Getting the best out of other people should be right at the top of any manager’s to-do list. But all too often it’s easier to let an employee languish in front of a self-appraisal form than get involved in developing his or her skills. If you’d rather lock the door than encourage people to discuss their troubles and triumphs, you’re jeopardising your own career. So, even if only out of self-interest, read on.

1. Look up. Most managers spend too long managing their in-tray, says Ceri Roderick, a partner at the business psychology firm Pearn Kandola. But such a view will dent your own career prospects as well as those of your team. Senior managers are expected to shape strategy and then deliver it through their team, he says.

2. How much is enough? “Ask yourself ‘how much of what I am paid is about what my team does?’ ” he says. “If 50 per cent of my effectiveness is down to what my team are doing, do I give 50 per cent of my time to them?” No? Then juggle your own priorities.

3. Not just a payroll number. “How well do you know your people?” he says. “Ask yourself how clear you are about their strengths and risk areas.” Get personal and find out where their weaknesses lie so that you can “coach the gap”.

4. Don’t pass on bad habits. Use bench-marking to set out what best practice looks like in any given role, says Lorna Daker, the operations director at Silent Edge, a sales training company. Then measure your team’s skills against that.

5. Keep an open mind. Don’t define someone by their job title or qualifications, says Dean Hodcroft, a partner and head of real estate at Ernst & Young, the professional services firm. Personal qualities – energy, imagination and enthusiasm – are far better indicators of their capabilities.

6. Tease it out. If you know someone is capable of a task, encourage them to find the answer to a problem themselves by asking open questions. Daker says that “most managers tell people how to do it, they don’t coach them”. Hodcroft says: “If someone comes up to me, the conversation starts with me pushing back and asking questions. Then they pass that approach on [and] it becomes a natural part of the team’s culture.”

7. Show and tell. Sometimes you have to show people what to do, Daker says. If someone is out of their depth, telling them the right answer is the right approach.

8. Start small. “Focus on small changes. What three things are they going to take away from the coaching session and implement immediately?” Daker says. Maximise their commitment by letting them choose the areas they are going to work at and then sign off an action plan together.

9. Stretch people. Don’t be afraid to take someone out of the workplace and “out of their comfort zone”, Hodcroft says. A member of his team recently began mentoring GCSE students at a local school to learn how to engage people face-to-face.

10. Learn to delegate. Photocopying a report in triplicate is much easier than writing one. Test your team with meaty assignments, not fluff, and be on hand to monitor, support and advise.

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