Good people skills are an essential key to success as an effective manager. Good people skills are often necessary for obtaining and keeping a management position. Many people would love to obtain a management position. However, despite the fact that an employee might have certain talents and skills, they might not have the people skills that it would take for effective management. Many people are under the misapprehension that all that is needed to obtain a leadership position in management, is the ability to bark orders to get things done. These same people feel that their word is law. They feel that they can use intimidation tactics to rise up to management. Some people have no use for others around them; They will simply use manipulative tactics to get in the good graces of their superiors, because they feel that this will get them to the front of the line for promotion.
However, while these types of personalities might indeed incur a management position, they won’t be very effective managers. Theirs will be departments filled with strive, ineffectiveness, or bureaucracy. The people who are under their management will either become frustrated with them, or the employees will flat out come to loathe these managers. Since none of these outcomes are healthy or productive for an operation, one should consider the people skills, and even life skills that are needed for effective management.
Effective Communication
This is an umbrella term of sorts, because there are quite a few ways to communicate in an effective, and positive way. The first thing that a prospective manager needs to keep in mind is respect for others. When a person respects others, they will communicate with them in a way that is clear, concise, and yet respectful of their feelings. A respectful communicator also is interested in the input of others, and values what others have to say. The effective communicator also doesn’t lead people on, or confuse them. They will say what they mean respectfully, and mean what they say. They speak with integrity.
Cooperation
The bottom line is that humans need the strengths and talents of other humans. There is no such thing as a human who is so talented and intelligent, that they don’t need the resources of others. Many people use the “My way or the highway” approach, and they find out the hard way that this rarely works, nor is this motivating to others. The prospective manager should always look for ways to call upon the strengths of others, and they should always be open to learning new things, for the greater good of the company.
Motivation
People love being around someone who brings out the best in others. A great leader uses motivation tactics to inspire others to perform. A great leader also knows that different things motivate different personalities. Therefore, they will be sensitive to different personalities, and they will adjust their motivation tactics for the various people around them. They will also show other attributes that positively challenge others to imitate them to greatness.
Resilience
Everyone goes through hard times professionally, and personally. What separates the weak from the strong, is one’s resilience. Resilience is the ability to adjust to the changes in their lives, and in their careers. The resilient person knows that they will have lots of twists, turns, pitfalls, and downfalls in their lives and careers. Yet, these people are able to pick themselves up, learn from mistakes if any, and soldier on. Resilient people refuse to be victims, and these personalities are the survivors that people admire and respect.
Humility
Some people might look at humility as a trait for the weak, but nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that humility is a trait of the strong and confident. As it pertains to management, one shows humility when they are flexible. A flexible leader is one who is open to change, input, and advice. These are the opposite of “My way or the highway” personalities. Humble leaders are teachable. They understand that they don’t know everything, and that there is always a lesson to be learned in life, and in business. They also understand that these lessons can be learned from anything and anyone, not just their favorite mentors. Certainly, a humble leader understands that they aren’t perfect, and as such, they have no problem owning their mistakes, with a willingness to learn.
Fortitude
Finally, a great people skill to have is fortitude. Fortitude is a deep level of courage. People need to be inspired by those with fortitude, so that they can learn how to face the trials that will come their way, professionally.
Change Management Skills
Change management has become a negative concept of business today. It does need to be thought of in this manner though. We can embrace change for the challenges that test and stimulate us, or we could do the opposite and resist it. The skills needed for us managers to deal with change are in high demand.
When we concentrate our efforts only after in-depth planning and preparation has been done the negatives are not as extreme. For a business change can be a stimulating and positive opportunity when we let it be so.
There are some very basic steps to making change management work, it is similar to the slight course corrections boats take to navigate a river or lake to get from point a to point b. Effective managers with change produce top
results because they have the following skills:
• Good Communication
We as managers need to be able to communicate effectively with our employees. Include them in the search for solutions to problems. Also have regular meetings to discuss things. Informal conversations on a one-to-one basis are effective too.
• Understand the Vision
Another skill we need as managers is a clear understanding of where the organization is headed. This can be done by communicating with our people about this very subject and sharing ideas in an effective and enthusiastic manner.
• Consistency Counts
We need to be consistent when delivering change. It has to be done fairly and honestly to everyone. No favorites.
• A Good Rapport
Change is made easier when we have a good rapport with the people we are managing.
• Be Trustworthy
When our employees know we care and will do the best job we can for everyone’s benefit, they can work much easier. The employees trust us under these circumstances because we have shown them that they can.
• Thoroughly Plan
If we as managers want to be good with enacting change, we must look at all the options. It is good to be advised by others when need be. Decide which the better value is, make sure it will work first and there are no unexpected surprises.
• Have an Organized Approach
We should always closely follow the plan and the timeline for whatever changes we are making, this will build our confidence up, as we show our team we are serious about the changes.
• Stay on Course
We need to stay on course with the plan in spite of emotions running high to be effective change managers. This does not mean some flexibility cannot happen along the way in implementing the plan if necessary though. The goals are set.
• Respect People
As managers we need to treat people with dignity and respect at all times ever when things are difficult. We must support and counsel those that need further explanation on why the change is needed and when it will be happening.
• Focused Results
The results should be focused and value based. They should also be decided upon in an objective manner. We need to remember why the change is being done and be enthusiastically behind it, even if it has been forced on us by higher ups.
If a management prospect possesses these people and change management skills, then they will be well on their way as being looked at as an effective, inspiring manager.
About the author:
Richard L Woodard works as a writer for write my essay service. He is fond of taking photos. In this case, Richard dreams of visiting as many countries as possible in order to take a lot of photos and take part in the exhibition to present his works to others.
