Intermediate Manager Skills – Part Two

Sustainable Team Performance 

Team Building, People Management, Performance & Motivation 

Team Roles & Responsibilities 

In any effective team, there are a number of key tasks and activities which must be completed by the individuals working in it. 

Above you can see the activities that need to take place if a team is to be successful – someone needs to make sure that these activities are happening. Depending on the team and its purpose, not all of the above may be essential. Also, it does not mean that you must have at least 6 people in your team! The assumption is that some team members will be happy to take on one or more of the above roles. Experienced managers will know how to make the most of the resources at their disposal, to ensure that the above roles are being taken care of within the team. 

Giving Direction 

This is about pulling ideas together and looking for practical ways of pushing the team into making decisions.People who take on this role are often the appointed leaders.They are needed because sooner or later the talking will have to stop and people will need to get on with the work! 

Promoting Unity 

This is a very important role within the team – someone needs to be aware of how everyone is feeling, picking up signals regardingwhat’s happening within the group. If nobody assumes this role, it is easy for the team to become divided, especially when it is under pressure. 

Deadline Focus 

This person might cause some frustration because of their obsession for detail, but they do make sure that nothing gets overlooked and jobs are completed on time. 

Organising People 

This person turns decisions and plans into practical tasks so that others can get on. Without this there is a danger that nothing will get done.  

Finding Out Requirements 

These people are the ‘fix-its’ of the team, a source ofinformation and ideas. Their role is to prevent the team losing touch with reality and ensuring task delivery, especially when the pressure is on.  

Analysing Situations 

The main aim of this role is to stop the team from committing itself to the wrong course of action. 

Consider your current team – are all of these roles being covered? Some managers would answer ‘yes, but they’re all me!’ This is not a great situation to be in! Can you empower your team to take on these roles? Or, if you have noticed that some of these roles are being taken care of by team members, but not all, what can you do to ensure they are all covered? 

Recognising & Managing Different Team Behaviours 

Behaviour Styles 

Adapting To Behaviour Styles 

Motivation Theories 

Motivation: ‘Getting people to do both willingly and well the jobs that need to be done.’ 

One of the biggest barriers to organisational success is lack of motivation. As a result, time and resources are wasted, and morale is lowered. For people working in the company, being motivated makes work more fun and productive – after all, we spend a lot of time at work and going to the office every day. 

For any company, it’s more cost-effective to have positively motivated people. For the staff – work can be fun, and they can realise their potential. For managers – motivated people don’t need to be closely managed, which saves time and effort, while still producing good results. 

We must also consider the risks of having demotivated people around – not only are they not productive themselves, they demotivate those around them.Motivated and engaged individuals are more productive. The most effective people recognise this and make use of a variety of techniques to motivate other team members, colleagues and clients to get the results they want. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs 

Abraham Maslow, 1943 

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation 

Frederick Herzberg, 1959 

Despite the age of these theories, they can still be highly relevant to the modern workplace. Now let’s consider more recent research into the world of motivation: