I recently came across an article from the Dale Carnegie Leadership Library focusing on leadership skills in the workplace. I was immediately enthralled. As someone who manages a large, talented team, I’m constantly aware that leadership skills go beyond platitudes like “being a good listener.” So, I’d like to talk about proactive management.
I gained a lot of insight into how I work with my team of consultants and helped me understand how I approach management. A lot of those insights can also apply to front-line managers, floor leaders—and many of the clients and SMEs with whom we work daily.
Not having the right tools and mediums is one of the biggest challenges managers face when making decisions or guiding the long-term success of our team members. But it doesn’t need to be so difficult. With the right WFM and HCM tools, we can make this most important of responsibilities go smoothly.
Proactive Management is Investing in Time
I don’t know about you, but I find discussions around individual metrics or team goals focus too heavily on productivity and output. I’m not saying productivity and output aren’t important—of course they are—but they aren’t the only important metrics and goals.
Let’s talk about “failure loops.” A failure loop happens when your team members struggle to learn new things, which causes their productivity to drop. They then falter in their status or success. Focusing too heavily on productivity and output can lead directly to this outcome. Proactive management can help you avoid it.
As my fellow managers know, we have copious superpowers. One of the best is our ability to know our team’s schedule. But, in my opinion, it’s outstripped by our ability to advocate for and allocate what we call “Investment Time.”
This is time that is used to invest in one’s development and success. This could be training on a new platform or system. It could be shadowing to take on additional roles or tasks. It could even be simply allowing your team members the chance to assist with process improvements.
Successful Investment Time is all about finding that magic number. For some it’s 5-10%, for others it may be 20%, but carve out a minimum amount of time as Investment Time on a regular basis. If someone is working 40-hour weeks, 10% gives them 4 hours (uninterrupted) towards that development. As with any good investment, it will yield you much more in the future.
Proactive Management is Being Tuned in to Burnout
As superpowered managers, we should also discuss concerns around burnout. In a 2021 study of healthcare workers, researchers found that worker burnout is on the rise. That much I think you likely already knew. But the study also discovered that burnout is more likely to relapse year-over-year than cases of anxiety and depression.
Researchers were also able to predict cases of burnout. It should come as no surprise that the primary cause was long working hours. Good teamwork and appreciation at work, on the other hand, decreased the likelihood of burnout.
As managers, we can influence both sides of this challenge. For appreciation and teamwork, build a culture of support, knowledge, and togetherness. This isn’t always easy to achieve, but it’s worth it.
Combatting long hours, however, needs a different approach.
Visibility into time off is the key here. This includes understanding your team’s unused accrued time and overtime. With these value points, you can work with your team members to ensure they get the rest and vacations they need. Ultimately, it’s all about finding a schedule that will ensure long-term health and support.
Proactive Management is Data Driven Decisions
Everything I’ve talked about here, and any number of other proactive management topics, can be made easier with data. Reporting & analytics has come a long way. The tools we have available to us today as managers can help us lead our teams much more effectively.
We can plot availability versus skillsets versus scheduled time. We can work with team members who need coverage on their shifts. And we can assign training based on long-term needs-based projects. And that’s just off the top of my head.
In the past, these options could have taken long hours to figure out. But now, thanks to ever-accelerating technology, the necessary information is right there at your fingertips.
And the benefits of being manager in the current age don’t stop there! Decision-making and buy-in to new approaches can be a sticking point for us managers. Having extensive data makes building a plan, getting it approved, and implementing it significantly easier.
How We Can Help
If you’re anything like me, you don’t just want to be good at your job to help your clients or advance your career. A manager wants to be good at their job to enhance their team’s day-to-day experience.
Focusing on the right goals and outcomes is an important element of success. But having the right tools might just be the vital secret ingredient. Want to improve your abilities as a manager? What about the management capabilities at your organization? Please reach out to Axsium Group to schedule a call – we’d love to discuss further.
