December 13, 2014
The current workplace is very dynamic and complex. Managers and team leaders need to acquire and nurture a number of interpersonal skills in order to remain relevant and help their organizations to achieve set goals and objectives.
Here are some interpersonal skills that managers working in corporate industry must have.
Adaptability: This basically refers to being able to change operations or manner in which a particular task is done in order to resonate with the current economic environment and market needs. Managers should be able to balance all aspects to avoid losses during the transition process.
Creativity: Hundreds of new products are released into the market each and every day. Global companies have mastered the art of creating new products to meet the needs of their target market base. Team leaders especially in production and marketing department should continuously look for new ways of enhancing the existing products and services to edge a notch higher.
Collaboration: To achieve the set objectives, various departments in the company need to collaborate and work together. Unfortunately, that is not always the case in some workplace as each organization competes to outsmart the other. To avoid such scenarios, managers should be able to work with other department officials whose roles have a direct or indirect impact on productivity of your team. For example, despite the fact Steve Jobs significantly helped Apple’s mobile brand to grow, he had to work well with engineers, computer developers and other marketing officials who worked tireless to market their new products to the world.
Communication: At times, engineers tend to place high value on technical skills than communication. This hinders them from achieving substantial success in the long run as they are unable to relate with customers and their colleagues. Managers should be able to communicate effectively with their peers no matter their social class or rank in the organization. No man is an island, they may have special skills that other employees don’t have. More importantly, he or she should be able to listen and understand both verbal and non-verbal communication.
Decision Making: As a manager, your colleagues will usually consult you before making decisions. This is because they trust you to make informed decisions and steer the organization in the right direction. Hence, it is recommendable to nurture your decision making skillseveryday especially when faced with stressful scenarios where decisions have to be made instantly to avoid any losses or legal tussles with the authorities.
Ability to Translate Management Objectives to Team Performance: Managers usually attend conferences and board meetings that aim at formulate goals and objectives that should be achieved within a given time frame. It is your duty as a team leader or business executive to translate management objectives and aspirations into team performance. This will at times demand that you hire personnel with specific set of skills and expertise or delegate specific tasks to a particular member of your team.
Finally, you should be able to easily interact with colleagues as well as inspire them to keep improving and acquiring new skills every day. Start implementing these interpersonal skills today to scale up your managerial skills.