Last Updated on Apr 3, 2020 by James W
Managers have a challenging job because they must assign and monitor the work of employees to make sure that things run smoothly in the workplace. Without good managers, a company cannot succeed. Do you have good people management skills? If you want to be a good manager, there are a few people management skills you must master. Take a look at the following five most important people management skills.
Communicate Clearly What You Want
The most important people management skill you need as a manager is the ability to communicate clearly. If you don’t tell your employees exactly what you want, they’re left guessing, and this creates anxiety for both you and your employees. Make sure that when you’re assigning tasks or explaining projects that you clearly communicate what is expected. It helps to create a checklist of requirements, a scope for the project, and deadlines that need to be met. Also, ask your employees if they have any questions and let them know they can come to you with any problems.
Understand the Skills and Strengths of Your Employees
Some employees work best alone, some employees can handle stressful situations better than others, and some can solve any tech issue you throw their way. As a manager, it’s important to understand what your employees can do so that you can give them tasks that they can handle well. Mark Hurd is an excellent example of a manager who knows what his employees need to thrive. He’s reimaging how sales teams work with technology to get Oracle more sales.
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Decisions
Nobody likes a leader who rules with an iron fist, but you also can’t be afraid to make decisions as a manager. Employees look to you to lead. You waste everybody’s time if you are not decisive in the workplace.
Listen to Your Employees
Recognize that there are multiple ways to get something done, and your employees know what will work best for them. If an employee tries to get you to change a process, listen and be open to the idea of trying the suggestion. At the very least, you should give a good reason why the process cannot change and then thank the employee for looking for new ways to get things done.
Express Gratitude to Your Employees
Employees are more productive when they feel valued. This is easily accomplished when a manager expresses gratitude for the work an employee has done and gives the employee full credit. Employees thrive on positive feedback, and it creates a sense of loyalty to the manager. If you say, “thank you,??? to your employees each day, they will stay motivated and do a good job.
These are just a few important people management skills you need to possess to be a good manager. At the same time, it’s important to find your own leadership style and stick with it so that your employees know what to expect. There are different ways to lead, and some styles work better than others, depending on your workplace situation.
