Congratulations! You're now a manager. But what does that mean? Being promoted from individual contributor to team lead or supervisor is one of the most exciting career milestones you can reach, and it also comes with some uncertainty: Are you ready to manage your former coworkers? What if you don't have all the answers? How do you keep everyone motivated and productive without micromanaging everyone? Luckily, whether it's building trust with your new direct reports, learning how to delegate effectively, or figuring out ways to bring out the best in people, there are plenty of general management skills that will make you a great new manager. Use this guide as your cheat sheet for developing these skills and becoming the type of manager who inspires others.
Top 11 General management skills to learn
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| Top 11 General management skills to learn |
1. Communication skills
Communication skills are one of the most important general management skills to learn. Here's how to improve them:
Understand the importance of communication. The ability to communicate is one of the most useful skills in business and life. You can use it to inspire, motivate and persuade others; help them understand your ideas, and make decisions that will benefit both you and them.
Listen with understanding. Listening is one thing—understanding what you hear is another story entirely! If someone says something that seems confusing or unclear, don't just nod your head until they're finished speaking so that you can get back to talking about yourself (a common mistake). Instead, ask questions so that you'll actually know what was said before replying with an answer or action plan or whatever else might need doing next on your part as a result of this new information coming into play within some relevant context outside its own isolated self-contained existence simply because there are many parts involved making up each whole including ones which may seem insignificant but still matter quite significantly when integrated into larger systems including those which follow certain patterns such as cycles having beginnings middle ends etcetera ad infinitum without end ever repeating itself endlessly without stopping ever again no matter how far away from home we go."
2. Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking is the ability to think about the future and plan for it. It's often used in business, but can also be applied to other areas of life.
Strategic thinkers are able to use their imagination, creativity, and initiative to come up with new ideas on how to solve problems or improve things. They're also able to take a step back from the day-to-day details so they can see larger goals and outcomes.
3. Time management skills
Time management is a skill that's important to learn in any field, but it's especially critical for general managers. As a manager, you'll need to be able to juggle multiple projects and prioritize tasks so that your team can work efficiently. You'll also have to make sure you're spending time on the right tasks at the right time.
In our experience, there are several key ways you can improve your time management skills:
Scheduling - Creating a schedule and sticking with it will help keep track of all your important deadlines, meetings, and other commitments.
Prioritizing - When faced with an overwhelming number of things on your plate, prioritizing what needs doing first will help prevent stress by allowing you to focus on one thing at a time. This works especially well when combined with scheduling!
Delegation - If something isn't core to what makes up who you are as a person or in terms of how someone perceives themselves (e.g., accounting), delegate these tasks away from yourself so that they don't take up too much of your precious time!
4. Leadership and people management
Leadership is about influencing others, setting an example, encouraging others to do their best, communicating well, and making decisions based on facts. It's also about motivating others and delegating tasks accordingly.
5. Problem-solving and decision making
People who have general management skills understand how to solve problems, make decisions and manage a team. But what is the difference between problem-solving and decision-making?
Problem-solving is a more generic term that refers to finding the most effective solution for a problem. In other words, it's about identifying and analyzing problems, then selecting the best alternative among different alternatives for solving them. People who have general management skills can identify problems and find solutions on their own or by working with others in their organization or company.
Decision-making is choosing the best alternative among different alternatives after considering all possible options or scenarios related to a specific situation or problem at hand. General managers use this skill when they must decide whether something needs further research before moving forward; if so, they will look into additional evidence before making their final decision on whether or not to proceed with an idea based on the information provided by their team members who may specialize in various fields like finance/accounting/marketing/HR etcetera."
6. Business acumen
Understanding of the market and industry
Understanding of the company and its industry
Understanding of financial statements
Understanding of the company's business model
Understanding of the company's strengths and weaknesses (SWOT analysis)
Understanding the industry's strengths and weaknesses
7. Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills are the ability to understand different personality types and how to deal with them. This also includes understanding how to build relationships, resolve conflict, build trust, build rapport and motivate others.
8. Team building skills
Team building skills are important for all levels of management, and for any team member who wishes to improve their ability to work effectively with others. This is because teamwork is essential to the success of most projects, particularly projects that involve multiple people from different departments or organizations.
Team building essentially involves helping groups of people work together more effectively as a unit. This can mean anything from getting members on board with an idea through persuasion, all the way up to bringing together disparate teams of individuals who have never worked together before in order to create something new or solve a problem (such as when multiple departments at your company cooperate on an initiative).
9. Management of performance and productivity
It's important to measure performance and productivity. The most effective way of doing this is using an employee appraisal system, which should be updated on a regular basis. There are many different types of employee appraisals, but the aim is always to measure each employee's productivity so that it can be improved in the future.
The first step in measuring performance is deciding what you want your employees to do. For example, if you're running a factory that produces toys and wants them to produce more toys per hour than they currently do, then you need to define what “more” means so that everyone knows what they're aiming for (200 toys per hour). Next, decide when you'll measure it: Weekly or monthly? Once every six months? You'll also need someone who's responsible for collecting all the data—you may have several people involved depending on how big your business is—and make sure they understand exactly what needs documenting before anything else happens so that everything runs smoothly throughout each stage of measurement.
10. Results orientation and commitment to excellence
Results orientation and commitment to excellence are two key skills that can give you an edge in the workplace.
Let's say your boss asks you to do something and it doesn't go as planned, but she still gives you a positive review. She recognizes your effort and commitment to excellence, but you were unable to deliver on the task at hand. You're not alone—this happens all the time!
In this case, it would be better if instead of focusing on results orientation (your ability to get things done), focus on commitment to excellence (clearly defining what needs to be done). By setting clear expectations for yourself and others, both sides will know exactly when they've succeeded or failed.
11. Delegation skills
Managing people takes time away from other tasks that managers need to complete; therefore, being able to delegate certain responsibilities at work is essential for maximizing productivity throughout an organization. By assigning specific duties based on each person's strengths and weaknesses, as well as their available time (including weekends), managers can ensure all projects are completed efficiently without sacrificing the quality of work product or adding stress for employees who must increase production beyond normal deadlines imposed by other managers on top of their regular workloads."
Conclusion
We believe that these 11 management skills are the most important when it comes to general management. What do you think?