Finding the right way to manage your team

I work with a lot of business owners who are looking for help in getting more out of their team.

But they tell me they are struggling to find the right way to manage people to get the best out of them.

So if you have a team of people and you want a quick way of knowing the best management style for them, here’s a really simple model you can use.

It’s called the Will / Skill coaching model.

You can look at people through 2 perspectives – their will (or levels of motivation) and their skill (their current level of ability). These perspectives are based on the role a person is doing right now.

So, like all good matrix models we have 4 quadrants created from whether someone has High or Low Will and high or Low Skill.

So how would you manage a person who is:

Low Will / Low Skill – you need to DIRECT them by giving them very specific directions, look for ‘quick wins’ and provide frequent feedback

High Will / Low Skill – you need to GUIDE them in the right direction by giving tools, training and up front feedback

High Will / High Skill – you need to DELEGATE to them by providing freedom to do their job, communicating trust and setting stretch goals

Low Will  / High Skill – you need to EXCITE them by firstly identifying the reason for low will, developing motivation and provide recognition to reinforce positive behaviours

So, take a blank piece of paper and start to plot your team members into one of the 4 boxes and this should help you know the approach you need to take in order to manage them most effectively.

If you want more help in getting the best from your team just get in touch on 07972 310997 or  if you’re the owner of an established business in or around Edinburgh why not come along to our free seminar on Wed 13th April. CLICK HERE to register.