Effective and efficient management is vital for any business, but it isn’t always easy. Managers have long and growing to-do lists which seem impossible to get done, and have to deal with multiple problems which arise throughout the day. You know that you need to ‘work smart’ to get things done, but it always feels like you need more hours in the day. Of course, working late to finish up jobs is counterproductive as you’ll become tired and burnt out – and therefore less efficient.

Improving your leadership and management skills is one thing, but it won’t help if you’re not being efficient in your role. We’ve put together some expert advice for managers to make sure they are being effective – read on for more.

Build a Trustworthy Team

Managers and business owners can’t make it on their own – it’s the employees that help steer the ship. Make sure you create a hardworking team that more importantly, you trust completely. This doesn’t just apply to your supervisors and core team, but even those you outsource jobs to, such as maintenance and cleaning teams or IT services.

Delegate

The reason why you may feel overwhelmed is because you are trying to do too many things at once. Surely many of these jobs can be delegated to other staff members? If you trust your staff (see above) then you need to trust them with some of your tasks, so delegate where possible.

Reward Good Work

Managing a team of happy staff is much easier than leading a team of disgruntled, disengaged employees. To make sure staff are being productive and care about the work they do, you should recognise and reward good work. It doesn’t even have to be a large reward like a bonus, sometimes just a mention in a team meeting or a box of chocolates can mean a lot and keep people pushing to do their best for the company.

Don’t Cram Your Schedule

Effective managers need time to do their job well. Time is precious, so before agreeing to all those meetings, ask yourself if they are really necessary. What will be achieved afterwards, or will you feel like you’ve lost a valuable hour out of your day? See if you can have the meeting minutes emailed over, or send somebody in your place. Focus on your own responsibilities rather than trying to please everybody else.

Follow this advice and you’ll start noticing the difference every day. If you have any other business management tips, please share them with us and get in touch for more information.