A few weeks ago, I was interviewing for a head of human Resources position and of all the people interviewed only one had a fairly good idea of what supervisory skills entailed. This got me worried because it means they had not gone through supervisory training themselves and were not offering it to their managers. The challenge usually is that an employee is promoted after five years on the job because they are good.
They become supervisors without having been trained and they end up just winging it and success can be hit or miss. There are at least seven supervisory skills or as some call them management skills. We train new entrants into the workforce how to manage themselves. The managers we train how to manage others and executive management we train how to manage others.
Interpersonal skills. Managerial work is mainly about people and being able to build successful relationships is integral. To lead a team, you need to know how to effectively deal with people.
Setting time aside to get to know team members on both a personal and professional level, through social activities or team-building training, while still maintaining professional boundaries, will go a long way to earning their respect.
Managers need to demonstrate managerial qualities and authority while maintaining the ability to play their part as a member of a team.
The following skills help develop interpersonal skills. It is also important to understand profiling and how to manage different personalities. I use the DISC profiling tool because it is easy to learn and inexpensive.
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Communication and motivation skills. Effective leaders must master all forms of communication including written, verbal, and listening skills. Communicating effectively means that your ideas and concepts are being heard and people are acting upon them. It also means more importantly that you can listen, understand, and act on what other people say.
The team manager is the line of communication between frontline staff and senior management. Liaising with a variety of people, from entry-level employees to heads of departments and CEOs, in several different ways – via email and social media, over the phone, and in presentations, meetings, and one-to-ones.
Managers need to demonstrate managerial qualities and authority while maintaining the ability to play their part as a member of a team.
Team managers need to establish a trusting relationship with their team members, so they feel comfortable sharing information with you, and vice versa. To ensure that lines of communication remain open, you will need to make yourself readily available and accessible to your employees to discuss any issues or concerns that arise. Having an open-door policy or weekly or monthly team meetings should facilitate this. Let your staff know that they matter by maintaining eye contact, smiling, and listening attentively.
An open, positive attitude goes a long way to creating a healthy work environment. Do not shut yourself off or put yourself on a pedestal. Simple gestures, such as active encouragement, recognising achievements and taking an interest in the lives of your employees, ensure that staff feels valued. A positive workplace creates happy, motivated employees.
Organisation and delegation skills. Managers juggle multiple responsibilities, so excellent organisational skills are vital. You will need to manage your own workload, oversee the work of other employees, attend meetings and training sessions, carry out appraisals, and review company policies. Sloppy working practices, tardiness, and a general lack of organisation will not be tolerated at this level and will set a bad example to your staff. Effective organisational skills reduce stress, save time, and ensure that important deadlines are met.
Many managers ease their own busy workload by delegating tasks to colleagues. To do this effectively you need to analyse and identify the skills of your employees and assign duties to each depending on their skillset. Delegation is a key skill and is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it multiplies the amount of work that a manager can accomplish – while developing the team’s confidence and skills.
Forward planning and strategic thinking skills. A manager’s job is to think of the bigger picture while focusing on today’s tasks and responsibilities. They need to plan. This means setting priorities in line with company goals, reviewing systems and policies, and attending training and managing the activities of their teams. Strategic thinking will encourage innovation and change to make the team and the organisation more productive and profitable.
Problem-solving and decision-making skills. Managers are tasked with spotting and solving problems daily. This requires outstanding attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under pressure. To ensure that the team is productive and that the workflow runs smoothly, managers must think on their feet when problems arise. Creative thinking will help to come up with innovative solutions that minimise the impact on the team and the business.
For managers thinking on their feet also comes in useful when they have to make a snap decision about how to successfully complete a task or meet a business goal. Being able to quickly weigh up the pros and cons of a situation and make an informed decision is essential.
Commercial awareness skills. This skill is in huge demand among business employers. In fact, according to recruiters, commercial awareness is something that most managers lack.
To progress to the management level, an understanding of the marketplace in which a business operates and what it is that makes a business successful is essential. To demonstrate this, managers need to show that they are aware of the organisation’s mission and aims. That they understand the sector that the company belongs to and know about the political and economic issues affecting the business.Finally the ability to identify the company’s competitors.
Mentoring and coaching skills. As well as being business-focused decision-makers, managers also need to play a supportive role. To get to the managerial level, a manager has a repertoire of experience, knowledge, and skills, and it’s their job to pass this knowledge on and share skills with others.
This involves training and advising staff and building their confidence and skills. The manager is the driving force behind the progression of team members.
Many managers are probably doing all the above but they need to be able to articulate this and know when they are using these skills. All of these are measurable and should be measured. Remember what you do not measure, you cannot manage.
