Enhancing Team Management: Key Training Strategies for Business Success
Team management is a challenge. Always. But it’s one that you can deal with to ensure your business benefits.
The best way to meet that challenge is by implementing a robust management training strategy. You would expect us to say that, of course! But research backs up the value of training.
For example, a large meta‑analysis of 2,650 teams found that structured team training produces consistent, moderate improvements in team processes and performance, and is therefore a viable way for organisations to enhance team outcomes.
But what are we talking about here?
Basically, you need to equip your managers with the soft skills required to manage people effectively. Sounds easy, but our experience at Keystone is that managers are still promoted from within (understandable – they know the company and your ethos). But they don’t always have these skills. (We’ve written about how you can help prepare them for promotion.)
You also need to equip them with the practical skills to make decisions confidently.
For these two skills to be learnt and stick, team management training is the only guaranteed path to maintaining a successful business. Your managers are the crucial link between your senior people and the employees who work on the ground to make things happen.
And after they complete management training, you receive far more than a financial gain. After training, a highly skilled manager can inspire their team and help them feel more engaged and valued in the business. This leads to a productive and healthy company culture and working environment.
At Keystone, we’re committed to providing bespoke management training that suits the unique needs of your business.
And we’re always happy to see the impact team management training has on our clients’ finances. After all, increasing the bottom line is a key marker of a successful business.
But much more than that, we love to see the impact our top-quality management training has on the people in your organisation. They’re confident and happy. They understand their role and have the skills to deliver.
So let’s unpack the skills we mentioned up top.
Communication and Collaboration in Team Management
The first step towards growing a positive team is communication and collaboration.
These soft skills form the bedrock of any good management training. For example, a good leader brings people into the decision-making process, making them feel valued and an important part of the enterprise.
Growth and development become, by nature, a collaborative process that really focuses on:
- using the right tools
- nurturing a positive company culture
- ensuring communication channels remain open between team members, leaders and managers.
Emotional Intelligence
To get to that point, though, managers need emotional intelligence. By that, we mean they can manage their own emotions. This is essential personal growth before they will be able to inspire others around them.
Why? Because emotional outbursts and ill-considered responses can destroy team culture.
With emotional intelligence in their skill set, your managers can act with empathy and make their team feel valued. This fosters an inclusive and safe environment for your employees to work in.
So, emotional intelligence is a vital part of any good management training strategy.
But we also mentioned the need for team management training to be practical.
Decision-Making: a Practical Team Management Skill
The soft skills that are developed through management training are incredibly effective. But a robust management training programme should also include the practical skills that all managers need.
Project management, health and safety, and decision-making are examples of the key skills that some managers naturally develop through experience. But they can also hone these skills in the classroom. That’s why we recommend you include them as a key part of your training strategy.
When it comes to leadership, there are many ingredients that go into the recipe for success. Soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence separate the great managers from the good ones.
Keystone’s team management training can help your managers to develop these soft skills, as well as build on their practical skills to help bring your business exponential success.
If this kind of bespoke management training sounds like what will help your business, we can partner with you to build the exact training you need. Contact Keystone Training today and let’s talk.
Esther Patrick is a Client Accounts Director at Keystone and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. An experienced consultant and management author, she has nearly 20 years’ experience leading client partnerships across sectors from construction to healthcare and designing leadership, culture, and team development programmes aligned with their strategic goals and values. Esther is passionate about creative, human-centred learning.
