Organising Your Management Team

Winning teams aren’t formed through luck, whether in sports or business. These teams develop because people are operating in the positions best suited to their skill sets, while also complementing the skills of others to solve problems and successfully complete projects.

Take a football club as an example. Every football team has a captain and a coach. At some clubs, the coach also reports to, or works in tandem with, a Head of Football or Head of Operations. But even though every football club has a similar hierarchy, some football clubs are much better run than others.

This is the same with businesses. The majority of businesses have similar management structures, yet some businesses perform much better than others. Even though the performance of a business is down to many factors, one of the most important ones has to be the managers and the management team.

Purpose of The Management Team

The purpose of the management team is to lead the organisation. The scope of the management team depends on the nature of the organisation, but, breaking it down, it generally means the management team needs to:

· Develop and manage the execution of the organisation’s business strategy

· Build, manage and maintain the motivation of a team of employees to assist with executing the business’ strategy

· Ensure the organisation functions effectively and efficiently, from the smallest project to the largest enterprise

· Encourage synchronicity between the organisation’s various departments (if applicable)

· Understand and ensure the company complies with workplace relations, workplace health and safety, and other relevant legislation

· Monitor and understand risks and external factors that may harm the business

Building Your Core Team

How you should build your core team depends on you, your needs, and your business’ requirments.

In Australia and New Zealand, the most senior executive is usually known as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director (MD). These two terms are often used interchangeably, although there are slight differences.

If you found a company by yourself — then you generally, by default, find yourself as the CEO. Often the most important person at the company, CEOs tend to make the most important decisions. To assist you carry out your task, you should surround yourself with the best team you possibly can.

Management Team

The management team, sometimes called the leadership team, is the top level of managers at any given company.

Apart from the CEO, it also includes other ‘C-suite’ executives — Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and so on.

Team Management Skills

Putting together a fantastic management team is a great step to ensuring the viability and success of your business — but it’s not the end game. A great team without a leader can, at times, resemble nothing more than a talented rabble. As the saying goes, ‘Every leader is a boss but not every boss is a leader’, and to become a leader that gets the most out of a top management team, you need to develop your core management skills.

· Vision: a lack of direction can leave employees feeling confused about purpose. If you find yourself struggling to communicate your company’s long term vision, step back and write it down. Then reassess every month, quarter or year.

· Effective communication: employee communication is key to effective leadership, so you should work to understand your management team and your employee’s different communication styles.

· Organisation: while it doesn’t come naturally to everyone, getting organised can be as simple as finding somebody in your business who is organised, and modelling their behaviours.

· Functional skills: this doesn’t mean that you need to be knee deep in the daily grind of your business, but rather be able to function as a leader by delegating and creating timelines to ensure goals are met.

· Confidence: not just a trait, but a practiced skill, confidence comes from understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and not being afraid of asking your team for help.

· Respect: disagreements are inevitable, but a good leader treats others with respect and kindness, no matter which side of the argument they’re on. They respect different opinions, and try to understand why someone may have an opinion that differs from theirs.

· Adaptability: when change is in the air, teams look to their leaders. This is when good leaders are able to adapt and thrive in stormy seas. After all, anyone can captain a boat on calm seas.

· Thinking strategically: this often isn’t a result of inspiration, as much as reflection. Good leaders build time into their days to reflect on situations, so that they can connect ideas in a way that will make things happen.

· Having difficult conversations: never fun but often necessary, the ability to handle the difficult conversation professionally and with grace is the hallmark of an outstanding leader.

Set Clear Expectations

As a business owner or manager, setting clear expectations for employees avoids costly mistakes, time wasting and/or frustrations. The keys to setting crystal-clear expectations for your employees are deceptively simple.

· Make the expectations clear for yourself. Define them, so you can clearly articulate them.

· Decide if you need to actually set expectations. Do gaps exist in your team? Find out where your business is falling short, and define what needs to change.

· Understanding why an expectation is set. If you can tell others exactly why an expectation has been set, then you’ll find it easier to gain their support.

· Discuss new standards with employees. Everyone needs to be clear as to what is expected of them. Either sit down with employees individually or as a group, but it is vital that expectations are communicated clearly and thoroughly in a productive two-way conversation.

· Gain agreement and commitment. Once you have discussed and documented your expectations, both you and employees should commit to them.

Consistently Communicate

Mountains out of molehills. We’ve all heard the expression and, unfortunately, probably even experienced it in a work environment. It’s when an employee takes the smallest misunderstanding and, because of inconsistent or non-existent communication, it blossoms into a full blown, stress inducing disagreement that threatens to undermine and divide the workplace.

Of course clear and consistent communication from the very outset can avoid these situations altogether. Consistent communication is so important, it’s worth considering establishing a structured communication process for each project. This way, you can check in throughout the project to ensure everyone is moving towards the project goals, with regular feedback sessions established so you can hear about potential issues before they get out of hand. By proactively checking in with your employees, you’ll be better placed to address any challenges and concerns.

Assembling, organising and running your management team is no easy task. But just like the best football clubs, when you do bring a powerful management team together, you’ll find your business will eliminate many needless own goals, as the skills and abilities of powerful, well-drilled individuals are focussed on winning as one team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Role and Responsibilities of The Management Team?

The management team operates at the higher levels of an organisation, with day-to-day responsibilities for planning, organising, leading and controlling key business functions. By controlling these four functions, the management team works to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of all employees and processes within the organisation.

Who Are in The Management Team?

The management team (aka senior management, executive management or upper management) is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of management. The management team can be — but is not necessarily — made up of the following positions:

· Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

· Chief Operating Officer (COO)

· Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

· Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

· Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

What Are the Basic Elements of Management?

At the most fundamental, basic level, the discipline of managing a business or organisation consists of five general functions: planning, organising, staffing, leading and controlling.

What Does ‘Organise’ Mean in Terms of Management?

One of the five key functions of management, organising is the process of coordinating and distributing resources in order to carry out business objectives. Organising includes developing a structure for the employees, departments, and day-to-day business activities within the organisation.

What are the Best Management Skills?

· Vision

· Effective communication

· Organisation

· Functional skills

· Confidence

· Respect

· Adaptability

· Thinking strategically

· Having difficult conversations

How Do You Organise Your Management Team?

When organising your management team for your business, it’s best to remember that the best management teams are unified by three vital objectives that govern everything they do.

· Strategic focus. Effective executive teams establish a vision for the organisation, balancing risk and innovation and anticipating future needs and opportunities

· Operating as a collective. Top-performing management teams take an enterprise-wide view of their individual roles and team functions.

· Team interaction. The best management teams value differences, listen and communicate well with each other and trust that the individual aims of each member of the team is aligned with the collective goals of the group.

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