Managers are faced with a variety of challenges in their daily operations. From managing teams to dealing with job insecurity, health and safety issues, and communication problems, managers must be prepared to tackle any issue that arises. In this article, we'll discuss the 12 most common challenges faced by new managers and how to overcome them. One of the biggest challenges for managers is understanding their team's personalities.
Personality tests such as 16 personalities, the Four Trends questionnaire, or Myers Briggs can help managers better comprehend their team's strengths and weaknesses. This will enable them to better manage their team, communicate more effectively, and better understand any weak points. Fatigue is another challenge that many managers face. A recent Gallup survey revealed that 23% of full-time employees felt burned out most of the time, and an additional 44% felt burned out at times.
As a manager, it's essential to find the balance between great performance and taking care of your health and that of your team. Job insecurity is another source of stress for many employees. Health and safety issues related to a possible return to the workplace have also fueled anxiety among many employees. As a result, organizations can no longer rely solely on human resources to boost cultural creation activities.
Today's managers play a more important role than ever in shaping company culture. Hiring has never been an easy task for managers. With the pandemic causing many changes in the workplace, managers must be prepared to deal with virtual hiring, remote work agreements, and employee well-being. Communication is another challenge that many managers face.
Alarmingly, 71% of employees don't read or interact with company emails or content. This can lead to costly communication problems. To improve team communication, managers should look for tools or platforms that best suit their employees or customers. These tools should address the 3 C's: collaboration, coordination, and culture.
Managers should also consider what stage of digitalization their company is currently in and whether or not it's time to improve their current digital infrastructure. Retraining staff is another challenge that many managers face. With 35% of skills likely to be irrelevant in the coming years, it's important for managers to ensure that their staff are retrained quickly and effectively. Human resource leaders have identified developing critical skills and competencies as a key priority over the next three years. Managers should also set up regular one-on-one meetings with each member of their team to get to know them on a personal level as well as a professional level. This will help them shape their leadership style and understand what each employee needs in order to set expectations and objectives.
Team meetings are also important for encouraging camaraderie but may not be the best place for employees to express their concerns or weaknesses. Lack of collaboration is another challenge that many managers face. They must figure out how to work with people they may not even like or be close with. If this becomes commonplace, they may get into the habit of trying to do their work on their own instead of facing the challenge head-on. To overcome this lack of collaboration, managers should open up to their teammates and talk about their abilities on a personal level in order to build trust and improve teamwork. Lack of vision among team members is another common challenge for managers.
It's important for employees to understand the company's objectives in order for them to work together effectively towards achieving those objectives. Managers must also figure out how much information they should communicate with team members in order for them to feel informed without feeling overwhelmed. Finally, redundancy is another challenge that many managers face. When redundancy arises, it can be difficult for managers to know all the information until a final decision has been made. It's important for managers to ensure that talented staff are supported during these times by providing them with learning opportunities and clear paths of development. In conclusion, managing teams can be difficult but it doesn't have to be impossible.
By understanding your team's personalities, taking care of your health and that of your team, hiring effectively, improving communication tools, retraining staff regularly, setting up one-on-one meetings with each member of your team, collaborating with others even if you don't like them, providing clear vision among team members, and supporting talented staff during redundancies can help you overcome any challenge you may face as a manager.
