7 Management Skills You Should Develop This Year

The business landscape is ever-changing. With businesses slowly adapting to the hybrid and remote working models while juggling the increasing pressure to achieve goals and expectations, there has never been more pressure on the people in management.

Using data from the world's top performers across three decades, hundreds of job roles, and a variety of industries, Gallup discovered the seven skills required for success in any role, profession, or industry—from front-line to executive leadership.

Let’s consider how these seven skills can be applied to being a successful manager:

1. Relationship building

2. Develop their teams

3. Lead change

4. Inspire others

5. Develop critical thinking

6. Communicate

7. Create accountability

1. Relationship Building

Managers and leaders can create great relationships internally and externally if they know how. Great professional relationships can be innovative, energised, and resilient teams.

When developing managers’ relationship-building ability, focus on interpersonal skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, listening, empathy, emotional intelligence, networking, and team-building skills.

2. Develop their teams

Upskilling has been a buzzword over the last few years, and for good reason. Employee upskilling is important for boosting staff satisfaction and retention rates, future-proofing your business, and maintaining a competitive edge over competitors in your industry.

When so much is to be done, squeezing in training and development can be difficult. Therefore, it has become so essential to develop your team through work. Gallup suggests asking, ‘How can I incorporate development into essential tasks so that we are a better team a year from now?’

3. Lead change

Everyone does not always welcome change. Some people struggle with change, whilst others embrace it. Managers are responsible for translating the meaning of change to individuals in the team, and the best managers can anticipate and address concerns.

Effective change leadership involves three elements:

Communication (go to point 6)

Collaboration: Bring people together to plan and execute change. They will be much more open to it if they have expressed their opinions and have had them considered.

Commitment: Successful leaders ensure that their beliefs and behaviours have supported change, too. Be a decisive but informed decision-maker.

4. Inspire others

Many managers like being managers because they enjoy supporting and developing people and find that inspiring others comes naturally to them. Generating positivity is essential for any manager or leader, more so now than ever.

Being inspiring comes from encouraging others through positivity, vision, confidence, challenges, and recognition. Having inspiring managers and leaders can transform a workplace, increasing engagement, retention, and overall culture.

5. Develop critical thinking

One of the rewarding and beneficial parts of management is knowing the business’s details. Asking your team questions can also help you gather more information.

Good managers constantly gather and evaluate information that leads to smart decision-making.

Stay up to date with your industry

You may think you are completely immersed within your market sector daily; however, actively researching what’s going on in your industry will equip you with essential insights on the latest trends and changes. Set up daily Google alerts or read news sites dedicated to your market sector. Set aside just 10 minutes a day to stay up to date.

This will keep you up to date and provide you with talking points when networking.

6. Communicate

Arguably, the most important skill of any manager is good communication. Gallup research consistently finds that frequent manager-employee conversations are key to employee engagement. Quality communication allows employees to gain feedback as to how they’re doing, making them feel more prepared to do their jobs and increasing engagement.

Great business is also done with great people, which is impossible if you can communicate effectively. Interacting and collaborating with your team is the key to success. Proactively take time to get to know your team and ask their opinions on projects so they become comfortable with you and know that you care about their opinion.

Communication also includes transparency, listening and empathy. It takes practice.

Creating an environment where communication is a priority will also encourage people to tell you when there is something wrong.

7. Create accountability

For managers, creating team accountability instils a heartfelt sense of ownership in each contributor. Give people work they love to do and encourage them to be experts in their field. When people are engaged in their work, they are more likely to take ownership and contribute fully to the team.

Lead by example and hold yourself and your team responsible for performance.

Gallup suggests not trying to improve all your team management skills at once.

Which skill do you consider the most important? Evaluate yourself and establish what you need to work on the most.

In addition, it is also essential to develop positive habits

Make your health a priority

The focus on mental health has impacted every professional industry and made us more aware of how it can affect our lives. Whether it’s a temporary impact like burnout or a long-term impact like feeling ‘down’, don’t ignore signs of mental health – speak to someone who can help!

Making physical health choices is also just as important. Exercising may not sound like a business habit; however, exercising regularly will help increase your overall energy levels, leading to more productive business hours. It is also a great way to clear your head and burn off work-related stress.

Stop getting distracted

We all know that our phones and emails are essential parts of business; however, they can also be a huge distraction when trying to focus on a task. Delegate time to check your phone and email so they don’t distract you from being productive. Save social time on your phone for the evenings.

Delegate

You can’t do everything, so you have equipped yourself with a great team. Delegate tasks that somebody else could do better or that you don’t have time to do. As your company grows, you need to be able to give tasks to other members of the team so you can focus on more critical tasks. Delegating prevents elements of your business from being neglected.

Change your mindset

Your mindset will control every aspect of your business. Work on developing a positive attitude so you can positively impact your team. Being an influential leader should be a priority, and you can only do that with positivity.

Focus on the wins and get your team to do the same!