Many of us have a general idea of the characteristics that make a solid manager. How they would act, react and lead. But what are some concrete ways to develop yourself into one of those good leaders? The answer you are looking for may lay in the field of employee psychology.
Employee psychology is a subject that focuses mainly on workplace satisfaction, jobholders emotions, strategies to communicate internally and motivations for different work related behaviours.
We have compiled a list of 10 facts on employee psychology that will help you understand and communicate with your team better. The following facts are based on our previous experience and research projects conducted by various institutions including, MIT and Harvard.
You might also want to look at the list of the latest leadership trends to further improve your managerial behaviour.
Without further ado, let’s get right into number 1.
1. There are words that facilitate negative feedback
Researchers have concluded an easy way to decrease the possibility of consequence after giving someone negative feedback. It is so easy in fact that many forget to implement this. Try verbally saying that you have good intentions before going on with the feedback. This is key, as it will remind the other person that you are not judging them.
2. Thoughts on virtual meetings are divided
Employee psychology researchers have encountered what they call to be “preference paradoxes” which mean that people had different meeting preferences. This is why it is so important to not speculate but to ask people how they would like to conduct their meetings.
3. Informal leadership transitions are bad
Employees that get informally “upped” on their career steps with some extra tasks and pay tend to be much more confused and distanced from their job than employees that get those same benefits formally with a prescript and a title.
As a manager, it’s important to make sure you are supporting employees in new roles. After the pandemic, many employees were seeing a greater workload, without reaping the benefits of a new title or any positive reinforcement from leaders. Imagine the negative impact this has on their engagement and retention levels!
4. Praise your people verbally
There is a ton of evidence which suggests that verbal compliments on work performance are directly linked to improved job performance. Keep it humble though, otherwise it will lose its value in the eyes of the person.
To ensure that you’re giving effective feedback, you’ll need to consider the means of facilitation. Are you distributing weekly pulse surveys? Do you use a team management software for an overview of employees’ tasks and projects – allowing you to comment directly for immediate feedback and collaboration? Whatever method you choose, ensure your feedback is honest, frequent, and impactful.
5. Social activities are crucial
Due to the exponential rise of remote work environments in the past few years, the importance of social activities within a team has increased rapidly. The main ways to keep people motivated and feeling like a team is to arrange opportunities to get together.
6. Keep company activity transparent
The simple fact is that people tend to be more motivated and encouraged to do their job if they feel as they contribute to company activities. In order to feel like an asset, they have to know what is happening and where they stand on a larger scale as well.
A great way to do this is to use customizable templates, software, or different engagement and communication tools in teams. Start small with your team, test out different options to see what keeps you connected and working together.
Here is our list of 10 best team management software. With features that increase productivity while encouraging a more goal-oriented, engaging, and collaborative environment for employees.
7. Lead with restraint
Leaders that are competent yet restrained, are the most successful. If your employees respect you as a professional, yet are able to feel equal to you in the workplace, you will receive better performance and overall wellbeing.
8. Keep a horizontal hierarchy
This ties in with the last point and is easier to implement in a small to medium sized companies, not so much in large corporations unfortunately. An employee feels valued and seen when they have the ability to communicate and interact with the executives of the company. Learn about what your employees really want from you! As we mentioned; giving effective feedback is important, yet so is receiving it. Keep the lines of communication open.
9. Encourage self-expression
Another aspect that makes people feel valued and a part of the company directly, is the possibility to express concerns, emotions, and opinions as they occur. Employees feel that when they’re being listened to, they are valued.
10. Benefits are important
The last but certainly not the least are benefits and rewards. Especially nowadays, people appreciate benefits such as gift cards, gym-passes etc greatly. It makes them feel special and taken care of.
Conclusion
We hope that you learned something and now have a better understanding on how to lead your team successfully. We suggest trying out Team Compass software that has already implemented many of the features and benefits mentioned before. For just $29 per month for any size team with unlimited employees, you’ll reap those benefits! Teams of 3 or less use Team Compass for free, all bells and whistles included!