Team Manager Job Description
Team managers oversee the activities of employees under their charge. Their services can be valuable to any industry in which a team structure exists. For instance, a team manager at a call center may monitor a certain number of customer service representatives to see that they are handling queries in ways that positively reflect on the employer. The team manager at a financial institution may keep tabs on how effective team members are at promoting services. Team managers in retail settings might establish goals for their salespeople and monitor how closely they are fulfilling those quotas.
Team managers generally work full time, though extra hours may be necessary when deadlines approach or objectives aren’t being met. Work environment varies based on the nature of the industry, but most team managers have their own office that serves as a central place out of which to operate.
Team Manager Duties and Responsibilities
Team managers are leaders whom companies depend upon to keep operations flowing by making sure employees are carrying out instructions and performing their best. Doing this involves a variety of tasks, as noted by these critical responsibilities commonly mentioned in job postings for team managers:
Providing Feedback
Team managers let employees know how well they are living up to expectations. They encourage positive behavior by letting individuals know what things they are doing well and offering clear, constructive advice on how to change actions that need improvement.
Motivating
For team managers, group success is paramount. Therefore, team managers dedicate time to helping team members perform to their full potential. They may try to boost productivity and morale through goals, contests, encouragement, and demonstrations of appreciation.
Representing the Group
Team managers often speak or act on behalf of their group. When they attend company meetings with other leaders, team managers report on the status of their group’s projects and address issues with the interests of their team in mind.
Looking for Improvements
In an effort to help operations become more efficient, team managers are on the lookout for ways the company can improve. They may come up with new ideas to streamline processes or adjust scheduling to yield greater coverage. Their strategies often save time and money, which reflects well on the team.
Team Manager Skills
Team managers coordinate the efforts of those under their charge to yield maximum productivity from the group. Good ones know how to make each individual feel important to the overall goals. Other qualities often found among successful team managers include:
- Providing feedback sensitively and in a timely manner
- Communicating clearly so that everyone knows exactly what they should be doing
- Organizing efficiently to keep projects flowing harmoniously from start to finish
- Managing time effectively so that deadlines are met
- Building morale through encouragement and bonding activities
- Resolving conflicts among team members quickly and fairly
Team Manager Tools of the trade
As they build winning teams, team managers typically encounter the following things:
- Computers – for basic office tasks and email communication
- Calendars – keeping track of meetings, deadlines, and progress checkpoints in a central place enables projects to run smoothly and everyone involved to have a common point of reference
- Agendas – outlines of what needs to be covered during meetings
- Goals – formal ways to measure output and progress, often stated in terms of a quantity
- Performance evaluations – premade forms designed to rate individual employees on various objectives and serve as a written point of reference for promotion, termination, and the like
Team Manager Education and Training
Team managers oftentimes possess a bachelor’s degree in management, communications, or a subject related to the industry in which they work. Some team managers come to the position from lesser roles within the company because many organizations like to promote from within so that the person already is familiar with operations and goals.
Team Manager Resources
Help build your future career as a team manager with these sources:
American Management Association – Team managers interested in honing their skills should check out the AMA’s website, which is filled with suggested books, web events, conferences, and other learning opportunities in fields ranging from time management to leadership.
Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust and Get Extraordinary Results – Team managers wanting to develop their conversational skills can benefit from this book of “profoundly practical tools” that will have you examining your own behaviors as well as those of others.
The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team – Maxwell, a New York Times bestselling author and nationally acclaimed leadership expert, shares advice in a practical, down-to-earth manner in this popular book. Readers call it “succinct” and “applicable” and praise the reflection it inspires.
A Team of Leaders: Empowering Every Member to Take Ownership, Demonstrate Initiative and Deliver Results – “A business book that I can immediately apply to my work” and “a how-to guide to delivering results” are two of the descriptions reviewers use when commending this book. Anyone who could use help inspiring, engaging, and empowering team members is bound to find it a useful read.
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