The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.

me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

The Complete Team Management Guide

Marija Kojic

The success of a business or project often depends on the team working on it – if the
team is unorganized, unfocused, and disoriented, the business or project often have
no other choice but to fail spectacularly.

In such a poor team, deadlines get missed, priorities get overlooked, and proper
organization and communication are scarce – as the overall consequence of poor
teamwork, the professional reputation of your business takes a hit, and your client
pool starts to shrink.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, you’ll need to improve your team’s workflow and
introduce proper team management into your organization – here’s everything you
need to know about how to manage a team successfully:

What is team management?

Why is team management important?
What does a management team do?
What are team management styles?
What is effective team management?
What are the key management skills?

What is team management?

Team management is the ability to perform a number of activities that ensure a

1 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

group of people carry out their work as planned.

It can be carried out by an individual or organization – in gist, it involves various

organization and administration activities, including:

✅ activities that facilitate teamwork

✅ setting team priorities

✅ making sure the team priorities are carried out

✅ setting objectives

✅ efficient communication

✅ performance appraisals

Why is team management important?

Team management is important for an organization for 4 crucial reasons:

1. It facilitates effective team building

2. It boosts productivity
3. It promotes and encourages learning
4. It improves employee satisfaction

1. Facilitating effective team building

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win

championships.” – Michael Jordan

2 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

You can never stress the importance of proper teamwork in an organization enough
– and team management facilitates teamwork through effective team building.

Team management makes sure that the right person does the right job – i.e. that his
or her experience, education, and skills align with the expected results of the tasks.

And, when everyone performs the job they were trained and hired to do, employees
are happier and generally more willing to cooperate with each other – resulting in
better teamwork on the whole.

2. Boosting productivity

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

It goes without saying that two heads think better than one – they also perform faster
and are more likely to deliver quality results.

Team management and its implied chain of task allocation make sure the right
people are paired up to craft new ideas and find efficient solutions to problems.

All of this results in a quicker turnover and fewer time-consuming do-overs.

3. Promoting and encouraging learning

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I

learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

A team that is constantly learning is constantly improving – and team management

encourages learning, growth, and development of both the team and individuals
within that team.

This is because proper team management encourages employee training, discussions,

and a constant flow of information – all of which improve the teams’ knowledge and
experience.

4. Improving employee satisfaction

“Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.” – Jackson Brown Jr.

Proper team management is concerned with finding the best ways to make a group of
individuals work together as a team.

This may involve team building activities, appraisals where they’re due, as well as
cultivating a supportive, transparent team atmosphere.

A group of individuals who feel comfortable working together in a team will be

happier at work as a result – and they’ll also always show better results.

Clockify pro tip

The importance of team management for a successful business is undeniable – if

you’re looking to improve your team management further, then check out our guide
to the best team management software.

3 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

What does a management team do?

We’ve established what team management is, and why it’s important – now let’s see
how team management works on a larger scale, in the form of a management
team.

A management team is a group of managers that belong to the same organizational

level – they meet up on a regular basis to share new information, make reports to
their superiors, and make decisions that affect the company on the whole.

There are 5 types of management teams:

1. Staff management teams – They run individual departments. Their set of

skills, abilities, and experience is specialized and tied to the department they
are running.
2. Line management teams – They run specific departments, i.e. the ones that
are involved in producing, delivering, and selling the company’s products
(usually applies to companies that make physical products).
3. Boards – They are usually in charge of overseeing work and governance, and
they meet up to make joint-decisions about the subjects they’re in charge of.
4. Councils – They are usually in charge of providing advice and input, as well as
coordinating company-wide activities. They also meet up to make join-
decisions about the subjects they’re in charge of.
5. Teams of executives – They are the top management group in an
organization, and are in charge of making company-wide decisions together.

The elements that make a management team successful…

Here’s a checklist showing what each successful management team needs to have:

✅ The ability to define the company or organization goals precisely.

4 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

✅ The basic understanding of the priority activities the organization needs to focus
on in order to reach the desired goals.

✅ Access to information crucial for making informed decisions.

✅ Efficient cooperation that facilitates the process of achieving team goals.

✅ An efficient way of processing the information crucial for achieving team goals.

✅ A workflow that makes sure that decisions made get turned into concrete actions.

That’s the theory about management within an organization, but practice is always
more important.

And, bear in mind that each management team and the individual manager has its
own way of managing teams, projects, and tasks.

This is also known as a personal team management style.

Team management styles

There are 9 main team management styles you can implement:

1. Coaching
2. Laissez-Faire
3. Democratic
4. Visionary
5. Transformational
6. Transactional
7. Servant
8. Autocratic

5 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

9. Pace-setting

Each has its pros and cons, but some are more efficient than others:

1. Coaching team management style

“Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.” ― Sheryl Sandberg

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style is focused on maintaining the

employee’s professional development in the long run.

Famous Coach leader: Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

What are these managers like? Coaching team managers like to pass on their
knowledge and then watch their teachings result in employee growth. They overlook
short term problems and failures because they expect their employees to learn from
their mistakes and get better over time.

How do these managers provide motivation? Coaching team managers like to

motivate their employees through a combination of rewards and trust – in the form
of promotions and more responsibilities.

✅ Pros:

It produces a positive environment in the workplace

The employees always know what the managers expect from them
The employees grow and develop their skill sets

❌ Cons:

It may take some time to prove efficient

The mentoring approach may not work for some employees
It requires specific coaching for each specific situation

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

2. Laissez-Faire (Let do) team management style

“Not doing what we love in the name of greed is very poor management
of our lives.” ― Warren Buffett

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style grants employees almost

complete freedom to do what they think they should do – the teams are self-directed,
and there is no overseeing and interference.

Famous Laissez-Faire leader: Warren Buffett, business magnate

What are these managers like? Laissez-Faire team managers like to give their
employees complete freedom in how they’ll handle their assignments – they only
interfere if there is a problem, or if their teams specifically ask them for more
directions.

How do these managers provide motivation? Laissez-Faire team managers

6 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

expect their teams to find their own motivation for their work.

✅ Pros:

It promotes innovation and creativity

The employees can focus on the work they feel the most passionate about
It allows employees to experiment when looking for the right solution

❌ Cons:

Experiments can go wrong, which results in a lot of wasted time

Not suitable for an inexperienced team who needs more guidance
Potentially risky, as the managers may not learn about huge problems until late
into the project

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

3. Democratic team management style

“I ask everyone’s opinion when they don’t speak up. And then when they
have an opinion, I’ll ask others to talk about it.” ― Ginni Rometty

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style pursue the notion that everyone
should have a say in an organization, regardless of their title in the company – the
best idea always wins, no matter who brought it to the table.

Famous Democratic leader: Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM

What are these managers like? Democratic team managers like to give their
employees every chance to share their ideas and contribute to the company’s growth.

How do these managers provide motivation? Democratic team managers

motivate their employees by making everyone equal in terms of participation.

✅ Pros:

The employees feel valued and appreciated

It promotes innovation and creativity
It encourages responsibility and decision-making

❌ Cons:

It may take some time to prove efficient

It may trigger resentfulness in employees who think their ideas are never taken
into consideration
Not suitable if you often have to make fast decisions

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5

4. Visionary team management style

“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so
few engage in it.” ― Henry Ford

7 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style involves defining a vision and
overall strategy and then letting the employees work the way they see fit – however,
there are regular progress checkups.

Famous Visionary leader: Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company

What are these managers like? Visionary team managers like to make sure the
employees know the overall vision of the company or project – but they don’t
micromanage every detail.

How do these managers provide motivation? Visionary team managers

motivate employees by giving them full autonomy over the work – the employee’s
self-direction takes it over from there in providing motivation.

✅ Pros:

The employees are encouraged to find goals and solutions that suit everyone in
the team
It facilitates team building
It’s great for implementing changes in the company

❌ Cons:

Great visions don’t always lead to great actions

Not suitable for new teams who need more direction
The details left unattended during regular check-ups may lead to serious
problems later

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

5. Transformational team management style

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” ― Steve
Jobs

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style emphasizes changes, innovations,

and growth as the best way to cultivate an efficient organization.

Famous Transformational leader: Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple

What are these managers like? Transformational team managers like to inspire
their teams to develop their skills and improve their performance – by having high
expectations.

How do these managers provide motivation? Transformational team

managers motivate their employees by constantly raising the bar – as a result,
employees feel motivated to work harder to reach new milestones.

✅ Pros:

It helps you assess the company’s situation quickly

The constant innovations trigger passion
The constant innovation trigger an enthusiastic environment

8 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

❌ Cons:

The bigger picture makes you pay attention to the details in your company
Some managers may abuse the transformation management style
Depending too much on passion may make you overestimate the realistic reach
of your company

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5

6. Transactional team management style

“As the company has grown, we have continually worked to have an
organization within an organization. Small teams can communicate
efficiently and aren’t encumbered by a big structure slowing them
down.” ― Bill Gates

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style is focused on making results by

implementing a reward-penalty system, as well as establishing a clear structure and
hierarchy in the team.

Famous transactional leader: Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation

What are these managers like? Transactional team managers like to set criteria
and requirements the team needs to reach – the employees get a performance review
based on whether they met the set criteria and requirements.

How do these managers provide motivation? Transactional team managers

motivate their employees by providing an extrinsic reward if they do well
(promotions and money rewards) and penalties if they perform subpar.

✅ Pros:

It gets easier to achieve short-term goals

Great for organizations with repetitive tasks
Great for overtime work

❌ Cons:

After some time, the effect of such extrinsic rewards may wear off
Not sustainable for longer time periods
Not suitable for promoting innovation and creativity

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

7. Servant team management style

“Leadership is not about your ambition. It is about bringing out the
ambitions of your team.” ― Cheryl Bachelder

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style implies a manager “serving” the
team – this involves mentoring, supporting, and advising the team.

9 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

Famous Servant leader: Cheryl Bachelder, former CEO of Popeyes

What are these managers like? Servant team managers like to put their team
first and the tasks they perform second.

How do these managers provide motivation? Keeping employees happy

makes them more motivated to perform their tasks.

✅ Pros:

The team’s requests and ideas are discussed at length

Great emphasis on building a healthy team culture
Great emphasis on learning from one’s mistakes

❌ Cons:

It may take longer to make decisions

The manager loses formal authority
No official pressure for the employees to perform well

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

8. Autocratic team management style

“You can have your titular recognition. I’ll take money and power.” ―
Helen Gurley Brown

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style implies clear directions to team
and complete control over what they do and over what should be done.

Famous Autocratic leader: Helen Gurley Brown, editor in Chief of

“Cosmopolitan”

What are these managers like? Autocratic team managers like to have complete
power in making decisions, and they expect no advice, ideas, and input from people
they are managing.

How do these managers provide motivation? Autocratic team managers

expect their employees to find motivation for their work themselves.

✅ Pros:

Effective in cultures that expect the managers to have higher-level power

May prove effective for new employees who need more guidance and direction
Provides clarity and structure for employees

❌ Cons:

A generally demotivating team management style

May trigger low employee engagement – and a lack of innovative ideas great for
company growth
Leads to micromanagement

10 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐ 2/5

9. Pace-setting team management style

“When you were made a leader you weren’t given a crown, you were
given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.” ― Jack Welch

ℹ What’s it about? This team management style implies the manager is the
ultimate leader who sets a pace for work and provides all directions and guidance –
the employees merely follow the manager.

Famous Pace-setting leader: Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric

What are these managers like? Pace-setting team managers like to set high
standards, as well as set a challenging pace.

How do these managers provide motivation? The high standards and fact
pace motivate the employees to work hard in order to keep up with the rest of the
team.

✅ Pros:

Great for tackling demanding challenges and short term goals

The manager’s pace-setting position serves as a model to others
Great for new, inexperienced employees who need more guidance

❌ Cons:

Not sustainable in the long run (higher risk of burnout)

The emphasis on personal successes (rather than team efforts) may lead to
resentment and unhealthy competition
The manager performs a lot of the work that could better be delegated to some
other team members

The overall level of effectiveness: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5

So, how do the different team management styles stack up against each
other? Well, let’s look at their overall levels of effectiveness:

1. Coaching: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

2. Visionary: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
3. Democratic: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
4. Transformational: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3.5/5
5. Servant: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
6. Laissez-Faire: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
7. Transactional: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
8. Pace-setting: ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
9. Autocratic: ⭐⭐ 2/5

11 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

The bottom team management styles may prove efficient under certain
circumstances or in smaller doses but are generally too rigid (or too flexible, like in
the case of the Laissez-Faire style).

They’re less motivational, and leave room for a lot of wasted time in order to be
efficient over a longer period of time.

Task delegation is often side-lined, and check-ups and control are either too frequent
or too infrequent to give the best team management results.

On the other hand, the higher-level team management styles are more
complex, flexible, yet still enough hands-on on the part of the manager.

Proper task delegation is emphasized, and check-ups are regular without being too
intrusive.

Clockify pro tip

As the best team management styles imply motivation is important for successful
team management – check out our research-based Motivation guide about how best
to trigger motivation in your team and make sure everyone stays motivated in the
long run.

What is effective team management? And what

makes an effective team manager?

Some team management styles may be better than others – but, the steps and skills
you need to undertake on the road to efficient team management are always fool-
proof.

In gist, effective team management is a complex system you can easily acquire if you

12 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

follow the right patterns.

Let’s say you have 10 people in your team that need to report to you about the
progress with a client project on a regular basis.

Your responsibility as an efficient team manager is to make sure:

The team understands their responsibilities.

The team is happy with their responsibilities.
You share the workload equally.
You assign tasks to the team members who have the skills, abilities, and
experience to tackle said tasks best.
You take the team’s ideas into consideration.
You provide incentives to help motivate the team.
You organize team bonding activities that improve the team’s efficiency.

The listed elements are just the outcome of efficient team management you need to
checkmark – you’ll also need to nurture certain key management skills throughout
your career if you want to be efficient and successful:

What are the key management skills?

Having the right team management skills is crucial for your success as a team
manager. These skills are typically divided into three types of skills: technical skills,
conceptual skills, and human (interpersonal) skills.

Technical skills
Technical skills involve the knowledge to use a variety of techniques in order to reach
the team’s goals:

13 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

operating software
operating machines
using production tools
boosting sales
marketing

Usually, it’s the first-level managers who need to possess technical skills – as they
progress across the management ladder, the need for technical skills decreases.

Conceptual skills

Conceptual skills involve the ability to formulate ideas and think about:

diagnosing problems in a concept

analyzing problems in a concept
finding creative solutions to problems
predicting and preventing similar problems in the future

These skills are vital for any manager, especially those in charge of teams working on
a dynamic and changeable project – for example, teams who develop apps.

Human (Interpersonal) skills

Technical skills involve the manager’s “people” skills:

efficiently communicating with team members

efficiently cooperating with team members
relating to team members’ problems and challenges
motivating team members to make the most of their potential

Human and interpersonal skills are important no matter what kind of manager you
are – knowing how to communicate what you want the team to achieve often proves
to be the most crucial set of skills of all.

The division into technical, conceptual and human team management

skills is still just a broad one – there are 8 key management skills you’ll
need to implement and practice in order to build an effective team
management system:

Pacing your enthusiasm ♀

Instead of diving right into new work just because you’re excited about a fresh, new
start, give yourself some time to think about how best to approach said work:

Divide the work into smaller stages.

Define tasks the team needs to finish in order to make each stage a success.

If possible, divide the tasks into smaller sub-tasks, to make them more manageable.

Make the effort to understand everyone’s roles in the project – then, think about how
you should best delegate tasks according to your team’s strengths, skill sets, and
abilities. You can use Clockify to assign people to tasks so that everyone knows who is

14 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

in charge of what.

Considering that Clockify is also a team management software, you can also best use
it to make sure the team sticks to the plan and doesn’t get side-tracked – instruct
your team to track time on the tasks they perform at work. This way, you’ll be able to
track everyone’s progress and compile an archive of the tasks that have been
performed thus far.

Setting realistic expectations

No matter how enthusiastic and understanding a manager everyone thinks you are, if
you’re unable to define realistic goals… You won’t be a realistic manager.

So, always set goals your team has the skills and abilities to reach, as well as
deadlines they can beat – and make sure you have realistic expectations of the
outcomes and their results throughout the project.

Defining inspiring motivators

Introducing the right motivators is a great way to inspire your team to strive for the
best results – but, you’ll need to analyze the situation in order to figure out what
kind of motivators would work best for your team.

Of course, raises, bonuses, and promotions are always a great reward for a job well
done – when in doubt, that’s the way to go.

But, some team members may value other types of rewards even more:

A team member who has a long commute to work might appreciate the option
to work from home from time to time the most.
Another team member may find praise for a great performance the most
inspiring motivator.
Others may even appreciate it if you throw a pizza party or organize a fun
bowling night when you finish a crucial stage of the project.

Once you understand what drives individual members of your team, it will get easier
to motivate everyone out of a dead-end when times get tough.

Explaining the “why?” behind the “what?”

Defining tasks and assigning them to the members of your team is only half of the
work – you’ll also need to make sure they all understand why their tasks are
important for the project in the first place.

So, take the time at the beginning of the project to highlight the importance of each
task – this way, you’ll underline the magnitude of the contribution to the project the
team will make by working on said task.

Which can, in turn, serve as a great motivator.

Encouraging your team to pursue new knowledge

15 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

The right knowledge always makes the team faster and better – so make sure you
encourage your team to learn about the innovations in the industry that can help you
reach your goals faster and better:

Provide them with the right information.

Organize team training sessions.
Introduce your team to the productivity tools that will help you streamline your
workflow.

As a result, you’ll equip your team with the right resources that ensure they’re able to
make independent judgments in their work and make expected progress.

Building a team culture

If the people in your team like working together, they’ll have better results at work.

So, don’t underestimate the power of great team culture – this includes beliefs, rules,
attitudes, and values you’ll want to work by.

Great team culture is one where people:

support each other

listen to each other
collaborate in order to reach their goals

It’s one that has a system for resolving disputes – a system that takes both sides of
the argument into consideration.

Last, but not least, it’s a culture where people take breather time between projects to
relax – and maybe even play a fun time management game or two together.

Providing feedback

You can’t expect your team to go through the project blindly, without knowing
whether they’re living up to the project expectations through each project stage.

So, make sure you provide timely feedback to all the members of our team.

Some may think that managers should only speak up to point out problems in the
project.

Others believe managers should focus more on giving performance appraisals where
they’re due.

But, you’d be better off if you were to mix the positive with the negative feedback and
be honest in your reviews:

The positive feedback can serve as a great motivator to continue with great
work.
The negative feedback can serve as teachable moments the team member can
learn from in the future.

Being a model to your team

16 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm
The Complete Team Management Guide h ps://clockify.me/blog/business/team-management-guide/

Make sure your behavior sets a great example others are meant to follow:

Listen to your teams’ ideas – if you want them to listen to each other and
collaborate well.
Provide help and guidance when asked – if you want them to help each
other when they hit bumps on the road with their tasks.
Aim to expand your knowledge and emphasize the importance of
constant learning and improving – if you want the team to be enthusiastic
about their training.

In the end, any team will be only as good as the person managing it – so, make your
contribution count.

Wrapping up…
Team management is the backbone of any business – it encompasses everything that
helps your teams or the entire organization remain afloat through stormy times, and
come at as winners in the end.

Proper team management gives you the following:

it makes team building possible

it improves productivity
it promotes learning
it makes teams happier and thus more likely to perform well

In gist, it does so by providing:

clear plans and goals

a comfortable, yet present team management style
realistic expectations
effective motivators
efficient cooperation
an explanation about the importance of tasks within a project
constant learning
positive and negative feedback
a manager who serves as a role-model that stands behind the team’s values and
beliefs

17 of 17 13/08/2020, 6:52 pm