Managing men is not an easy feat as there is a lot of competition and rivalry due to a bunch of insecurities as well as various stereotypes that are enforced by our society that every man needs to be an alpha that is the leader of the entire pack, which can make managing other men a very challenging thing to do effectively.
But do not worry because in this article we are going to be sharing the important secrets for managing men at work.
Do Not Try and Embarrass Them.
You should never try to embarrass your male colleagues as this will first of all break up your work relationship with them which will make it more difficult for you guys to work together effectively since he will be less likely to want and feel the ability, to be honest about you with anything since you have already humiliated them.
Furthermore, this may not just ruin your business and work relationship with that particular worker, but also with other workers as they will likely share how you have treated them to others that may also react to it negatively which will further break up the team or company chemistry resulting in lower productivity for the firm which you happen to be working for.
Additionally, when you are someone that is in a powerful position within an organization is key that you set an example by the way you act around others.
Treat Your Male Colleagues with Respect.
Regardless of what position in the company that someone holds, how experienced they are, and their age you should never treat someone with disrespect even if they are not treating you with that respect and causing trouble. There are a lot better ways of handling things where you will cause fewer problems for everyone who happens to be involved.
You simply do not know when you will need someone’s help in the future, that new intern that does not know what they are doing at all may end up becoming a leading figure within the company and may even quickly surpass you.
It is also not very smart to make assumptions about people since the majority of the time they happen to be wildly wrong, so there is no point making them in the first place.
Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Intimidated.
Regardless of your gender, position in the company, and physical size you should never allow anyone to intimidate you, often the people who are trying to intimidate you are at first testing the water to see whether it will work, and they will be able to gain something from it.
If you show them that you can be easily intimidated into doing something to benefit that third-party then they are much more likely to do it over and over again.
If you see yourself being intimidated then the best way to handle things is to speak to the parties trying to intimidate you. But if nothing comes out of that then you should speak to the upper management of the company that you are working, if you are lucky enough to be part of the leadership of the company then you can take the necessary actions yourself.
Do Not Allow Gender Discrimination.
Another key part of the important secrets for managing men at work is that you should never allow gender discrimination to flourish in the workplace as it can quickly get out of control, it can start off with some jokes here and there and eventually become a constant occurrence.
Even worse, it can become ingrained into the very fabric of the company’s culture which is something that will be very hard to clean out, and it will likely take the layoffs of a large part of the key perpetrators and influences of such an unhealthy habit.
Moreover, it is not just the fact that discrimination is such an outdated belief it will breed ignorance in the division or company that you are managing which can negative effects on innovation as well as recruiting the talented people of all backgrounds that every business needs in order to continue to thrive and grow.
Reward Good Behavior and Progress.
When one of the male colleagues that you are managing happens to perform well at a certain task or has mastered a new skill then it is recommended that you reward them for that.
It does not have to be anything grand, it can simply you telling him ‘well done’ or ‘you have improved a lot’, it also a good idea to say such things in front of the other colleagues as it will help motivate them too as it will create a bit of a competition.
But also show everyone that you are taking note of everything that is happening and that you are appreciative of the positive actions by the people that you are managing.
A further great idea is to have an employee of the month either of your division or your company where one of your subordinates is selected every month and given a small reward such as a voucher or some kind of food.
Tackle Disputes Directly.
Even if you happen to be lucky and end up with the nicest people in the world, business is not an ordinary environment it can at times be extremely challenging and stressful so people that are at great terms can quickly get in disputes over the stupidest or simplest things out there.
You have to take particular note of this when working with males as men are known for internalizing their feelings which includes in situations of disputes which can further drive apart people and make the dispute more serious than it actually happens to be in the first place.
This is why when disputes arise you should just discuss it directly with the people, who are part of it. Additionally, it is good to have a meeting at the end of every week where the people which you are managing give you feedback as well as discuss any concerns related to the team that they may have which ensures that if you may not have picked up on any issues that you can still find out about them and address them.
Set Realistic Goals for Your Team.
One of the important sectors for managing men is setting your team realistic goals, there can be multiple goals for example weekly, monthly and quarterly goals with all goals being related to each other.
This will help to keep everyone on track as often when you set goals that are due far into the future people will become complacent which thus increases the chances of missing the deadline or delivering a subpar product or service to the customer.
It will also allow all the men that you are managing to have a collective goal that will bring them together as a unit rather than them competing with each other which can only be positive that if done correctly and bring great benefits to the company as well as all of the other members of the team that you are managing.
Read the post: Ways to Combat Male Greed
