Owner Manager 101 – Part One: Managing People

Managing people – a broad subject and a daunting one for owners and managers. It’s daunting because using techniques and tools to motivate, inspire and satisfy all those different workplace personalities, who in turn have their own challenges, career experiences and expectations is incredibly tough.

| Are you a good manager?

What’s more, research tells us that effectively managing people is directly linked to the growth and success of your business. ‘Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units’, according to Gallup. In the US, team performance and output can be affected by up to 70% depending on managerial skills (Harvard Business Review).

We’ve all heard the horror stories about ‘bad’ managers, and we all remember the ‘good ones’. You’ve probably worked with a few. Thankfully, more owners and managers are getting on board with the idea that training and learning can help improve levels of people management.

| Manage people to get more from your team

The best people managers understand that you need to deploy different techniques and practices to each individual team member to get the very best out of them – just like a sports coach. The one-size-fits-all approach cannot possibly work, so you have to find out the different ways that exist to handle all those contrasting characters in the workspace.

You may have ideas around how to work with the high and low performers. Great. But what about the vast majority of workers who sit in the middle – those inbetweeners which make up the vast majority of our workforce? They don’t need much supervision and do a good job, but how can you manage them to get even more? Maybe you haven’t even considered that these people might need a little bit more managing?.

| Fast-growth business challenges do exist 

It doesn’t end there, because even if you think you’ve got it right and business is flying, there are still problems. It’s estimated that 55% of companies face talent challenges as a result of fast-growth (World Economic Forum) – around the areas of motivation and staff retention.

What’s your people management style? If you’re an owner, you probably didn’t even consider this important when you first started out – and you probably didn’t have the time. Now you’re bigger, it might be time to identify, refine and enhance.

The tools are out there to help you develop your ability to manage, and consider how you might apply new learning and ideas to your own people management style to get the best out of your teams.

| Learn the ways to manage effectively

We know how you manage people affects your business, and the techniques for enhancing your ability to attract, retain and develop the capability and capacity you need to achieve your company’s purpose are available.

Managing people is fluid and ever-evolving – which is a good thing because it means your business is evolving too – and in a positive way. All this points to the need for continuous training.

A lot of questions here, so what’s the next step? The good news is that you’ll find the answers you need by clicking on The Icehouse’s range of programmes and workshops which address and provide solutions for all the pain points in owning and managing your business.

 For more business ownership and leadership advice check out more of our blogs.