Essential Skills of All Good Managers

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The Three Essential Skills of All Good Managers

Multiple Abilities Needed for Successful Management

Hundreds of articles, books, and other verbiage have been written about the many skills needed to be or become a successful manager. Most are both valid and valuable. However, newer managers—and even some experienced ones—become confused or intimidated by the “tools” that seem to be required.

Part of the problem surrounds the multi-faceted abilities needed by successful managers. Among the specific skills needed in most company settings are:

• Product knowledge
• Operations knowledge
• Corporate culture awareness
• Personnel evaluation and relations
• Computer systems, including department-specific software and processes
• Understanding the mission, strategy, branding, and customer relations efforts and procedures

This is only a partial list of individual company or specialty skills needed by successful managers. Fortunately, these abilities are learned and perfected on the job, while managers are earning their compensation. Instead of costing large dollars to acquire this important education, managers are paid for developing these skills while contributing to their employer’s bottom line.

However, there are  three essential skills  needed by all managers hoping to enjoy a long and fruitful career, regardless of industry, company, workplace conditions, or economic environment. Fortunately, these skills can be learned. Yet, learning does not involve cramming for an examination, often leading to “temporary” knowledge.

These skills must be perfected and internalized so that they become automatic behavior triggers. They must eventually become woven into a manager’s professional personality to ensure success. Without mastering these skills, most managers eventually will face adversity that cannot be overcome.

Three Essential Skill Areas of All Good Managers

These skills are as much theoretical as real-world. Many of the finer points are more subtle than definitive. However, studying the talents of successful managers will display that these areas are always required.

1. The era of “seat of the pants” management or acting on “hunches” or intuition is over. As any number of “cyber police” organizations will state, few processes and/or related crimes do not involve computers, the Internet, or some form of electronic process or communication. While the details of your knowledge base will depend on your specific job, industry, or company needs, technical competence is  critical. This component is even more important at lower and middle levels of management, as hands-on capability is usually necessary at all stages of your career. You typically deal directly with staff, your team, and/or customers. Technical ability needs to be a strong component of your management repertoire.
   
   
2. Human.  The ability to work and interface well with others is critical at all levels of management. While some people are naturally gifted in interpersonal relations, others must work hard to perfect this skill. Yet, this is an essential skill needed by all managers in all industries. Should your “human component” be a consistent source of challenge, you should know that, even if you rise to the level of COO or CEO, this requirement continues. Those at the top of the organization chart still need to relate well to all staff and, sometimes a challenging area, the company’s Board of Directors. Managers need skills in clear communication, motivation, leadership, empathy, and inspiration. Remember, you are leading and motivating “humans,” not inanimate objects.
   
   
3. Conceptual.  Depending on your education, environment, and prior experiences, this may be the most challenging essential skill. Managers must learn to identify and process abstract, global, and complex issues. You must develop the ability to view your organization as a whole, a living, breathing, changing, and diverse entity. Managers need to create an understanding of all company departments, branches, and other sub-areas of overall operations to be effective. While concentration on your specific job is always important, you must develop comprehension of how your company interacts with its industry environment and economy.

These skills are essential to achieving career success as a manager. Whether you enjoy low-level or executive-level management responsibility, these abilities supersede the other skills that are job-specific. Even if you foresee a future that involves remaining at your current management level, you need to adopt and perfect these three essential components of ALL good managers.

Should you aspire to ever higher management authority, these essentials become critical skills for upward mobility. For example, look at the human component. Your ability to work well with others, be they individuals, groups, teams, peers, or senior management, will strongly influence your future ability to earn promotions and expanded responsibilities. Perfecting this skill gives others the confidence needed to entrust you with more authority and responsibility.

Concentrate on these three essential areas before all others. Once you have internalized these abilities, you are then free to spend more effort on specifics to help you stand out from the management crowd. Once you do, your professional future is limitless.