9 Essential Skills Every Manager Needs

Maybe you didn’t grow up wanting to be a manager. I mean, who really does? The reality is that being a manager is a step you have to go through to grow within your organization.

These skills will be incredibly helpful to manage yourselves, your staff, family members, friends, and your jobs. 

You have to begin to think about management differently, both on the individual level and the organizational level. While it is a position you hold, you have to begin thinking about management as a practice. Just like we should consider leadership as a practice, these are not skills and behaviors we learn one time. These are skills and behaviors that need constant practice to master them. As you master one skill, you can learn how to take it to the next level. You most likely will never reach perfection as a manager or leader. I say this simply because you are human. You will make mistakes. You will get distracted. You will become overwhelmed at times. You will have to learn new policies, procedures, and technical skills. In other words, you are not perfect, and to strive for that is a setup for failure. You should, however, strive to be great, awesome, and outstanding in the role.

So what are the basic skills and behaviors? These are commonly known as “Soft Skills.” Let’s not call them soft skills, let’s call them what they are, essential skills or interpersonal skills. There is nothing soft about these skills. When you look up the word soft, you will see descriptors such as easy to mold, not hard, or not firm. The skills you need are anything but easy to mold, they should not only be hard but should become habits, harden in your skill set, and unflappable. 

While they can be learned, they need to be practiced and practiced and practiced more. They need to be ingrained into your personality and become who you are. Basically, these skills are the opposite of soft. 

What are the essential skills that every successful manager should have? While we could talk about many skills and behaviors, and we will in future posts, here are 10 to get you started. 

1. Communication
2. Coaching Skills
3. Emotional Intelligence
4. Critical Thinking
5. Conflict Resolution
6. Influence
7. Negotiation
8. Delegation
9. Managing through Change

For more information on these skills and action steps to begin understanding each skill in more detail, click here to download the FREE e-book The Manager’s Guide to Success, or you can contact me directly at david@thehofstettergroup.com

#management #leadership #essentialskills #coaching