When it comes to business, people management is all about inspiring your team to be the best they can.
Whether you’re a business leader, a line manager, startup founder or part of a team, managing people can be one of the toughest parts of a job.
Good people managers are able to hire, lead, motivate and develop teams to push them and the business forwards.
Why Is People Management Important?
One of the most important assets your business will invest in is its team. A good team can be the difference between a productive and profitable business, and one that quickly loses capital and growth.
According to Quarsh, there are 5 elements of people management. These are:
Create: Build a team that is designed with the purpose in mind.
Comprehend: Understand the people in your team, including what drives and motivates them. Use this to help them grow in a way that benefits them.
Communicate: Talk openly about what is going well, what isn’t and what more you need from them. Having open lines of communication works both ways, with them also telling you any issues, fears or barriers to productivity.
Collaborate: Be at the centre of your team, working with them to get the best results. Take joint responsibility for any failures and work hard to build loyalty and commitment.
Confront: If conflict arises, tackle it head-on. Make sure you understand where the other person is coming from and work towards a resolution together.
If you need a bit of extra help perfecting the art of people management, look no further. Here are some books to help out:
Dare to Lead
Brené Brown talks about the importance of accountability in management, showing managers how to recognise potential in people and motivate them in the best way.
Dare to Lead talks about how courageous leadership and empathy can help build a workplace culture centred around trust, helping leaders keep their teams inspired and motivated to do their best work.
Read the book here.
The New One Minute Manager
This book is all about 3 management techniques that have been proven to work: One Minute Goals, One Minute Praisings and One Minute Reprimands.
The book touches on behavioural science to help managers understand why these tactics work so well with people, giving them actionable and simple methods to implement right away.
Read the book here.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Good teamwork is at the heart of any successful team. Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team talks through the common obstacles teams come up against, and gives ways to overcome them.
Written as a fable, it’s an insightful read that can help any manager understand how to make the most out of their team.
Read the book here.
Leaders Eat Last
Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last explores the behaviours behind the teams that trust each other most. Built on observations of marines, he understood that the best leaders always put their teams first.
By applying this theory to businesses, leaders can build trust and security from within their teams, fostering loyalty and productivity.
Read the book here.
The Ideal Team Player
Another book in fable form, The Ideal Team Player continues the story from the Five Dysfunctions Of A Team, where he explores how to build a great team.
By discovering 3 traits that impact the team’s success more than anything else, he is able to discover the perfect recipe for finding the right people for the job.
Read the book here.
The Making of a Manager
If you’ve recently stepped into a management role, The Making of a Manager is a great read.
Julie Zhuo, former VP of Product Design at Facebook, shares her experience of growing into a managerial role. She talks about managing the team, understanding how to provide feedback and the importance of training and collaboration.
Read the book here.
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