Being part of a team is a great feeling for employees. It helps you achieve your company’s goals and objectives. It is a huge challenge to manage it. The success of an organization depends on its team. To produce new products or results, people work together with their colleagues. Although each member has a unique profile and is part of a particular department, they all work together to achieve the overall goals and serve the larger picture.
Management challenges for a large team
Here are some challenges when managing a large team.
Unaware of ground realities: It is difficult for managers to understand the real issues faced by junior members of a large team. They rely on the updates from senior members and team leaders.
The team’s opinion on important decisions: It is hard for a manager or leader to listen to the opinions and ideas of the team members. Instead, he asks the team leaders for suggestions and ideas to further discuss. These situations leave the real heroes behind, as the person who brought the idea to the table gets all the credit.
Work delegated to others: You know your star performer, so you assign him a task. But, because he lacks time, he delegated it to his subordinate, and your expectation of excellence in a particular module is destroyed.
Chances of overlooking actual performers: When a large team is composed, it is common for the senior management to neglect the actual performers. This can lead to dissatisfaction within the team and demotivation.
Incorrect opinions about team members – Human nature is that we remember the times someone messed it up more than the times he did well. If a team member does something wrong once in their entire tenure, the incorrect image will continue and his manager would ask his team leaders to not rely on him.
Leaders are often willing to take credit, but are reluctant to accept responsibility for the results.
Uneven work distribution: People who enjoy working continue to get more work, while people who prefer to delegate their tasks to others continue to do so, resulting in resource levelling.
Possibilities for solutions or suggestions
Conduct regular skip level meetings
Make a folder, ask everyone to contribute their suggestions and then go through them all so you can make a better decision.
Mention the names of your team members and the reasons why you chose them.
Ask your team leaders 2-3 questions about the task. If they don’t answer, ask them to call the person who did it. This way, you will know the true performers.
The last three challenges are impossible to solve. Your observation power can only be improved.
You will need at least one manager or team leader if your team grows from 10 to 15. They must be able to coordinate who does what. You will need another level to manage your team’s growth if it exceeds 40. If your team grows to 50-60, you can have multiple managers under one manager.
To get to know your team better, you must make sure that team building exercises are effective. You must communicate the purpose of these team building exercises with each member of your team. Don’t confuse it for having a good time. Team work is about building a cohesive, focused team. It also helps to improve team communication and understanding. Managers can manage their team effectively by using their interpersonal and management skills.