Basics of Management

Know yourself well, establish clear and identical rules for everyone, take an interest in your employees, communicate, and refocus. These are the basics of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling and the key points to manage your employees without a hitch.

However, like everything relating to humans, management cannot be an exact science, it remains in the realm of the probable, of statistics. Management is both art and science, calling on innate, intuitive and personal qualities as well as a body of theoretical knowledge.

What is the introduction necessary for any management?

Before being able to manage a team, the winegrower must know himself well. He needs to know what he can stand and what not, what his behaviors and reactions are, and whether he has the ability to put a distance and not to react hot. He must be well in his boots, in line with himself and in adaptation with his employees. It is also important that he has a long-term view of his business; let him set a course and be able to verbalize it.

That a good manager must know how to listen, reframe, delegate and congratulate. This implies in particular that he knows how to recognize what is done well. The manager must also know how to distinguish the fault, which goes against the values ​​of the company and which must be sanctioned immediately, from the error, which, if it is not repeated, is part of the learning mechanism.

Finally, and above all, we must be aware that management is a function in its own right, which takes time. He must be willing to waste time explaining each task and why its proper execution is important to the business, in order to save it later. He considers that a manager should dedicate 10% of his time to each of his executives, to support them and referee.

How do you know if you have a management problem?

The absenteeism rate is the first clue that should put the chip in the ear of the entrepreneur. As well as a too high rate of work accidents or MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders). Another flashing light is the number of training days granted.

What are the keys to management?

A good manager is someone who develops their teams and takes them where they thought they couldn’t go alone. To do this, recommends applying the rules of “how to say”, there are 6 of them:

1. The manager must speak on his behalf and say “I want” and not “I must”.

2. He must speak positive, that is to say, explain what is right, before what is wrong.

3. He should say what he wants rather than what is wrong: “I want you to prune so fast” and not “you prune too slowly”.

4. He must avoid questions: for example, he must privilege “There, you have difficulties”, to the detriment of “Why did you not succeed? “.

5. He should verbalize his emotions when possible: “I’m especially happy today.” When he has an argument, he should give the reasons “I am satisfied because we have made good progress”.

6. Finally, he must avoid judgments.

HR (Human Resource)

That good personnel management requires being in harmony with your team, knowing how to adapt to each employee. “You do not manage the same way an employee who is in the pure execution, and another who wants responsibility and to be autonomous. There is an element of intuition in the management function. “To do this, she advocates being in communication and relating to others; in empathy. But not too much: we believe in limiting the emotional level. And avoid playing on the emotional chord in order to lead, on pain of falling into the manipulation. A good manager must also know how to take failure, recognize his mistakes and give up on pleasing.

To manage your employees well, it is also essential to establish clear rules, identical for all, and to ensure that they are respected. This can involve writing job descriptions for each job, so that each employee knows what tasks are assigned to him, to whom he is responsible and on whom he depends. If the rules are not followed, the manager should not be afraid of the conflict, and go through with it, even if it is a dismissal. Because “there is nothing worse than false threats or laissez-faire“.

Moreover, in the case of a family farm, it is important to get out of the subsidiary relationship in the context of work. “A girl must not call her father” Papa “, because on the one hand, this implies a relationship of subordination on the part of the daughter, and on the other hand, it is not pleasant for other employees who have the impression of interfering in the private sphere. Likewise, paternalism, which infantilizes, is not recommended.

How to motivate your employees?

“One of the pitfalls is believing that money is the only motivation. But to motivate your troops, you have to mobilize them on corporate objectives, give them autonomy and recognition. And the latter requires more time, understanding and listening. Motivation relates to meeting the needs of the employee. However, these are threefold: the feeling of belonging to a group, self-esteem and recognition. “The first is being on a team and feeling like you are important to that team,” continues the advisor. It gives satisfaction. This feeling of belonging can be reinforced by setting up a team meeting every Monday morning, with a breakdown of tasks for the week, an explanation of the objectives and the role of each in achieving them.

Recognition, on the other hand, comes with congratulations. “We never congratulate our employees enough. Provided that, when things are not going well, the manager also says so ”. In addition, the specialist advises to take an interest in her employees, to organize briefs, debriefs, etc. in order to fully understand their motivations, the training they would like to follow, the tasks they like. In this, the annual personal interview, which is also compulsory, is a highlight. It is a privileged moment of exchange.

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Of course, the recognition also goes through the salary. Or failing that, through material gestures, such as an end-of-year gift, an end-of-season pot, an end-of-harvest meal, etc. But in motivation surveys, pay is never the first criterion. Very poorly paid people stay in companies if they are happy and recognized there, if they have opportunities for advancement. “Taking into account working conditions (stopping the working day earlier in the event of extreme cold, etc.) also contributes to the feeling of recognition.

How to properly measure authority?

To find the right balance, “you have to be very clear about your place and your role”. Much of the authority rests on the esteem that employees have for their boss.

He must be a good professional, able to set an example, but also to enforce the rules. And he must avoid two pitfalls: let him go, and believe that the employee will find out on his own. Defines authority as the ability to decide is important.

How to retain seasonal workers?

Communication plays a key role in retaining seasonal workers. To do this, we recommend staying in touch with them during off-peak periods, through newsletters, e-mails, or the like. In addition, offering them training (in pruning when the seasonal worker is there for the harvest, for example) can be an attractive factor.

How to defuse conflicts between two employees in the basics of management?

Whatever the origin of the disagreement, if it has repercussions on the work, one must try to solve the problem as soon as possible, in order to avoid that the atmosphere becomes noxious. To do this, it is necessary to understand the situation, and therefore to get the two people to explain the origin of the conflict, together or separately.

“Your best bet is to set up a three-way meeting before it escalates. Everyone explains what is wrong and the manager forces them to leave the room after two hours with a solution, found by the employees. Let the employees build the solution out of the conflict, as it will be much more effective than one imposed by the manager, but she recommends speaking with each of the protagonists separately.

Another key in the basics of management may be to change the way work is organized, by separating the two people who have enmities. And to set up clear rules of the type “I do not want vocabulary of this type in my company”, or “Arguments are prohibited within the framework of the exploitation”, with threats of dismissal or “punishment »In case of non-compliance with the rules.

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Sources: PinterPandai, Indeed, The Balance Careers, Management Study Guide

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