.

❓ FAQs 

What percentage of time should a manager spend managing staff? 

The percentage of time a manager should spend managing staff can vary based on the team size, the complexity of tasks, and the level of autonomy of the team members. However, a common guideline is that managers should spend about 40% to 60% of their time directly managing and supporting their team members. This includes providing feedback, coaching, setting goals, addressing concerns, and ensuring team members have the necessary resources to succeed. It's crucial for managers to strike a balance between hands-on management and other responsibilities to foster a productive and engaged team.

What is the skill of managing people? 

People management skills are more challenging to define than technical skills. They include skills such as workplace communication, trust, and patience, to name a few. Put simply, they are the skills you need to treat, communicate with, and lead your people as a manager for maximum results.

What is the key to managing people? 

Effective communication is pivotal to success in numerous positions, including people management.

In many situations, accomplished managers can clearly articulate their thoughts and ideas to their colleagues.

They masterfully blend frankness with courtesy to relay their point to a diverse audience.

What are the 5 people leadership skills? 

The five people leadership skills are:

• Communication: Effective communication is crucial for conveying ideas, expectations, and feedback clearly and transparently.
• Empathy: Understanding and connecting with team members' emotions and perspectives fosters trust and a positive work environment.
• Coaching: Guiding and developing team members through regular feedback and support to enhance their skills and performance.
• Conflict resolution: Addressing disagreements and conflicts within the team constructively and respectfully to maintain a harmonious atmosphere.
• Delegation: Assigning tasks and responsibilities to the right individuals based on their strengths and skills, empowering them to contribute effectively.