3 issues that might mean your managers need management training

Managers play a very important role in the day-to-day running of your business — think of the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, leaders who revolutionised the world. A good one is an excellent organiser, keeps staff motivated and can identify key areas of improvement for every employee. However, developing the necessary skills to become a boss takes time. Even those who have been in a managerial position for years might not be fully equipped and have bad habits that trickle into the whole organisation.

As such, management training is essential for any type of business to ensure their leadership team is doing the best job they can. This can help improve communication, provide a better understanding of the role and aid decision-making skills. Take MTD Training, for example, which offers practical short management courses that can be tailored to suit managers of all levels — from new to experienced. The company points out that: “It’s not chalk and talk. Instead we use a variety of delivery methods to bring the learning to life so you can picture yourself using the techniques back at work.”

But, the question you might be asking is: how do you know it’s time for some training? Here we identify three key issues in the workplace that may show your managers need some guidance.

1.    Failing to motivate employees

Motivating your team is an important aspect of being a manager. After all, they’re hugely responsible for keeping your employees enthusiastic to do their jobs. This should involve things like setting goals, giving effective feedback and providing incentives. But failing to do this can lead to high turnover, low employee engagement and decreased productivity.

If your staff are late for work regularly, take more sick days or seem to be lacking focus and input, they could be feeling unmotivated and you should investigate further. You’ll want to identify the root of these issues by directly asking staff how they feel and see if any feelings of demotivation are due to managerial behaviour. A good manager will connect with each employee, sit down with them to set reachable goals and be supportive along the way so that they achieve them.

2.    Poor communication

Good communication is key to a thriving team, however, it can easily go astray if managers lack the necessary skills. Poor communication can present itself in many ways, such as failing to let a colleague or client speak because you yourself are talking too much, not providing enough details on tasks and being too controlling. This can lead to high levels of stress, deadlines to be missed and impact your team’s productivity.

So, be sure to check for these tell-tale signs of bad communication. For instance, high turnover of employees may be a result of this, as poor communication is one of the main reasons people tend to leave jobs. Having to frequently hire new staff can cost your business dearly — as much as £30,614 per employee earning £25,000 or more a year. Duplicated work from your team can also be an indicator that staff aren’t communicating and are unaware of each other’s responsibilities. This can occur if the manager hasn’t properly explained tasks. Meanwhile, if finished projects aren’t up to scratch, this can suggest that expectations and goals haven’t been communicated well to your employees. If you’re spotting these problems, enrolling your leadership team onto a management course will certainly prove beneficial.

3.    Not delegating work

Sometimes managers take a lot of work on themselves, believing that they’re capable of doing everything as a leader. However, this rarely — if ever — works out well. Being overambitious in this role can put strain on their working relationships with staff, impact productivity and lead to burnout. Managers must be able to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of their employees, and delegate jobs accordingly. Good executives also know how best to use their time, collaborate effectively and monitor the performance of workers.

If your managers seem to be working very long hours and appear to feel indispensable while the rest of the team are unproductive, this might mean that delegation isn’t happening. There are many reasons for this, including thinking that assigning tasks to others makes them seem less important or due to a lack of self-confidence. Sometimes it might be because they don’t trust their employees to carry out a job well. This can cause frustration, missed deadlines and prevent individuals from developing in their career. However, one such solution to this problem is management training.