The ability to organise, guide, and support individuals or teams to deliver results effectively and sustainably. It involves setting clear expectations, communicating with clarity, delegating appropriately, and addressing challenges constructively.
“Management is the opportunity to help people become better people. Practised that way, it’s a magnificent profession.” Clayton M. Christensen
Barriers to managing others
Impatient: Leaders may lack the patience required to guide and develop their team, leading to frustration and ineffective management.
Inappropriate approach: A leader’s personal style or temperament may not align well with effective management practices, causing disconnects with team members.
Inexperienced: Inexperienced leaders may not have the necessary skills or knowledge to manage others effectively, resulting in poor team performance.
Low interest: Some leaders may have little interest in managing others, preferring to focus on their own tasks, which can lead to neglect of managerial duties.
Transformation overload: Significant changes within the organisation can make it difficult for leaders to manage, as they must navigate and communicate these changes effectively to their team.
Too many new people: Integrating new members into an existing team can be challenging for leaders, requiring additional time and effort to ensure smooth transitions and team cohesion.
Personal effectiveness: Leaders often struggle with balancing their time between managing their team and completing their own work, leading to inadequate attention to management responsibilities.
Poor communication: Leaders who are unclear or cryptic in their communication can confuse their team, resulting in misunderstandings and inefficiencies.
No vision: Without setting a clear vision, goals, targets, and objectives, leaders may leave their team without direction, causing a lack of focus and productivity.
Poor delegation: Leaders who do not delegate well or do not structure work for others may overburden themselves and fail to develop their team’s capabilities.
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” Paul Hawken
Enablers of managing others
Know yourself: Assess your personal strengths and weaknesses by seeking feedback from colleagues and subordinates. Identify what you do well and areas needing improvement.
Adapt your style: Assess if your management style is negatively impacting your team. Avoid behaviours like impatience, devaluing others, and public criticism. Focus on improving time management to ensure you have sufficient time for your team.
Evaluate your approach: Review your management practices to identify which techniques you excel at and which need enhancement. Gather feedback from your team and create a plan to build skills in weaker areas.
Enhance your communication: Ensure your communication is clear, consistent, and effective. Focus on how well you inform, listen, explain, and provide feedback.
Delegate more effectively: Delegate tasks appropriately to empower your team. Avoid micromanaging by giving your team the authority to complete their work. Ask your team for feedback on tasks they believe they can handle and delegate accordingly.
Bring more structure: Ensure your instructions are clear and tasks are defined and well-organised. Set clear goals and objectives to guide your team’s work.
Celebrate more: Acknowledge and celebrate your team’s successes and members’ achievements. Recognising achievements motivates others and encourages team performance.
Address problems at speed: Tackle issues as they arise to prevent escalation. Addressing problems quickly ensures the rest of the team is not adversely affected and maintains a positive work environment.
Reflect on what brings you joy: Reflect on whether you genuinely enjoy managing others or prefer working independently. If management isn’t your passion, consider roles that allow you to contribute individually without the responsibilities of managing a team.
Learn from the best: Identify effective managers within your organisation and observe their practices. Compare their methods to your own and learn from their strengths. Reflect on the traits of the best and worst managers you’ve had and strive to emulate the positive characteristics.
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right thing.” Peter F. Drucker
Reflection questions on managing others
What are your personal strengths and weaknesses as a leader? Have you recently sought feedback from your leaders, peers and team to gain a comprehensive understanding of how you lead?
Have you evaluated your leadership/management practices recently? Which techniques do you excel at, and which ones need improvement?
Does your management style positively or negatively impact your team? Are there specific behaviours you should adjust to be a more effective leader?
How effectively do you communicate with your team? Do you ensure your messages are clear, consistent, and that you listen actively and act appropriately to feedback?
Are you delegating tasks appropriately and empowering your team to take ownership of their work? What tasks could you delegate more effectively?
Are your instructions and expectations clear and well-organised? Do you set specific goals and objectives that guide your team’s work?
How often do you acknowledge and celebrate individual and the team’s successes?
Do you address issues promptly or let them fester? How can you improve your approach to handling problems quickly and effectively? How could you include your team more?
Are you genuinely interested in managing/leading others, or do you prefer working independently? How does your interest in leadership/management affect your performance as a leader?
Who are the effective leaders/managers around you that you can learn from? What specific practices do they employ that you can adopt to improve your skills?
“Why do anything unless it is going to be great?” Peter Block
Explore related leadership resources
To further develop this capability, examine how it intersects with other core leadership dimensions across the libraries:
Leadership library:
- Accountability (holding): Establish clear ownership and consequences, ensuring that team members understand their responsibilities and the standards of excellence required.
- Assertiveness: Communicate expectations and feedback with confidence and directness, reducing ambiguity and ensuring your team remains focused on the right priorities.
- Building Effective Teams: Move beyond individual management to foster a high-trust, collaborative environment where collective strengths are leveraged for better results.
- Vision and Purpose (Managing): Connect daily tasks to the broader organisational mission, providing the “why” that inspires sustained effort and commitment.
Supporting libraries
- Interpersonal relationships (EQ-i): Build the strong professional bonds necessary to support your team through challenges and celebrate their successes authentically.
- Impulse control (EQ-i): Manage your immediate emotional reactions during high-pressure situations, allowing you to respond to team issues with composure and objectivity.
- Sociability (Traits): Leverage your natural ease in social settings to stay accessible and approachable, facilitating open lines of communication with your direct reports.
- Strategic orientation (Traits): Ensure your management style is not just about the “now,” but is actively preparing your team for future organisational needs and shifts.
Continue exploring: Return to the Leadership Library to view the full directory of competencies and resources.