Building a strong team

In many companies Managers talk a lot about how important people are but what do YOU do to really show your team how important they are? Lip service is not enough! In addition to your company standard benefits like 401K, Health, Dental, Eye Insurance etc. what is important to your team? You have to meet with them on a regular basis to find out and to stay on top of this topic. If people are taken seriously and see that you, as the manager, put in a real effort to help them move forward that makes a world of difference. Unfortunately many Managers (incl. Project Managers) are overwhelmed with this role and are more focused on themselves than their team. Instead of stepping over your team, to appear as the hero, make your team stronger. Mentor your people and provide them with the necessary connections and advice. It requires some effort and sometimes the effort will be wasted but most of the time you will get much more benefit from this than you think.