Leadership Skills for a Manager
When you first find yourself being in a managerial position, you typically want two things. One of which is to not be an archetype of any bad manager you’ve previously suffered under. And two, you do not really have a blueprint on how to come into this manager role as a leader. With this article, you will have a great insight into what it takes to become an ideal and successful leader.
Regardless of leading a number of teams, an entire organisation, or just a handful of employees, there are several skills you can acquire as a leader which will both benefit you and your team members. Such an expansion in your leadership skills can be the core reason behind your organisation’s success. Let’s take a look at some essential skills for you:
Must have Skills for a Manager
Apollo Technical found that leadership quality is viewed as high by 48% of leaders in their current organizations.
At every position in an organisational hierarchy, you must possess a list of skills to do better and outperform your daily tasks. As a manager, there are a few essential must-have skills
Below is a set of essential skills you must possess as a manager to display good leadership in the workplace.
- Honesty and Integrity: Honesty for a manager as a leadership quality means being open and transparent, willing to listen and discuss without scrutiny, and communicating what you think or feel, regardless of the opinion being unpopular or uncomfortable. And integrity complements this honesty through the courage to speak up during odds. Your work ethic such as showing up early, or staying back to get things done is also categorized under integrity.
- Decision Making and Problem Solving: Solving problems and making decisions is one of the most important qualities of a leader. As a manager, you’ll need to organize and plan strategies as well as evaluate outcomes to make sure that an effective approach was followed. There are a few steps you can take to make this easier for you. Check out How to make decisions and solve problems as a Manager for a helping hand.
- Delegating work to team members: As a leader, you can’t and shouldn’t be doing everything yourself. Assigning your tasks to your team members will inspire trust and aid your professional development. You also get a better idea about who is best suited for more responsibility and autonomy from your employees.
- Communicate Effectively: If you make sure to communicate your ideas with clear purpose and direction, it can help avoid conflicts, barriers to productivity, mistakes and misunderstanding at the workplace. A great leader who has strong leadership skills possesses the power of effective communication.
- Promote Collaboration: Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. If various teams convene quickly and meet urgent requirements either in person or virtually, we can tackle major initiatives with ease. Qualities of a good leader in the workplace include promoting collaboration amongst team members and other employees. This is truly an example of putting many brains to disarm a common problem.
The Responsibility of Leadership
Business leaders are responsible for a wide range of tasks, including hiring, training, and scheduling, as well as goal setting, morale building, and mentoring. Specific leadership responsibilities vary depending on the type of business and industry with which the leader is involved, there are several key duties of a good leader that apply to all fields. A good leader’s responsibilities are as follows:
Supervision of daily activities
Overseeing the daily activities of employees is a critical responsibility of a leader. This usually entails scheduling, assigning tasks, creating workflow charts, and creating project plans. It may also entail setting goals with individual employees and assisting them in obtaining the tools and resources required to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
Encouraging and Mentoring Subordinates
Good leaders foster strong workplace morale by encouraging their employees, assisting them in professional development, and achieving individual pre-determined goals and objectives. Leaders solicit input, provide evaluation and feedback, and, when necessary, offer constructive criticism. Furthermore, effective leaders will assist employees in troubleshooting work issues, dealing with difficult customers, and focusing on the positive aspects of their performance.
A good leader, according to the University of Southern Indiana, will assist others in developing their professional skills and talents. Mentoring, job shadowing, and delegating appropriately increasing levels of responsibility to qualified employees are all examples of this. It is the leader’s responsibility to serve as a sounding board for employees, sharing knowledge and advice, and supporting continuing education and professional development.
Conflict Management
Many leaders are tasked with resolving workplace conflicts between coworkers. This can include listening to employee complaints, noting problematic areas, and assisting employees in resolving workplace challenges. A leader’s role also includes acting as the first line of defense between staff and customers when difficulties develop, assisting in the mitigation of damage, and smoothing over service concerns.
Disciplining Employees
Leaders are responsible for reprimanding and disciplining staff as needed. Counseling, setting improvement goals, and following up on problem areas are all common parts of the process. When an employee exhibits a pattern of unprofessional behaviour or poor performance, a manager must decide whether or not to fire them.
Leading by Example
A good manager will lead by example, modeling the behaviour he wants from his employees. Setting a workplace code of conduct, acting ethically, and treating colleagues, clients, and employees with respect are all examples. Good leaders stick to their own rules, arrive on time for work and appointments, fulfill deadlines, and give their all.
Leaders can paint a vision of the future that motivates their teams to go the extra mile to get there. There is no single formula for becoming a great leader. Leadership qualities in management are about certain characteristics. As a leader, you should foster trust and cooperation, be empathetic, be honest and trustworthy, and believe in yourself and others.
Finally, key characteristics that distinguish a leader include innovation and creative thinking, as well as a vision for the future. Regardless of how you define a leader, he or she can be the difference between success and failure.
To become a good leader, you must have all or most of these qualities, but if you lack some of these qualities, you may struggle to make a name for yourself in the world of leadership. In a nutshell, you must set a good example for others to emulate.
Related Reading:
Do you want to gain experience in leadership and management? Check out our program on the subject and start quickly climbing the management ladder with First Time Manager Bootcamp.
Comments 2