People Skills For Successful Managers

Having a good resume will get you a good job but to grow professionally and prove yourself as a reliable manager, you need to possess a number of people skills. Here are some of the people skills that you need to carry out your obligations as a manager in a consistent and professional manner.

• Inspire: As a manager, chances are that you will be interacting with colleagues every now and then as you check their performance and manage various operations. Pinning them down with questions regarding their work is counter productivity as it will create a barrier that may take decades to bridge. Instead, you should inspire and encourage them to keep on keeping on even when they are faced with challenges that they feel are beyond their capabilities.
• Motivate: It’s very easy to become demoralized especially when working in an environment where no one seems to care about your welfare and feelings regarding your obligations. Managers need to take time and hold meetings and conferences that are specifically tailored to motivate their colleagues. This will go a long way in building teamwork and enhance both individual and overall productivity of the organization.
• Listen Attentively: The mere fact that you are a manager does not mean that your main role is giving instructions to your colleagues. Instead, you should be able to listen to what they have to say every now and then so as to get a clear picture of their expectations, needs and special skills. As you do so, it is important to also learn how to respond to their questions in a professional and friendly manner no matter how naive the questions seem to you. One way of doing this is by first taking time to carefully analyze their questions or grievances before giving a response.
• Conflict Resolution Skills: It is impossible to manage an organization or business without experiencing some conflicts along the way. You need to be able to resolve such issues without compromising the stipulated work ethics and your credibility. Be fair and take time to understand the root cause of the problem before making your final decision. This will not only help you to reach a consensus but also hold each party involved for their actions in a professional manner.
• Problem Solving Skills: You will definitely come across some huddles along the way as you steer the business in the right direction. How you solve the problems will greatly determine your managerial skills. You need to first get a clear understanding so as to come up with a realistic and implementable solutions. For example, if the operating costs are beyond the set budget, you need to come up with ways of reducing some of the expenses to increase your profit margin.
• Communicate: Who will you lead your fellow workmates if you cannot clearly convey ideas and information? Each and every manager needs to have exceptional communication skills to express plans and business goals especially when attending conferences and board meetings attended by other senior employees in the organization.