10 Proven Strategies to Boost Team Management Efficiency

Author Li Nan, a senior manager at Meizu, shares insights on improving team management ability.

1. Clarify Structure

The first step when taking over a department is to define or adjust the organizational structure, specifying who occupies which position and what responsibilities they hold.

No two people should have overlapping responsibilities; there should be no collective leadership or ambiguous domains. When problems arise, it must be clear who is accountable, and achievements should be attributed clearly.

2. Clarify Goals

A leader sets the direction by deciding where to place the ladder, then communicates that direction to everyone. Without clear goals, even the best team cannot deliver results.

3. Don’t Try to Change a Person

If someone is not performing well in their current role, the most effective solution is to move them to a more suitable position rather than attempting costly changes.

4. Clarify Authority and Responsibility

When you assign tasks, you must also grant the necessary authority and resources; otherwise, responsibility for failures falls on you, not the assignee.

A manager’s key duty is to solve problems that subordinates cannot handle, providing power and resources.

5. Flatten the Organization

Avoid excessive hierarchy so that any issue can be escalated directly to a decision‑maker.

6. Visualize Work

As teams grow, visibility becomes critical. Even small teams should adopt tools and processes that make work transparent, such as:

GitHub commits and issue tracking to see each developer’s contributions and problem‑solving process.

Pivotal Tracker burn‑down charts to monitor overall team efficiency.

WeChat groups for real‑time communication.

Wiki‑based documentation and reports for a clear project status.

While you don’t need to track everything, you must have the ability to see it, enabling first‑hand information when issues arise and encouraging higher quality execution.

Visualization also ensures information symmetry, allowing team members to stay informed about project updates at minimal cost.

7. Require Early Commitment

Often overlooked, managers should obtain explicit commitments from team members before work begins; tasks promised “to be done” are more likely to be completed.

8. Split Projects and Conduct Intermediate Reviews

Divide large projects into milestones with regular checks to manage risk, ensuring deliverables are tangible and applying agile practices.

9. Demand Results, Not Excuses

Work outcomes are binary: either completed or not. When not completed, managers should focus on loss assessment, fix options, and required additional investment, not on post‑mortem stories.

10. Continuous Improvement

Inspired by Toyota’s management philosophy, continuously observe the team, identify problems, and improve processes, as today’s effective methods may become obsolete tomorrow.