If Sunday evening fills you with dread and you drag your heels on the Monday morning commute, the time has come to make changes. Find out how to motivate yourself to manage Monday with ease.

Who hasn’t suffered from that Monday blues feeling? Occasional feelings of ‘not wanting to go to work’ are part and parcel of any career but when it keeps happening, it is time to take steps to banish it all together.

If the relief of Friday and the weekend seem to pass too quickly, it could be time to make some changes and here’s how…

#1 Identify what the REAL problem is

Known as self-analysis you need to determine if the Monday blues is an occasional thing linked to certain temporary issues at work or whether it is symptomatic of a bigger problem.

For many, the dread of work after the weekend comes with being bored, something we associate with not having enough to do. But it is also a sign of being too busy as well.

There are also times when work activities are monotonous, a ‘must-do’ to achieve the larger picture and we all have parts of our jobs that we don’t like doing.

In some cases, understanding how to stay motivated is key to a successful and enjoyable day at the office but if, after really examining the problem you come to the conclusion the problem is not lack of motivation or boredom, you need to start thinking about what changes you could and will make.

#2 Pros & Cons, Strengths & Weaknesses…

If you know that deep-down, the Monday blues are all about the fact that you are no longer like what you do, you may decide the time is right to act.

But before you leap, you need to complete the important step of self-analysis, the skill of objective scrutiny.

Of course, the Monday Blues doesn’t mean finding a new job necessarily;

Plan A – I LOVE my job but…

If you enjoy your work maybe you have become stuck in a rut where you are doing the same thing. You don’t learn in your comfort zone but on the fringes of it.

Ask yourself is it time to make a move sideways or look for a promotion? Start by listing what you love about your job and what you are not so keen on. With the second column, look at how you could change the ‘not so keen’ on items.

For example, if you hate the morning and evening commute, could you change your working hours or work partly from home?

Plan B – I HATE my job but…

Hate is a pretty strong word but if you are clearly dissatisfied it may not just be your job, but the industry you are in.

Nothing is achieved by doing the same thing over and over and so, with a blank sheet of paper and a pen, write down what you would love to do.

Your ideas may sound implausible now – be a self-employed beauty technician or be a forensic scientist – and completely different from your current skill set but making a career change can be done. And it has been done by thousands of people!

Exercise caution, however. You have rent or mortgage to pay and bills with your name written all over them so if you are serious about changing careers and upskilling yourself, have a strategy.

Going to college is one option but you can also upskill with home study courses, a great way of getting back into the habit of studying as well as gaining qualifications that could be life-changing.

#3 Are you REALLY disengaging from work?

There are people out there who simply love what they do and can’t imagine ever doing anything else or wanting to do anything else.

And yet, the Sunday evening dread grips them in its vice-like features on a regular basis with their arrival back at their workstation on Monday morning made with heavy footsteps.

The answer may be simpler than you think. Physically and emotionally disconnecting from work is essential to your well-being and so when your last shift ends, are you shutting the door on work and really taking a step away?

Look at how you spend your weekends or rest days. Are you doing something with them? From enjoying a hobby to socialising with friends, to bracing walks in nature to being mindful about disconnecting from work and not just emails, but emotionally too.

How do you deal with the Monday blues? Did you make a significant career change?

If your goal is to rise up the ranks in your business, there are some things you should know about how to be a great business manager.

With no more than a cursory glance of the internet, you will find thousands of websites awash with advice about how to be a great business manager. From being the first in the office to the last to leave, they extol the virtues of your employees respecting you and ‘not asking anyone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself’.

The lists of helpful and not-so-helpful skills are all well and good, but putting them into practice is a slightly more daunting prospect. To rise up the ranks, you need many things: inside knowledge of the business and the market in which you operate, commitment, enthusiasm as well as practical skills such as managing and leading people.

But what does it all really mean?

1.   Business Culture

Any business management course worth its salt will talk about the culture within an organisation. Culture in a business is about its values and behaviours that create the social and psychological environment within it.

In other words, what is it like to work there? Do people respect each other? Is there a divide between ‘the workers’ and ‘the management’? Is there open, clear, straightforward communication? Do people feel valued?

If you want to be an effective leader and manager, rising up the ranks to the dizzying heights of success, the first hurdle is to create an atmosphere – or business culture – that is open and transparent. In most businesses, this starts with improving communication.

2. Manager maturity

This may not be a phrase that you are synonymous with but again, a high-quality business management course will take a long, hard look at the personality of an excellent manager.

Maturity if the keyword. As you climb the ladder, the days of you moaning when things do go right, looking for scapegoats and processes to blame, are GONE. If you cannot align yourself with the corporate direction as a manager, then your employees are not going to either.

3.   Putting the right people in the right jobs

There is a skill and an art to delegation – and yet, so many managers don’t bother to learn how to delegate work.

Get it wrong, and you will have some people with too much to do, others with not enough, some people with work that they have no skills to do and people with specialist skills completing jobs that don’t require their specialisms.

It is not just about matching the right skill set to work that needs doing, but delegating work so people are challenged, as well as having variety and opportunity to develop and grow.

4.   Regular one-to-one’s

Meetings are essential. Yet, regular meetings between staff and their manager are often largely ineffective, poorly structured and frequently re-scheduled.

This means that people pick up the message that there is always something more important. But, top business leaders say that ‘the conversation is the relationship’ and as a manager, you need to ensure that you nurture these conversations. Businesses need great leaders to thrive.

5.   Manage conflict

There is no business in which there is no conflict. It is part and parcel of when a group of people come together. It is what makes us human.

People work well together, but some people don’t. Some people rub along nicely, others rub against each other. What one person will find to be a bubbly personality, another will find abrasive and overbearing.

Some people thrive on conflict, others detest it. If you don’t like conflict, it doesn’t mean you can’t be an effective manager but, as a business management course will highlight, conflict needs to be met, head-on.

But, handling conflict is something that will improve with training as well as experience. As a manager who regularly sees their staff for one-to-one meetings, as well as working hard to create a business culture that is open and transparent, who puts the right people in the right jobs and displays a managerial maturity that garners respect- dealing with conflict may not be something you have to do very often.

In Summary

Being a great manager is, in part, about personality. But it is also about choosing the best way to deal with issues, to balance the wants and needs of your employees with the business, whilst keeping customers and stakeholders happy too.

What managerial skills do you think you need to be a great manager?

Extended reading resource:

Employee management apps

 

Project management is certainly not an easy role, but it can be a highly enjoyable and rewarding one. As International Project Management Day is just around the corner, we thought we’d provide you with some of our top tips on how to be an effective project manager for your team.

There are many ways that you can enhance your skills as a project manager, including investing your time in home learning.  Read on to find out more:

 

Identify the project plan and goals  

Before you embark upon a project, you need to ensure that you are kicking off with a really solid foundation. Having a strategic project plan and setting clear goals in place is important. What is equally important is ensuring that this plan has been signed off by all the key stakeholders. You don’t want to go down a road that important members of your leadership team have not brought into.

With regards to the goals, make sure that these are easily measurable so you can track the success of your project as it develops. If you need help with implementing goals or project planning, there are plenty of courses or home learning resources that you can look into.

 

Assemble a strong project team with a varied skillset

 A successful project manager realises the importance of bringing together a good team of individual players that can bring an assortment of varied skills to the table. You need a team that can work together harmoniously, and communicate openly to achieve the goals of the project. Once your project plan has been signed off by all the key stakeholders, put together a team which will be able to fulfil all the project goals and work effectively together. It is imperative to ensure that each team member is clear on their individual roles and responsibilities.

 

Define a clear project timeline

Learning how to develop a realistic time plan with key project milestones and clear phases is a crucial task for a project manager. If you’re unsure or want to improve your skills in project phasing, you can look into online courses or home learning options. Make sure that each phase of the project includes an evaluation point. This is key to measure how your project is developing and nip any problems in the bud as they arise.

 

Communicate regularly and efficiently with members of your team

As a project manager, it is your role to ensure that everyone involved in the project, as well as other key stakeholders, are completely up to date with its progress. The communication needs to be clear and consistent. You want to ensure that everyone is clear on the project deliverables. Send out regular and frequent updates on how the project is panning out. Weekly status reports are really helpful to make sure that everyone is completely aligned and on the same page with all relevant information. Poor communication is one of the key reasons behind the failure of a project.

 

Deal with any potential project risks

 As a project manager, it is your job to foresee imminent risks. You can spot these from your past experience working on similar projects, or through home learning and courses. Keep an eye out for any risks so you can learn to control them before they develop into a real problem. Clearly communicating with your team and asking them to honestly flag any potential risks will help avoid escalation.

 

Evaluate every project milestone

As you work through the phases of your project, make sure that you are continuously evaluating its progress. This will help to ensure that the final set of deliverables are aligned with your initial goals.  It will also help remind everyone of the goals, and allow for open and honest communication on any issues that may arise along the way.

 

Analyse and evaluate the project thoroughly upon completion

One of the most important tasks of a project manager is to ensure key learnings are collated from the project and disseminated to all team members. Each project offers the opportunity to gather crucial insight on what is working for your company. Document what worked well and what didn’t. These learnings can then be used to inform and improve your next project.

Do you have the necessary skills to manage a team?

When things go wrong in business, the buck, so they say, must stop somewhere. And it is usually the manager or leader of the company who should answer the tough questions. It is not acceptable for any manager to pass the buck, blaming team members for the failure. This is because a manager is expected to know what his or her team is doing. They are expected to have an in-depth knowledge of business process but also people themselves.

Thinking of moving in to management?

If you are, then an exciting career that is full of opportunities and challenges awaits. With various business management courses and qualifications under your belt, you will feel ready to take on the challenge.

As you look forward, have you considered the necessary skills to manage a team? How will you stand out?

#1 Communicate & Motivate

employees talking with manager with the skills to manage a team

A heady combination of skills to manage a team – and not one that many managers get right.

Managing a team brings to the surface feelings of inadequacy, competition and uncertainty. As the manager, you want to stay in control; you want to know who is doing what and when. Having an ambitious team member is great – unless you feel they are ‘after your job’.

This leads to all kinds of problems, usually because the manager tries to protect their position and standing. What results then is a lack of communication, a stagnant pool of information resulting in a de-motivated team.

An excellent manager has many channels of communication for both disseminating information, whilst listening and keeping everyone in the loop of information. They will also motivate their team and the individuals within in to be the best that they can be.

#2 Know People

Think about your manager, or a previous one. Does your manager know you? Do they understand the extra responsibilities that you have before you step into work in the morning? Do they understand you and know what drives you?

These are all big questions but an excellent manager will have some idea about each of their team members, their ambitions, their goals and their drive. They will also understand their personal circumstances too.

More importantly, an excellent manager will understand the strengths and weaknesses of people in their team. This is vital information, as it is the catalyst to placing people in strong positions, but also have areas that they can seek further training and learning.

With so many business management courses available, including online and home study options, there is no excuse for an under-trained team.

#3 Conflict Resolution

People fall out. Disagreements happen over minor issues. When allowed to fester, they become big issues that take time and effort to resolve.

Conflict doesn’t just happen within a team. It can happen between one project team and another, between one department and another too. There are also times when conflict happens between the business and the customer.

An excellent manager, one that is trained in conflict resolution, will understand it is not about who is right or apportioning the blame. It is about seeking the best way forward so that everyone is in a win-win situation.

#4 Empowerment (Without Micromanagement)

employee in an office talking with their manager

As the manager, your team will look to you for guidance, encouragement and support. And you must be able to give them this! Whether you’re training them on a brand new subject or giving them a quick refresh on an old process, you must be able to empower them with every word.

However, on the flip side of this, you mustn’t let your support and help turn into micromanagement. Micromanaging is when you control every part of an activity or enterprise. Often, this is because someone else is struggling to do so or you believe that you can do the job best yourself.

However, your team members must learn how to do these things themselves. So, if you find that micromanaging is an attribute you find yourself falling victim to, you should reel this in to succeed as a manager.

#5 Strategic Thinking

One of the most important skills to manage a team is strategic thinking, or planning ahead. A manager must be able to consider the bigger picture: focusing on the tasks of the day and planning responsibilities of the future. So, you must be able to set priorities in line with the goals of the company and attending the relevant training for continuous professional development of you and your team. With strategic thinking, you’ll encourage growth and change for a more productive organisation.

Bonus Quality – The Skill of Delegation

Have you noticed how some managers seem to effortlessly delegate tasks, work and projects, whilst managing them efficiently and effectively? And have you noticed how some people struggle with this?

Delegating work is one of the most important yet overlooked skills to manage a team. There is a talent to delegating work and without the above three qualities, a manager struggles to do so. If a manager doesn’t know the strengths and weaknesses within his or her team, how do they know who can deal with the project, and who will need support?

If, as a manager, they keep hold of information, how can they expect their team to function within a delegated task?

Always Seeking Improvement

person with the skills to manage a team teaching a colleague

There are many quality skills to manage a team that managers need. An excellent manager is always looking to improve, not just his or her team or how the business performs, but themselves too.

This is why an excellent manager will look to a variety of business management courses to extend their own knowledge and skill base, whilst also encouraging his or her team to do the same.

An excellent manager leads by example in everything that they expect their team to do. From learning new skills to trying new methods of working, to having open channels of communication and being part of the team too.

As a manager, how do you encourage team members to strike out and learn something new?