Four simple techniques for excellent management

1. Feedback

The best way to learn is through our own mistakes. If we never make a mistake, we never discover anything for ourselves.

What is feedback?

When someone is doing something wrong, they are often unsure exactly what it is they are doing incorrectly. The best way to get across the correct method is by giving feedback.

However, the most common response from a manager is to ask: "Why did you do that?" This requires the employee to re-live the bad experience (of no benefit to anyone) or encourages them to come up with a reason or excuse (valid or not, it doesn't help).

The best approach is to establish what the problem is and to then work on ways to make the most of the situation.

How?

Ask or tell people what you want them to do rather than what you don't want them to do.

For example, say "Be here at 8am", rather than "Don't be late tomorrow'. The first approach works better because the unconscious mind can't to process negatives. (If in any doubt, say to any child "Don't run" and see what they do).

Work with your teams to create a powerful feedback culture - one where feedback is welcomed, relished and used to the full, rather than avoided, feared and ignored.

2. Praise

When someone does a good job, you have a big opportunity to remotivate them. Make the most of this opportunity.

How?

Everyone has a preferred way of receiving praise. Some like public recognition, others a quiet thank-you; some like a pat on the back, others a note, card or gift.

Remember that when you praise an individual, you can achieve maximum impact by praising them in the way they prefer. It is almost automatic to praise in the way we ourselves would like. Sometimes this may work, but you can't guarantee it. The most effective way to give praise is to find out how someone likes to be praised and then to do it that way.

3. Delegation

Delegating tasks is an opportunity to motivate your team and lessen your own workload.

How?

Delegation, like praise, is best delivered through recognising the skills and abilities of an individual and then using them.

In simple terms, most people enjoy doing what they are good at, so let them do it. For example, if someone enjoys working on their own, getting on with a task and having a good eye for detail, they are unlikely to enjoy a task with constant interruptions and reactive demands.

Delegation is about convincing the other person to do a job. Ask yourself before delegating a task: "How can I ‘sell' this task to them?" The same task can be delegated to different people in many different ways. Use differences to your advantage.

Remember: once a job is delegated, don't abdicate - be on hand to offer support and guidance, monitor progress and acknowledge results.

4. Values

Values are our key motivators and drivers. What we spend most of our time doing (or trying to do) will be based around our values. For example, if one of the things you value most is people and relationships, you will probably spend a good proportion of your time with people, building relationships.

Why think about values?

It is vital to remember that different people have different value systems. If you ignore this, you will deal with people as if they had your own values, rather than finding out what theirs are.

How?

Ask the question: "What is important to you about your job?"

People will give answers such as "fun", "teamwork", "recognition", "money", or "learning". These are their values.

Ask what each value means to them. You will then discover how different they are from you. For example, everyone involved in running a restaurant may want that restaurant to be successful, but to the chef this means good food, to the manager happy customers, to the supervisor a happy team, and to the shareholders a healthy bottom line.

When you speak to people about their values, use their own wording and it will spark off what is important to them and they'll be more motivated to work towards the task in hand. It really is that easy, honestly. Have a go.

And how not to do it:

• "If it really is a rush job, run in and interrupt me every ten minutes for a progress report. That helps."
• "If you give me more than one job to do, don't tell me which is the priority. Let me guess."
• "Do your best to keep me late. I like the being here all my waking hours and really have nowhere to go or anything else to do."
• "If a job I do pleases you, keep it a secret. Leaks like that could cost me a promotion. Better still claim it as your own idea."
• "If you don't like my work, tell everyone. I like my name to be popular in conversation."
• "If you have special instructions for a job, don't write them down. In fact, save them until the job is almost done."
• "Never introduce me to the people you're with. When you refer to them later, my shrewd deductions will identify them."
• "Be nice to me only when the job I'm doing for you could really change your life."
• "Tell me all your little problems. No one else has any."
• "Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 5pm. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing."

Produced by Caterer.com in association with learnpurple