Every business needs a good manager at the helm, but good managers are hard to come by. If you have aspirations of becoming a manager, there will be various skills and attributes that you will need in order to find success. While it seems that some people are naturally good managers, you will find that it is possible to learn and develop many of these skills and attributes that are required. With this in mind, keep reading to discover what you need to find success as a manager and how you can go about developing the skills and attributes that are needed.
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Ability To Lead A Team
Obviously, good leadership skills are essential in order to find success as any kind of manager. You need to be the kind of person that people will listen to and follow directions from, which is not something that comes easy to many. The good news is that it is possible to learn and develop leadership skills. You can take courses along with books, podcasts, and blogs all devoted to leadership that can help. When climbing the ladder, you should try to develop these skills, such as taking the lead on group projects or offering your support to junior employees.
Self-Confidence
Closely linked to this is self-confidence. You cannot expect others to follow your direction and come to you for support if you do not believe in yourself, so you need to develop your self-confidence if this is an area that is holding you back. Improving your confidence is tough and requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, but it is worthwhile because this will improve your life in so many different ways, both professionally and personally.
Good Interpersonal Skills
As a manager, you need to be able to connect with people and develop relationships. Managers are only effective when their team respect and feel a connection to management, so strong interpersonal skills are a must. Again, this is an area that can be developed if you currently feel that you struggle to make connections with people. Things like looking people in the eye, smiling, and being friendly yet professional are key here.
Excellent Communication Skills
Following on from this, no manager will succeed if they do not possess excellent communication skills. Managers spend most of their time communicating, whether this is giving directions to staff, listening to their team, or presenting to senior management. Therefore, you need to be able to communicate orally, be a good listener, and have strong writing and presenting skills. If you struggle with any of these areas, there are ways that you can improve, and again this is worthwhile because it can improve your life in so many ways.
Ability To Manage Conflict
As a manager, it is inevitable that you will face conflicts at some point in your role. This could be a conflict between people on your team or perhaps a team member challenging you. Managers need to be able to manage and resolve conflicts so that the issues can be resolved with all parties coming away satisfied and with minimal disruption to the workflow. Conflict resolution is something that you will learn as you rise to management positions, but being able to stay calm and objective during heated moments is a key attribute that could make a big difference to your abilities as a manager.
Organizational Skills
A good manager must also have strong organizational skills. You are the person that is at the helm that will be giving direction, so you need to be able to organize tasks, prioritize workloads, and match tasks to skill. Management can often feel a lot like spinning plates, so it is important that you keep yourself organized and calm during moments of high pressure. This also means that you need to be able to delegate tasks and avoid micromanaging so that you are able to step back and focus on the big picture.
Ability To See The Big Picture
Following this, managers need to be able to see the big picture and steer the business in the right direction. This means that you need to avoid getting stuck down in minor details and see how your work can take the business in the right direction. Having strong business acumen and knowing the goals of the company will be key for this and should help you to make progress.
Operations Management Knowledge
It is also important that managers know how to adjust, improve and adapt the daily operation to increase efficiency and take the business performance to new heights. This is operations management and will involve streamlining processes, working with staff, and developing projects and strategies that will help the business to achieve its goals and overall aim. You can take a masters in operations management that will take your business and management skills to the next level and show you how to ensure operational efficiency by linking people, processes, and performance. In addition to teaching you how to succeed with operations management, a master’s will also help your resumé to stand out and should help you to secure top management roles in a range of industries.
Strong Financial Management
Strong financial management is another important attribute that a good manager will have. You will need to understand the budget that you have to work with and how you can get the most out of the money that you have without impacting quality or putting too much strain on your employees. Costs such as staff, training, equipment, and software can all add up, so it is important that you know how to manage your budget, work with accounting staff and find ways to squeeze every cent. This is particularly important in a time when many companies are struggling financially and need to be wise with the money that they do have available.
Positive Mindset
Managers should also have a positive mindset. This is not only so that they can work to a high standard each day and stay positive in stressful situations, but also so that they can develop positive relationships with team members and create the right atmosphere. Everything comes from the top in business, so the attitude that you come into work with each day will be key in setting the tone and culture within your team. It would be best to have a positive attitude, be encouraging and supportive of your team and maintain this attitude even when there are setbacks.
Ability To Be A Boss First
One of the biggest challenges that managers have is being a boss first and a friend second. You certainly want to develop positive relationships and get to know your team members. Still, you do not want to become overly familiar, and you need to maintain a professional barrier. You must be a boss first and a friend second. Although this might mean that you are never fully part of the group and may miss out on some social events, you have to understand that this is not personal and it is for the good of the business.
Willingness To Take Risks
When you are the person at the helm, you need to be willing to call the shots and take risks. Risks should always be calculated, and you should take the time to consult with others before making big decisions, but you need to be the one that is pulling the trigger at the end of the day. Additionally, when these risks backfire, you need to be willing to take responsibility and protect your team. When these risks pay off, you should deflect praise to your team and be humble.
Ability To Learn From Mistakes
A manager needs to be willing to take risks, and this does mean that there will inevitably be mistakes over the course of your career. Crucially, you need to be able to learn from the mistakes so that they do not happen again and frame them as an opportunity to learn. Many managers suffer a crisis of confidence when they make a mistake, but you need to get back on the horse and use the opportunity to learn and grow.
Open To New Ideas
The best managers are those that are open to new ideas and encourage their team to come forward with ideas of their own. One of the best attributes of a manager is when they will happily admit that they do not know something or have expertise in an area and defer to someone in their team that does. Not only will this help the business in terms of bringing different ideas to the table, but it will also help the staff to feel valued and an important part of the team and organization as a whole.
These are the main skills and attributes that you need in order to find success as a manager. Management is a special role within an organization, and it can be highly rewarding to lead a team and steer the ship in the right direction, but it is also a challenging role that requires wide-ranging skills and attributes.