Self Help Tips For Professionals - Managing People Effectively

How can you fly like an eagle when you are surrounded by turkeys? I guess that adage speaks to the fact that you are only as good as the people you work with. For managers this means you need to not only manage people, you need to manage them well. If a manager fails to manage her/his people well, it won't be long before they are looking for new employment. Here are ten helpful tips for managing people effectively.

1. Manage up as well as down.
Keeping your boss informed of your projects and their outcomes avoids surprises and embarrassment for you and your boss. Even if outcomes are not as favorable as expected, your boss needs to know this BEFORE her/his boss calls them on it.

2. Keep your staff informed
Let all levels of staff know where things are at any given time. You are more likely to get their cooperation more readily if they know what's going on and how they fit into the big picture.

3. Solicit feedback from people who report to you.
Including people in the loop assures their commitment and buy-in, particularly when changes are happening quickly. No one likes to be talked at instead of talked with.

4. Institute as few changes at the same time as possible.
Too many changes at the same time overwhelm people and confuse them. Implementing 1-2 changes at a time is more practical and more likely to produce better results by giving people a chance to acclimate and switch gears.

5. Seek a champion at a higher level than you.
Getting buy-in from upper levels of management is more predictable when you have someone at that level who can promote the program/project for you. Higher-level endorsements lend more clout and credibility to your cause.

6. Present your position with accurate and reliable data.
Numbers speak louder than words. Accurate data also enable you to present yourself in a charge-neutral mode without the emotionalism that comes from being challenged.

7. Include objective outcome measures into your project/program.
Insuring buy-in, endorsement, and continued commitment requires that you measure your effectiveness with tangible outcomes. For example: how much money did you save your department/unit, how did you add value to the existing operation, and what did the changes affect?

8. Educate people at all levels of your organization.
Staff and management at all levels need to understand the big picture and how they fit into it. Remember that what seems mundane to you is not known by everyone else. Don't assume anything.

9. Build in accountability to your staff's responsibility.
Setting expectations for each level and employee ensures that they will follow through. From the very beginning, let each person know exactly what is expected of them, the timeline, and how their effectiveness will be evaluated.

10. Create an incentive program for each unit/team.
Adding an incentive will help keep people motivated and inspired. It can also help develop group pride and cohesiveness, camaraderie. Keep in mind that you need to have the right people mix to start with or this won't work.

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