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Focus on results and efficiency, not attendance hours When managing knowledge workers, you should not enforce rigid clock-in/clock-out times unless there are customer service coverage issues (e.g., ensuring adequate staffing during call hours). Instead, set clear goals for employees to complete their work within 40 hours per week. Require them to be punctual for important meetings and available during team collaboration hours. If necessary, provide them with tools to work remotely. Then, let them manage their own time. This approach tells your employees: you trust them. If you cannot trust the people who work for you, that is a different matter. Manage them strictly until you trust them; or tell them to seek other opportunities.
Put team members in roles that leverage their strengths Ensure that each team member is in a position that utilizes their strengths. This is especially important if you are taking over an existing team. Evaluate all team members and reorganize the team to improve chances of success. Do not keep someone in a role just because they have been there for a long time. If you believe they could contribute more in another position, seriously consider making the change. Employees may resist such changes, so you will need to invest effort in convincing them that the move is in the best interest of both their personal growth and the company.
Engage members in projects they are passionate about Another way to put members in the right role is to discover their true interests and see if they can channel that passion into their work. This might sometimes mean moving members to roles where they have less experience. If you are confident they can handle the role based on their past performance, it is worth doing because their passion will fuel a strong desire to learn and grow. Once they are fully committed, their enthusiasm will be a powerful driver of innovation and growth.
Use the best people at the best time When you have a great opportunity to advance the company, step back and think about who is the best person to lead the charge. In addition to finding/selecting someone capable or passionate about the role, you also need to look for those with a track record of success. Sometimes opportunities come only once, and they might miss out. So, even if it means moving some members away from important roles, you should use the best people at the best time.
Balance challenging goals with realistic goals Build a performance culture by setting ambitious goals and requiring regular progress updates. However, goals should not be so high that employees quickly fall behind and feel they can never achieve them. This means you must regularly reassess the feasibility of goals (at least once a quarter) to decide whether to reduce or increase workloads.
Trust your employees and let them know it A typical characteristic of knowledge worker roles is providing creative solutions and decisions. They need to stay sharp to perform at their best. Management's responsibility is to create an atmosphere that fosters and encourages that creativity. One of the best things you can do is let employees know you trust them and believe in their ability to do the job, solve problems, and meet deadlines. If you don't trust them, either manage them well or let them go.
Avoid blaming team members Any business (or organization) will have setbacks and disappointments. After a failure, conduct an analysis (even informally) to find out what went wrong and learn from it. If a serious mistake was made by an individual, address it privately. If necessary, let them know how you expect them to handle similar situations in the future. Do not criticize them publicly, either directly or indirectly, such as in meetings or group emails. If you do, you risk having team members spend insufficient time on creative work for fear of making mistakes, avoiding problems (or innovation).
End projects properly to foster innovation Another important aspect of fostering innovation is knowing how to end projects effectively and gracefully. Sometimes failure exposes weaknesses in certain employees, but other times projects fail even with excellent employees involved. Distinguishing between these two situations is a key skill of a good manager. If a good employee is responsible for a bad project, the failure does not necessarily mean the project manager is incompetent, because the project may have been impossible from the start. So, don't overreact; treat the project as a learning opportunity and reassign the project manager. Otherwise, you will make your employees overly risk-averse, and they will no longer be willing to take on the next big project or make bold moves in managing projects. Such an atmosphere can quickly stifle progress.
Don't give all the answers – cultivate independent thinking in your employees You are the manager, the leader. But that doesn't mean you have to have all the good ideas. If your employees hesitate to make decisions without first asking for your opinion, it indicates you haven't empowered them properly. If your employees can't make decisions on their own, you should change your strategy. When they bring you information about a problem and ask what to do, ask them back, "What do you think?" At first, they may be surprised, but after several times, they will start thinking first, discussing thoroughly, and proposing suggestions before coming to you.
Let employees know the "why" to build consensus As a manager, one of your primary responsibilities is to communicate new developments and strategy shifts to your employees. The worst thing you can do is present a completely new way of doing things when your employees already have formed ideas, which can severely disrupt their daily work. When you suddenly tell them about a new approach, they will naturally resist and be skeptical. Whenever possible, inform them in advance about changes and the reasons behind them; they will appreciate it. If they disagree with your reasons, they can express their differing views. They can even raise warnings and questions before the final plan is set. An even better approach when you are still developing plans or changing strategies is to have team members brainstorm and contribute ideas, then you can incorporate their input and feedback. Sometimes you may have to spring surprises on the team, but you should try to avoid it as much as possible. Even if you must, find time to explain the reasons behind the decision.
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