Management Skills: Different Types of Management Skills (PART1)

For managers to be effective, they must have good management skills.
These management skills will ensure that he/she can effectively direct, guide, and delegate those workers the manager is responsible for overseeing.

The Management Skills Pyramid
Let’s begin with a look at the levels of the management skills pyramid:

Level 1 – This level is basic management skills and includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling.
Level 2 – Once you have mastered the skills of level 1, you’ll build on the skills from level 1. In level 2, you will build on your training and couching, motivational, and employee involvement skills.
Level 3 – Management skills that you will develop in level 3 are much more complex. This is where we will focus. These are the skills that will be most beneficial in assisting you in developing your management career and in providing you with opportunities to advance in your field.

Understanding the Different Types of Skills for Managers

Different managers will require different skills depending on the type of management position they hold.
For example, a manager that oversees a team of assembly line workers would require an entirely different type of management skills, than a manager that oversees the human resource department.

Let’s have a look at some of the most important skills,

Project Management Skills
Time Management Skills
Conflict Management Skills
Self Management Skills
Team Management Skills
Stress Management Skills
People Management Skills
Office Management Skills
Change Management Skills

Note
If you are looking for different managerial skills to list in your resume, refer to these articles:

1. Project Management Skills

Project management is key to the success of any business.
Project management skills are a combination of many skills including the ability to plan, organize, budget, and manage the resources at hand. You must also be able to bring a project to completion by or before the due date.

When a person has good management skills they are in demand by employers who recognize the value of these skills. After all, if you can successfully manage projects to completion you are affecting the company’s bottom line in a positive way.
Good project managers are able to work well in a team environment, and they are able to pull their team together. They will use techniques like brainstorming to build cohesion with their team, and to bring fresh ideas to the forefront. The team is often involved in making project decisions, although the final decision does lie with the project manager.

2. Time Management Skills

There’s a saying “time is money” and nothing could be more true than in the business world.
A skilled manager will be able to ensure that the employee’s time is used widely and in a productive manner. Regardless of the type of business idle time costs company’s money, because the employee is still being paid. A top notch manager will be able to organize and delegate tasks so that there is minimal idle time. This includes creating schedules for the day/week/month, allocating time according to the task at hand, and breaking projects into manageable segments, then overseeing the entire process to confirm the plan is working.

3. Conflict Management Skills

Conflict is a fact of life, and yet it is often overlooked within companies.
When conflicts arise between employees, manager, wages, policies, among other issues, managers must have the appropriate conflict resolution skills to resolve the issue at hand. The process of conflict resolution often involves negotiating and mediating.

However, it also involves implementing procedures within the workplace to reduce the number of conflicts. These preventative measures are key to company running smoothly. Conflict management skills include Developing the Code of Conduct, which will maintain the work ethics of the company. You will also need to be a good listener and mediator so that you can talk with the employees, and actually “hear” what the conflict is about.

4. Self Management Skills

Self-management is the ability to plan, organize, implement, and complete tasks, and then take responsibility for your success.
It requires you to lead others, develop relationships with those individuals, and communicating clearly.

Self management skills include:

Decision making – ability to make decisions as needed
Goal setting, plan how to achieve those goals, and track completion of those goals
Prioritize – Know what tasks are most important and prioritize accordingly.
Scheduling skills – prepare in-depth schedules and stick to them
Be flexible and able to adapt to changing circumstances
Self evaluation of your planning, implementation, and performance
Self motivation – the ability to take one’s own initiative
Self intervention – ability to intervene when necessary
Self development
Self assessment of your proficiency
Have a positive attitude
Supervise – delegate responsibility and supervise others for completion of those tasks

5. Team Management Skills

Team management is a key part of every organization.
Whether the team already exists or you are putting a team together it’s a challenge that the team leader must be strong enough to face. Let’s look at some of the key things the team manager is accountable for and the associated skills.

Delegate to your team – no matter how great your skills if you can’t delegate you will fail as a team manager.
Motivate your team – different individuals are motivated differently.
Develop your team – teams are made up of a number of different people all with different skills and outlooks and you as team manager will have to be able to pull all of these personalities together.
Communicate with your team – you must work closely with your team and you must be able to clearly communicate with them at all times.
Manage your team – Managing your team includes ensuring projects and tasks are on track, including handling discipline issues.

Now let’s have a look at necessary team management skills:

Analyzation Skills – The ability to analyze individual performance. It is important for you, as a team leader, to thoroughly know everything about your team members.
Organization and Delegation Skills – The ability to organize and delegate tasks effectively based on your team members skills and talents.
People Skills – You need to have skills to deal with the various personalities people possess/
Goal Setting Skills -Establish team goals with a focus on developing a common vision and meeting those objectives.
Communication Skills – Ability to clearly communicate with your team and others in the workplace.
Decision Making Skills – The ability to encourage brainstorming and collaborative decision making

Continue to Part 2 >>>> Management Skills – Good/Effective Management Skills (PART2) >>>>>