5 Team Management Skills To Facilitate In Online Training

5 Team Management Skills To Facilitate In Online Training
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Summary: They say leaders are born, not made, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve on talent. Can you use online training to help your managers handle their team more effectively and improve workplace productivity?

Team Management Skills To Enhance In Online Training

When you’re hiring, you look for certain skills. Professional qualifications are the foundation of any job description. Depending on the nature of the work, you may want experts who play well with others. And/or those who can work in isolation. You want a healthy mix of IQ and EQ in your hires. But no matter how good your team is, their boss can build or break them. Your managers require team management skills that bring out the best in their team, support them, and maximize their potential. And yes, you can teach your managers how to do that.

5 Crucial Team Management Skills to Facilitate in Online Training

1. Strategic Thinking

In order to successfully plan ahead, one of the team management skills a manager needs to possess is ‘big picture thinking’. They need the ability to explore scenarios, realistically predict outcomes, and put contingencies in place. This is both at a personal level and team level. They have to do it for themselves first, then trickle it down to their teams. Begin by testing how equipped your team leaders are. If you confirm their current ability, then you know where they need help.

Develop a set of standard questions. Not too many, four or five will do. Keep them simple, but use them to build a basis. For example:

  • What are our customer segments?
  • Are there any services we don’t offer that we should?
  • If you could change three things, what would they be and why?

These questions can be in the form of LMS surveys or as preparation for online training. Once you have established that they do (or don’t) have team management skills, you can guide them to relevant training chapters. Employees that are already solid in any area can skip those units.

2. Calculated Risk-Taking

We all like to quote famous people who seized an opportunity, even if it meant jumping into the deep end. Even if they failed, they still learned a valuable life lesson. Or they took a risk, and it paid off. And while you’re unlikely to hire a reckless rebel who leaps without looking, you do want your team to take chances. It’s the only way the company can grow. However, you want those risks to be calculated, and it’s a skill you can teach. Stretch beyond risk assessment. If your managers are open to opportunities, they can nurture the same ability in their teams. They can also manage ‘group risk’, protecting their juniors and cushioning them from potential damage.

This is the concept behind team-building exercises like zip-lining and trust falls. You can replicate them using role-playing games (RPG) and Virtual Reality. Yes, the employees will know it’s a game, but if they’re designed right, they will draw your corporate learners in. Part of the addictive, immersive nature of first-person-shooter games is sensory engagement. The colors, graphics, soundtrack, storyline, and pacing, all add to the realism of your gaming experience. Incorporate these aspects into your risk training, as well.

3. Cohesion

One of the biggest barriers to corporate cooperation is office politics. When colleagues are busy backstabbing each other (virtually or otherwise) and ingratiating themselves, it ruins the work atmosphere. And it’s usually invited by a boss who directly or indirectly rewards that kind of behavior. So, a big part of managing your team is consistently getting them to act as a team. In offline seminars, this involves exercises like marshmallow or Lego challenges. These are patented workshops attended by leaders around the world to enhance team management skills.

In the Lego challenge, you’re given a real-world problem and asked to solve it using nothing but those famous plastic bricks. It’s done in teams and on a timer, so they have to work together to do it. Fortunately, you can incorporate this type of activity in your online training course to mitigate COVID safety risks. They can solve it as a team project via social media, chat room, or web video.

4. Communication

From resolving team conflicts to delegating tasks, there’s a broad range of tasks that require adept communication skills. Team leaders must also be able to articulate their ideas and actively listen to those suggested by the group. One of the best ways to foster these abilities is through online training simulations and video demos. Show team leaders the right/wrong way to facilitate open communication in their team. Help them identify their areas for improvement so that they can be more effective communicators and delegators.

5. Time Management

Team management skills involve effective time management. In fact, it’s not just teaching team leaders how to manage their own time effectively and adhere to deadlines. They must also know the limits of their team members and how to keep them on track. For example, assign tasks or roles to those who aren’t already weighed down with a heavy workload. Another ability that ties into this skill set is goal setting. Every team leader should be able to set management goals and short-term milestones for the entire group. As well as help their subordinates do the same on a smaller scale. For instance, work with them to create a personalized project schedule that accommodates their current job responsibilities. Then follow up to ensure that they're making the most of their time and the resources that are available.

Conclusion

Having team management skills means your leaders guide their team down the right path. They need to give instructions, be available for advice or assistance, and step far enough back to let the team shine. Managers also need to hold subordinates together and get them to function as a unit. Use a survey to test your managers’ strategy skills and find out which ones need polishing. High-adrenaline video game scenarios can teach them about calculated risk-taking. Finally, use virtual team-building techniques to foster cohesion and team alignment.

Want to learn more about soft skills and how they can help external partners achieve their goals and tackle everyday obstacles? Read 8 Soft Skills Online Training Modules To Include In Your Extended Enterprise to discover which skill-based training topics to cover.