At a time when the entire job market has been disrupted by layoffs, you’d be surprised at how integral the skills of a good manager are in keeping the company together. While employees moonlight and juggle multiple jobs in fear of losing their main source of income, and others are let go for multiple reasons that aren’t their fault, it falls to a manager to ensure that the work within the company continues without disruption. There are many skills of managers in the business space that safeguard the interests of the organization without disregarding the well-being of the employees, and if you want your organization to make it to the other side, it would be a good idea to invest in helping them develop these skills.
Let’s look at the top 10 management skills that every manager should be equipped with.
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Top 10 Skills of a Good Manager
Trying to duplicate a successful manager’s skills can be simple enough for an organization with the time and resources to inculcate the necessary training over time. More realistically, managers are often given minimal training and charged with the task of leading their subordinates while also handling an extensive list of assignments of their own. With no precedent set for how to guide those under them, many have to invent strategies that aren’t always successful, with no time to rework their approach to the employees.
With the extensive responsibilities assigned to them, there are some skills managers should have or should get the room to develop, in order to do their job to the best of their abilities. Some of the skills of a good manager can be found in potential candidates from the get-go, while the rest can be developed through targeted training. So if you’re looking for a way to improve the productivity at your company, here are some skills to prioritize.
1. Communication Skills
Let’s face it—a majority of a manager’s job description involves the manager having to communicate with multiple employees throughout the day. Whether they have to give feedback to the employee or assign them a new task, the manager’s role in communicating with them correctly is key to how the work gets done. The skills of a good manager are often reflected in how the employees perform and a communicative manager means employees who understand their job.
Communication also features in the list of successful manager skills as the communication style adopted by the manager reflects how employees communicate with each other. Managers who encourage open communication are approachable themselves, but they also inspire employees to be communicative.
2. Emotional Intelligence and Empathy
Among the many skills a manager should have, a high EQ is one that employees appreciate. Managers who are able to understand what an employee is trying to communicate and work with them to arrive at solutions will find employees resolving problems quicker. While the employee’s personal life outside should not interfere with the work done in the organization, an overlap is often inevitable. Punishing employees for this instead of collaborating with them to find a middle ground is unhelpful.
Managers who are high on empathy are also well-placed to understand employee concerns and introduce them to upper management, which employees will appreciate. This creates a workplace built on openness rather than suppression.
3. Trustworthiness
When there is ever a conflict between an employee and a client, the employee often counts on the manager to have their backs and stand by the decision that was taken by the team. Trustworthiness is among the top 10 management skills because it allows employees to be confident in the work that they do and also gives them the strength to work on ideas without worrying that they’ll be left behind when things go awry.
4. Accountability
A successful manager needs to have the necessary skill set to hold employees accountable for their work and also be responsible enough for themselves. The role of a manager involves setting reasonable deadlines for tasks and ensuring the employees have all the resources they need to get the job done. When employees are unable to meet the requirements, managers need to hold them accountable but also understand when the situation isn’t conducive to meeting those deadlines. Managers also take responsibility when the work isn’t going as planned and consider how they can move things forward next.
5. Decision-Making and Critical Thinking
The decision-making skills of managers in business settings are critical to the functioning of an organization. When things don’t work as planned, the leaders get to move resources around to determine the next step and poor decision-making skills can lead to poor results. A manager needs to be able to consider all the information they have and decide the best course of action without wasting time. The manager’s listening and communication skills also come into play here, but they need to be able to learn what the situation has to offer and consider what comes next.
6. Attention to Detail
Regardless of the manager’s job industry, attention to detail is an essential skill every manager should possess. In order to hold others accountable, managers need to have a good understanding of the task first so they can pick out any issues that the employees might have missed. Foresight is equally important as their early planning can help save on time at a later stage.
By developing a detail-oriented mindset, managers can eliminate the need for multiple layers of checks and help get tasks done more quickly.
7. Technical Knowledge
Similar to the previous skill that managers should have, technical knowledge of the work that subordinates are doing is crucial. From the employee’s first day on the job, managers are usually in charge of the onboarding process and they set the pace for all the work that the employee is going to do at the organization. Without technical knowledge of the industry, the employee’s training will remain incomplete and managers will not have the insight to correct them or answer any of their questions when a problem arises.
Every employee constantly needs to update their knowledge about the product and the industry, but it’s especially important for managers to understand the intricacies of the task at hand.
8. Open-Mindedness
When an employee has an idea they want to work on, the only person who can give them the room to explore it is the manager. Open-mindedness is a great skill for a good manager to have as it allows them to be receptive to the conversations employees choose to have with them. Of course, there will be times when they will have to turn down an idea for various reasons like budget constraints or lack of support from the higher-ups. But every once in a while, they might bear witness to something that could really benefit the company. Managers need to be open-minded for employees to feel comfortable enough to bring these ideas to them.
9. Being a Team Player is a Sign of a Good Manager
A manager should be capable of putting the team first in front of their own personal gains when they are put in charge of a collection of individuals who turn to them for advice. Effective managers are able to look at what’s in the best interest of the team as a whole and make choices that support all of them as a whole. Having a team-centric perspective involves understanding each employee on the team and how they figure into the larger collective of the group.
The best managers do not see themselves as above the team or as being better than their subordinates—they learn to value each employee as a central figure in their collective force.
10. Conflict Management Skills
A good manager knows how to be a good person and understands the employees he supervises. They also know when to set firm, non-negotiable boundaries as issues arise. If you’re trying to build up the skills of a good manager in your workforce, one aspect of training that is relatively easy to provide is conflict management. Managers need to be able to put their own personal reservations aside and listen to what employees have to say with an open mind. They need to be able to help the warring employees towards a resolution they both can be at peace with.
Being a good manager is a tough and demanding job—it can take a toll on their mental and physical wellbeing. Among the skills of a good manager that are developed for the workplace, managers also need to take some time out to care for themselves and deal with their stressors well to ensure the job doesn’t get to them. When they feel ready to approach their work with a clear head and a relaxed mindset, the skills should be easy to pick up no matter which one they want to get started with.