How to use the manager support materials

Use this step-by-step guidance to work through the CIPD’s people manager support materials to explore and develop your management capability. None of the steps should take long, and the recommendation is that you plan in short bursts of time over a week or two to get to the point when you are ready to take action (covered in steps 1-6). You can then allow a few months to take the actions you have planned (outlined in step 7), before reviewing your progress and planning further actions (covered in step 8).

This will be a worthwhile investment of your time as it will help you adopt a management approach that supports good health, wellbeing and engagement in your team. Your behaviour and the culture you create in your team is the biggest influence on team members’ work experience. The key behavioural areas covered can help you manage your team in a way that saves time and gets better results – all of which is good for your own wellbeing as well as that of your team.

Content

Step 1. Reflect and get feedback
Step 2. Identify strengths
Step 3. Identify areas to develop
Step 4. Plan the action you will take
Step 5. Identify any barriers and develop strategies to overcome them
Step 6. Take action
Step 7. Review, celebrate and take further action

Steps to follow to use the support materials

Step 1. Reflect and get feedback

Use the reflection/feedback questions these to reflect and get feedback from others about the extent to which you show capability in the different areas of manager behaviour.

Hints and tips on getting feedback

Why?

Getting feedback on your behaviour can help you to build your self-awareness and develop your management capability. However, seeking feedback needs to be done carefully and with sensitivity if it is to be honest and useful.

Who?

The person or people you ask for feedback do not always need to work directly for you, but they do need to have a good knowledge of the way you manage your team and to have observed your everyday management style. It is important that whoever gives you feedback is honest and open when answering the questions. Please be sensitive to how they might feel about giving you honest feedback and consider this in both choice of, and approach to, whoever you ask.

What?

It is generally helpful if the feedback is specific. So rather than asking whether you are, for example, ‘supportive’, ask people to give specific examples of what you did (or did not) do, what you said/wrote, and how it came across. This may include non-verbal cues.

How?

You may find it helpful to let others know that you are looking to develop your management capability. Ask them to consider the relevant feedback questions before talking to you and arrange a time to discuss their feedback.

When?

It can be difficult to take on information and reflect objectively when you are unprepared or feeling emotional. Before meeting to discuss feedback, take some time to get into the right frame of mind so that you can listen and respond openly.

Step 2. Identify strengths

Using your reflections and any feedback you have gathered, identify aspects of your management approach that you feel are particular strengths and note them down. Choose two of these to focus on as priority areas. Don’t feel that you need to do everything at once: you can come back to the other areas at a later stage.

Step 3. Identify areas to develop

Based on the strengths you identified, choose aspects of your management approach that you feel you want to develop. Pick the top two of these to focus on as priority areas for building your capability. Don’t feel that you need to do everything at once: you can come back to the other areas at a later stage.

Step 4. Plan the action you will take

Taking the areas of behaviour you identified in steps 1 and 2, plan out what you are going to do to build on your strengths and make changes. You may find the action plan template below helpful.

Top tips on action planning:

Keep it simple.
Be as concrete as possible about the actions and steps you are going to take.
Put the dates for when you will take the first step on each area into your calendar.
Don’t feel you need to do it all on your own: get support from your own manager, your team, your peers and/or your employer.

Put a date in your calendar to review your entire action plan, to see where you have got to and what more you want to do.

Step 5. Identify any barriers and develop strategies to overcome them

Even though you want to be a positive, supportive manager, you might find that your circumstances or situation get in the way. Below we have identified some of the most frequently mentioned barriers, together with suggestions for how to overcome them. You may want to add actions based on these to your action plan.

Barrier	How to overcome this barrier
“My workload is too heavy”	Use planning and prioritising to clarify and schedule the tasks you need to do Challenge upwards, negotiate priorities and requirements and say ‘no’ when necessary Delegate/find extra resource where possible Communicate honestly to the team what you are doing/trying to do Schedule time for reflection/contingency time Use ‘surgery hours’ rather than open door policy for team check-ins Protect time to communicate with team Take 15-30 minutes each day to get free time/fresh air and think/reboot
“I have too many short-term deadlines and demands”	Challenge upwards: establish priorities and explain consequences for team if all demands are to be met Anticipate and plan for regular deadlines Communicate the strategy behind the deadline to the team Ask your team if they can suggest ways you can better manage short-term deadlines
“I have conflicting pressures and multiple priorities”	Clarify expectations and identify the top three priorities Filter the work coming in and prioritise Challenge upwards and say ‘no’ when necessary Allocate time for ‘quick wins’ and time for planning and working towards longer-term goals Create an action plan, set out milestones and plan ahead Keep communicating with the team to ensure everyone is aware of the current priority
“I lack the resources I need”	Identify specific resources that you need to help you achieve your goal and make a strong case to senior management for more resource Gather evidence on the problem to make your case if needed Encourage teamworking to draw on everyone’s skills and availability Step in when necessary to get ‘all hands on deck’ Get advice from others in similar roles about how they access resources or carve out time with limited resources
“I have issues in my personal/home lift that get in the way”	Recognise and acknowledge your own behaviour – this is an important first step to accessing help and support Talk to peers/manager/team/trusted colleague/mentor about it Use employee assistance programmes or occupational supports such as coaching and mentoring Take time out/off to restore and refresh
“I lack the confidence in my ability”	Recognise your strengths and limitations Ask for training and development Talk to/ask for help from peers/your line manager Aim to be honest in all communications – say when you don’t know!
“I feel stressed/under undue pressure”	Speak to someone (peer, manager, coach) Seek support for yourself Take a break/holiday/deep breath Recognise your emotions and know your stress triggers Create a Wellness Action Plan Be realistic about what you can and can’t achieve at work Focus on one thing at a time Apologise to your team if appropriate and be honest about how you feel, again as appropriate Take time before reacting; prioritise and plan Keep fit and healthy
“Senior managers/my own manager make things difficult (put on pressure, provide inconsistent management, lack of direction, undermine me and my team…)”	Take a team approach to solving problems Talk to peers about solutions Get involved in working groups and action planning sets to seek solutions Ask for directions in writing and clarify what is required before taking action Communicate the situation to the level above the problematic manager Be clear about which directives to challenge and which to accept Recognise your emotions and take time to get perspective before reacting
“Organisational processes and bureaucracy get in the way”	Challenge the processes and make suggestions for improvements Create a steering group to focus on issues Speak to others about how they navigate the system Find a way to work within the system
“I receive an excessive number of emails”	Challenge those who use email excessively Create a better culture and protocols around email use, who is copied in to emails, etc Ignore/delete ‘round-robin’ emails Use ‘out of office’ or other auto-response messages Make senior managers aware of the issue

Step 6: Take action

Step 7: Review, celebrate and take further action

On the date that you set for your action plan review, take a little time to reflect on the following.

What have you achieved so far? How will you celebrate your achievements?
What have you not fully done – or not done at all? For these areas:
What got in the way? You might want to revisit step 6 to explore this further and identify how to overcome barriers.
Do you need to change the plan or do you just need a little more time?
Do you need extra support and help with taking action?

What more do you want to do? If you want to take on further areas of change, you may find it helpful to go back to steps 2 and 3.

Based on the responses to these questions, take a moment to update your action plan or create a new one and set a new date for review.