Think About Your Approach To Managing Individuals

That's an important concept to discuss, at the very outset. It can be tempting to imagine that your main task involves ensuring that all team members are productive, but it's not always a good idea to think in terms of a single mass. In fact, you need to embrace that fact that people are individuals.

You may be surprised to learn that many business owners appear to really struggle with this thought. They may be aware of the basic principle, but they simply can't put it into practice. They attempt to come up with an approach that is suited to all, only to find that it fails for some people.

This becomes clear when you consider the issue of motivation. This is an area that concerns many people, since there is usually a clear desire to motivate others, in order to get them to work in a manner that is better for the business. But how do you currently approach the subject of motivation?

What I would say, in this particular case, is that you need to think very carefully about what is likely to appeal to individuals. Some people are clearly financially motivated, but you should certainly avoid falling into the trap of assuming that everyone acts in the same way. It's not true to say that offering more money will produce better results.

There are plenty of people who care far more about having time to relax and spend time with family members. By showing that you also care about such concerns, you'll often find that you can get better results for the business. There's also the need to think about interaction between individuals, since it would not be true to say that everyone will always get along well.

You need to have that ability to stand back and to try to offer an objective view. This is not always easy, particularly if you find that your own thought processes appear to mirror those of particular employees. It's so critical, however, that you are seen to offer a fair view.

It's also only right and proper that we should point out that you will make mistakes. That is human nature and certainly reflects the difficulties associated with managing others. Over time, you'll be looking to limit those errors and the impact of them. Don't be too disappointed when things do go wrong. Instead, simply seize the opportunity to learn and to improve your approach.