7 Strategies to Improve Your People Management Skills

Hiring great people into your organisation is important. Developing and managing them effectively is just as important – if not more.

Feb. 05, 2025

In this day and age, people management has become one of the most essential and in-demand skills in the workplace. Encompassing skills like active listening, feedbacking, coaching, performance management, and interpersonal communication, effective people management has a direct impact on employee success and workforce productivity. Its significance is reflected in the numbers – the cost of poor people management and reduced productivity due to low employee engagement is over US$ 8.8 trillion or 9% of the global GDP.

The way managers lead their team has a direct and lasting impact on their morale, engagement, productivity, and long-term retention. In fact, people management skills account for 70% of the variance in a team’s engagement level. Beyond just allocating and tracking the completion of tasks, people management involves a holistic approach of understanding, supporting, and bringing out the best in each employee. Its essence lies in fostering a sense of belonging, instilling a deep-rooted purpose, and elevating the skills and competencies of each individual, so they feel valued, appreciated, and empowered to make a difference at work – always.

People management can be challenging, but it's a skill that can be developed and honed. My greatest lesson has been to embrace feedback from the team with openness and positivity. Strong leadership is founded on trust and relationships, which require intentional effort to nurture.

Improving Your People Management Skills

Regardless of whether you are in a managerial or leadership position, the ability to effectively engage, manage, and empower people is an indispensable skill. Although some people may seem to be naturally gifted at people management, it is a skill that can be acquired, honed, and mastered over time and through practical experience.

Listed below are seven strategies that can improve your people management skills at work.

1. Elevate Your Self-Awareness and Reflection Skills

One of the pre-requisites to managing others effectively is to have a high level of self-awareness and the ability to think and reflect. Each person is unique and has their own strengths and areas of development. It is important to remain authentic to who you are while having the open-mindedness to learn from others and tailor your management style to your team’s needs. The ability to pause and reflect on a particular situation is key to dissecting what you did and didn’t do well, and more importantly why you thought, felt, and reacted in a certain way. It also highlights your common tendencies and behavioural patterns while processing both positive and negative situations and the associated emotions – preparing you to respond better in the future.

Once you understand your strengths and areas of development when it comes to people management, you can map out an action plan to build on them. If there are certain aspects of people management (e.g. active listening or feedback) that you want to get better at, you can leverage useful materials like self-help books, articles, podcasts, online courses, trainings, and workshops. In addition, having conversations with more experienced people and your own mentors can provide invaluable perspectives and tips on people management that you can then implement.

2. Understand Each Individual Deeply and Tailor Your Management Style to Their Needs

As you start managing your direct reports, it is important that you get to know them on a personal level and vice versa. Take a step back and seek to understand who they (truly) are beyond their identity of being an employee who reports to you. When you understand their background and previous experiences, you will realise what shapes their core values, beliefs, identities, and personal traits. During this process, the onus is on you to also share who you are to the other person as well, so that they can understand where you come from, what you care about, and what your vision and goals are – both on a professional and personal level. Once this in-depth understanding and trust are built, it forms the bedrock of a smooth working relationship that is built on mutual respect, empathy, clear communication, and an overarching alignment on the big picture.

3. Empathise, Actively Listen, and Guide Each Individual to Find Their Own Solutions

Managers with low EQ often struggle to manage their emotions during adversity and lose temper when their subordinates make mistakes or fall short of their expectations. Instead of seeking to understand from the other person’s perspective, they impose their own assumptions and thoughts – even resorting to personal attacks and group shaming. This damages trust and psychological safety.

The ability to care deeply and empathise with people is what separates great leaders from mediocre ones. Rather than having pre-conceived notions, they first listen to the perspectives and ideas of others with utmost attention and open-mindedness – even if they disagree with them. Instead of solely being a cheerleader or a critic, an active listener adopts a balanced approach and strives to be a good coach to their direct reports. They understand, guide the other person to diagnose the root cause of their issues and challenges, and empower them to find solutions.

Regardless of the context and time constraints, communication should always be open, honest, and two-way, with each person feeling psychologically safe to voice their honest thoughts and feelings, without having the fair of repercussions. Act as a guide and a catalyst – and your team will find their own ways and solutions to improve and elevate their game, without always having to rely on you for instruction.

4. Provide Clear, Constructive, and Actionable Feedback at Regular Intervals – and Ask for It Too

The importance of providing clear, constructive, and consistent feedback could not be emphasised more. If managers don't spend sufficient time with their direct reports, either at the desk or in dedicated 1:1s, the opportunity to provide and receive feedback is missed. This creates disengagement and disillusionment as individuals feel that their voice and inputs don’t matter. They also feel lost on what they need to do and improve in to meet their short, medium, and long-term goals.

To ensure effective communication, it is vital that you set up a regular 1:1 routine with your direct reports – at least on a weekly or bi-weekly cadence where you can discuss priorities, action items, challenges, and solutions. This provides an opportunity not only for you to provide your reports with feedback but also for you to receive feedback from them on what you are doing well and what you can do better. Remember that while clear and direct feedback is important, don’t attack someone personally or call them out in a group setting for their shortcomings. It is important to be aware of the impact of your feedback on the other person, regardless of the positive intent that you may have behind it. Feedback is not just about highlighting areas of improvement; it is also about affirming what the other person did well and appreciating their contributions and wins.

5. Don't Be Afraid to Show Vulnerability and Own Up to Your Own Mistakes

Contrary to popular belief, vulnerability is not a sign of weakness – it is a sign of strength. It takes courage to be vulnerable in front of your team but this is what ultimately makes you human and builds long-lasting connections. Being a manager or leader doesn’t mean that you are expected to always have the answers to all questions and know it all. There are times when you will have to cope with ambiguity, struggle in dealing with situations that are beyond your immediate control, and occasions where you made mistakes or lapses in judgement. Lean on your team to support you and ask for help and guidance from them when needed. If you made a mistake, own up to it and apologise with sincerity. It doesn’t make your team doubt your capabilities; rather, it elevates trust, reduces fear of failure, and empowers them to make a difference.

6. Make Decisions with Conviction and Communicate Your Rationale Behind Them

One of the biggest struggles that managers face is making hundreds of decisions on a day-to-day basis. This can often be overwhelming, jeopardise your critical thinking ability and objectivity, and lead to decision paralysis. It is important to take sufficient time and space to be in the best position, equipped with the right data points, to make informed decisions. When appropriate, consult your team and gather their thoughts and suggestions so that they feel heard and consulted.

On top of communicating your decisions in a fair and transparent manner, it is important you explain your rationale behind them, particularly to those who may have differences in opinion. There will inevitably be occasions where you cannot gather everyone’s consensus but what’s in your control is to clearly communicate your thought process behind the decisions. This can significantly reduce speculation and hearsay as well as prevent unnecessary misunderstandings and potential conflicts.

7. Build Trust, Empower Others, and Shape a Culture of Paying It Forward

Great leaders breed great leaders. If you role model what being a great leader and people manager is all about, you will end up empowering your team to follow your footsteps. They will remember you as someone who helped them grow and had their back during the toughest of times. More than giving back, they will feel empowered to pay it forward to others once they become people managers and leaders themselves. The virtuous cycle continues as you shape a culture built on trust and encourage everyone to be the best version of themselves at work – which will ultimately be reflected in the positive outcomes and collective achievements of your team and wider organisation.