Last month, I met with a manager in a hospital. She was well-dressed, experienced, and seemed to be well-respected. However, I was surprised when she pulled me aside to discuss something with me.
Of course, she knew I was a leadership strategist
According to her, “I’m doing my best, but I don’t think my team sees me as someone to respect and look up to, I manage schedules, I enforce policies, I solve problems—but something still just feels off, it’s lonely here though. Everyone sees me as up and hard to relate to as a human being that I am
Is this really what leadership looks like?”
That moment stuck with me because she’s not alone.
So many managers are in this spot
What Does it Mean to Manage Team Better as a Leader?
Leadership in the workplace, especially in a hospital, goes far beyond management. This is not about jo many reports you have to do, or how full your calendar is.
Leadership in the workplace is more impact, direction, and trust. In a hospital setting, it’s also about creating an environment where patients are safe and staff feel seen.
With this, we save more lives from the anger of the staff.
If you’ve ever asked yourself,
👉 “How can I manage my team better as a leader?”
👉 “Why doesn’t my team respond the way I expect?”
👉 “How do I build trust and get real results?”
You’re not alone—and you’re in the right place.
The article aims to help you understand ways to improve your leadership styles and skills as a manager, most especially in a hospital setting where we deal with lives.
So let’s answer the first question:
How does managing teams and leadership work?
Managing a team involves overseeing operations, while leading a team entails guiding people to be their best, even on their most challenging days. In healthcare, taking these steps can save many lives, and what does leadership have to do with death or life?
It has everything to do with it, especially in a hospital setting. Healthcare workers are happy to do their work. They seek to get results and save lives because they work as a team, and there is continual guidance.
When there is no mentor or guidance, people go astray.
7 Proven Ways to Manage Your Team Better as a Leader
Managing teams is about the staff, and this is how you know great managers
- They make staff feel safe while opening up:
Staff generally are scared of losing their jobs, so they are being careful of how they react to situations, what they tell their managers, and many more. All these are to keep their jobs, especially in a place like Dubai where the competition is so high.
Staff would prefer to keep quiet even when things are going wrong under your nose. This, in turn, affects your leadership tenure or even your hospital, further decreasing revenue.
2. Communicate with empathy:
When addressing your staff or even correcting anyone with more reference to the healthcare industry. Address them with care, don’t just lash them with insulting words. That does not make you a good leader and manager.
You would rather find that most of your staff do worse things to provoke you, get angry while attending to patients, and many more. Correct but with intentionality and the right words.
3. Prioritize both people and performance:
Both items matter; however, you should understand that without people, you cannot have performance.
In all your decision-making, consider the people who are to do the work. Imagine telling your pregnant surgeon to come for an emergency surgery at 3am, when other alternatives and surgeons can do it.
Do you expect her to perform well? Of course, NO.
So, how you treat your staff goes a long way in determining the success of the healthcare organization.
Prioritize your staff’s well-being and get outstanding performance. That’s how it works
4. Inspire calm during chaos:
In a hospital setting, chaos can be sudden patient emergencies, a shortage of staff leading to the little having to overwork, and many more.
As a leader, you are to ensure everyone is calm; you should have leadership skills that portray you as calm, even when others are not calm. This is what makes you different from the usual staff.
5. Reassure your team without hiding the truth: Let’s imagine something happened that could cause a disaster. As a leader that you are trying to manage team members. You shouldn’t be among those who continually shout and make a scene of the whole chaos.
You should gather your team members, inform them of the issues at hand, and the steps to resolve them.
With this, many see you as someone who is capable of handling a situation, and not just a fearful leader, they can consistently trust you when more fearful challenges arise.
6. Build Trust first, then lead: People are willing to listen to those they trust, but the question now is, how do I build trust?
Your team members don’t want to follow someone whom they are scared of; they would rather gossip at the slightest call for action, or when instructions are given. Building trust with your team members comes from your daily activities and how you show up in the everyday little actions.
As a leader, if the regulation is to be punctual, always be punctual. Support every team member equally. These little daily actions can make your team members trust you.
7. Stop managing tasks, start coaching people: One mistake many managers in workplaces try to make is trying to do everything all by themselves, whereas what positions you better as a leader is the ability to coach your team members and ensure they do things well.
Great leaders don’t just delegate—they develop.
One of the questions you should consistently ask is “What do you need to succeed this week?”. Never focus only on the outcome or KPIs that might have been set for your team members or your staff as a manager.
Put more efforts in helping them learn, organize workshops, share scholarship opportunities, share industry-related conferences and professional bodies where your team members can learn and network, invest also in conferences, international learning experiences, and with all these, your team members can boldly say you have coached them well.
Remember leadership is not just about getting the work done, its about making people feel seen. In the longrun, people would remember you based on how you made them feel.
8. Praise effort, not just outcomes: We cannot rule out the fact that in the bid to be a great leader, we need to get the work done, KPIs must be achieved, revenue must be increased. In all of these,e regularly appreciate your department or team members for putting in the efforts to achieve something.
This consistently makes them feel seen, and increases their morale to do more and achieve more results
Some other leadership strategies you can consider to manage the team better include:
- Give Credit Loudly, correct quietly:
- Lead by Example, Not Exception:
- Invite feedback and use it to grow:
It’s all about being an anchor when everyone else feels adrift.
