5 strategies for managers that will change everything
by Bonnie Low-Kramen and Sophia Young
Managers need help. More specifically, you need help in the form of training to skillfully handle your teams, some of whom are in person at the office and many others who are working in a hybrid and remote way. How are managers managing all this? Not well, according to research.
Alexis Krivkovich, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, comments, “Many managers are saying, ‘This job has become incredibly hard. I have to ensure there’s no bias [between in-person and remote workers]. I want to make sure there’s productivity. I’m asked to check in on well-being, on mental health.’ It’s an incredible ask.”
Less than 40% of managers feel like they get the tools and the support they need to respond to the new workplace. On top of that staggering metric, Zenger Folkman reports that the average age when a leader receives their first training in managing people is age 46. That’s a problem. A big one.
Something major needs to happen in 2024 to change things up.
Priority number one for you as a manager is to seek training to do your job better. While that’s happening, here are five strategies that will matter to your teams in 2024. The payoff will be huge.
1. Flexibility wins the day
In a time when women are still performing six hours more each day of housework and child care compared to men, the number one job quality that staff are looking for, especially women, is flexibility—minus the guilt. Managers who enthusiastically and overtly support their staff to work flexibly are the ones who are the most successful in retaining their people.
2. Feedback: Give it and receive it often and on a regular basis
We all want to know how we are doing. Regular feedback is a show of respect and caring that communicates I see you. Furthermore, feedback is a major confidence builder as it strengthens the rapport between managers and the staff. Managers who ask for feedback in return from their team get bonus points.
In the new remote and hybrid workplace, it is an even bigger challenge for managers to maintain a clear idea about what individual team members are working on, never mind how they are doing on these responsibilities. Managers urgently need tools for check-ins and ways to monitor productivity without coming across like a micromanager.
Bonus tip for managers: Ask your team for their ideas about doing this!
3. Make it safe to say the hard things
Engaging in difficult conversations is hard enough when you are face-to-face. It is even more difficult over a webcam, so the faster a manager can inspire their team to feel safe to speak truth to power, the better.
The stakes are high. Managers need to know what the staff is seeing and hearing and thinking. Allow the team to speak their minds without backlash, repercussions or being labeled a troublemaker. Otherwise, managers run the risk of making important decisions in a vacuum, without complete information. That’s dangerous. For these reasons, managers must make one-to-one communication with each person on the team a high priority.
4. Talk as openly as possible about money
Money is on their minds. It’s on yours, isn’t it? Managers who have loyal teams pay their people fairly, in a transparent way, and they are willing to talk about money. Even if a manager doesn’t have all the answers or cannot say “yes” to everything, staff will appreciate a manager who works to take the discomfort—and the mystery—out of the conversation. Smart managers don’t allow discussions about compensation, bonuses, promotions and career paths to live in the land of fear, secrecy and the forbidden. Too many staff are made to feel as if the money conversation is a personal one to their managers, rather than what it should be about: business.
5. Commit to a no-drama culture of respect
I regularly post job openings on my LinkedIn page. One recent post received over 12K views, and the comments indicate that the high visibility was due to one line in the job description. It reads, “The CEO team is strongly committed to a no-drama culture of respect.”
Managers who want to attract top talent will have a zero-tolerance stance on bullying and leading by intimidation.
2024 is not an easy time to work as a manager. The job will be made easier by leaning on the team members they painstakingly hired in the first place. Everyone was hired for a reason, even the managers. Training will be the key to a happier and healthier staff for the long term.
Bonnie Low-Kramen is a TEDx speaker and a bestselling author of Staff Matters: People-Focused Solutions for the Ultimate New Workplace, which is excerpted in this article. Sophia Young is a writer committed to telling stories and painting the world through her words.
