Managing a software team, whether on-site or remote, requires strong leadership. Nowadays, 4 out of 10 workers in the U.S. are in hybrid or fully remote settings, and in consequence effective management is important for productive teamwork.

In this article, we will bring you 5 tips for managing IT teams:

1- Set team expectations early ⛳

Whether your team is working on-site or remotely, you must set expectations in the beginning of the process. Each member has to know which are their individual and group goals and responsibilities.

Also, effective communication is important, as team members should trust each other and be willing to solve conflicts in a healthy way. Creating a good and collaborative working environment with clear expectations and fluent  communication will help team members meet deadlines and have a top performance.

2- Team effort for the win  🤜🤛

When a project hits a roadblock or progress slows down, many managers think more manpower is needed. However, developers can overcome complex challenges through collective effort. 

Usually, adding new team members can be inefficient. They must get up to speed, and this requires the developers already on the project to train them. Instead, consider reorganizing your team’s efforts to allow a balanced specialization.

Most teams members learn and create secondary areas of specialization through different behaviors:

• Whenever the team has the right expertise, every task or problem is a learning opportunity. Any team member can either pick it up and do it individually or request to pair.
• Whenever the team feels there is currently enough learning going on, the tasks tend to be picked up by the team members with the most expertise in them.
• Whenever the team lacks the right expertise for the current situation, it discusses how to gain that knowledge through learning and collaboration. 

3- Schedule team meetings and one-on-ones 🗓️

Sometimes, scheduling and attending meetings can generate negative feelings in some teammates because they think they are annoying. However, meetings are an important space for the team to share ideas, receive and offer feedback, and generate synergy inside the team.

Regular team meetings will help your group build stronger relationships. You’ll find that well-planned and executed meeting will help the group make better and faster decisions, improving their daily performance and their experience at work.

Also leaders must regularly save some time for 1:1 meetings with their team members, as it gives leaders a chance to share feedback, coach them and connect on a closer and personal level.

4- Motivate your team ⚡

Motivated employees are more productive and committed to helping the company reach its goals. These are some tips to keep them inspired:

• Share your vision: Your team should know where the ship is going. Let them know the company goal and how important they are to achieve it. 
• Go teamwork!: Team members working side-by-side tend to feel more engaged with their tasks and their teammates.
• Build growth: Professional development opportunities will make your team feel they are building a career path, inspiring them to improve their skills.
• Share positivity: Validating employees who make a strong contribution to the team by giving them positive feedback will reinforce their effort and lead to better results. 
• In employees we trust: Team members who work for a micromanaging boss usually struggle to develop creativity and efficient work. Give your team some space, show you trust them, and they will take your expectations to the moon.

5- Hire the right people 🤝

People are the soul of any company. Every piece of advice shared before this one can’t work without the right people. The term “right person” is subjective as it follows your company’s culture. Never underestimate how important this is. 

Your challenge is not to find a new employee but a new teammate, a perfect match with your culture. Making a bad decision when adding new members can change the team’s atmosphere and affect its effectiveness. Therefore, you must consider the human factor when expanding your team. 

These 5 pieces of advice are the beginning of the journey to create efficient and synergistic teams that will not only reach your company goals but overcome them with kick-ass performance 🚀