It takes a long list of professional skills to be a good leader and manager, because management and leadership are not easy tasks. Here are the ten most important skills in management and leadership that every person should have.
Management and leadership always go hand in hand in the corporate world, as one cannot be effective without the other. An individual needs to possess efficient leadership skills before he or she can excel in an organizational set-up with the correct management skills, however, it is important to keep in mind that one’s leadership and management skills should be focused on helping the team to achieve its goals and objectives. These skills should be possessed by all employees, regardless of the position as it is required to practice professionalism in all aspects of business management.
Some of these skills may be innate to a person, but certainly, all of them can be acquired through learning and experience. The key is to be open to all opportunities of learning, and to accept all constructive criticisms as you evaluate yourself on which aspects you can improve. If you are aiming for organizational success, ensure that you accept all opportunities to develop these most important skills and management and leadership:
#1 Communication Skills
All the other skills of a leader mean nothing if one does not possess efficient communication skills. Being a manager and a leader means you need to hold a group together, and the only key to that is communication. Efficiency is an essential element of goal attainment, and a good leader needs to implement proper delegation to achieve the company’s goals. We cannot emphasize this further – communication is the answer to everything.
#2 Sound Decision-Making Skills
Decision-making is a huge part of leadership and management, in fact, any set of known effective leadership skills cannot be complete without decision-making. As a leader and a manager, you have to oversee every aspect of the organizational set-up from planning to evaluation, and in between those processes is the need to practice problem-solving. To be a sound decision maker, you have to make sure that you are not just thinking about short-term outcomes.
#3 Listening Skills
The first two skills cannot be achieved fully without this very important skill – listening. It is one of the most significant professional skills, to be able to know when the right time to speak is, and when it is time to be quiet and listen. Listening is a part of communication by default, and a very crucial process in making sound judgments. Being a leader and a manager means you have to understand that you do not know everything. You need your followers’ ideas as much as they need yours.
#4 Be a Follower
It is a myth that only the capacity to become a leader is a part of management skills and abilities. You see, this is exactly why you need to listen. Understand that your colleagues play a vital role in achieving your team’s goals and realizing your visions, hence, you have to value each and every opinion. Do not ever think that just because you are a leader, you are the only one who should be looked up to.
#5 Respect and Humility
Of course it takes a huge amount of respect and humility to be considered as a leader, and not just a mere boss or manager. Respect and humility are not managerial skills, but they are definitely two very important traits to have in order to be an effective leader. Why? Because one cannot communicate properly, cannot make up good decisions, cannot listen, and cannot be a follower without these key characteristics.
#6 Flexibility
Whatever you do, make sure that you are prepared to adjust yourself to the situation, and this is very different from just being passive or just going with the flow. A good manager should be able to lead his team properly away from imminent problems. If you have this skill, then feel free to teach your colleagues the same, so your team can work better as a single unit towards your aims.
#7 Empathic but Objective Communication
One important thing about being an effective leader and a manager is to ensure that you are approachable. You cannot be a dictator if you want to earn the trust and respect of your associates, so make sure that you allow human connections to prosper while maintaining professionalism. Know that your team is bound to experience challenges, and that is not limited to organizational concerns. Allow empathy to stick to your team, but be certain that all decisions are objectively evaluated.
#8 Motivating Skills
Again, challenges are inevitable no matter how much you have mastered managerial skills, so make sure that you can handle motivational talks to boost your team’s confidence.
#9 Accountability
There is a medieval thinking that basically states John’s mistakes is not Peter’s. That is true in life, but in an organizational set-up, that is a big lie. Always note that everything you and your colleagues do will represent the entire team, so whatever mistake one commits – that should be considered as a mistake of the entire team, and as a leader, you have to ensure that all of you will form a solution and conquer the problem as a single unit.
#10 Selflessness
The growth you will experience should also be experienced by your colleagues. Being a leader and a manager is not limited to having all the management and leadership skills we just listed. You also have to be unselfish enough to allow them to grow, even if you don’t.
These are the most important skills in management and leadership, including traits, as we believe and live by at Custom Essay Meister. Speaking of which, if you are on a hunt now, asking yourself “who can write my thesis statements on management and leadership essays”, we got your back. Just visit out site, and we will gladly share to you some more leadership and managerial skills necessary for your team’s success.
About the Author
Dorothy Starling is a freelance writer and staff writer at customessaymeister.com. She especially loves to write about social issues, culture and arts. Her free time she spends on hiking, yoga and walking with her two amazing labradors: Odin and Thor.
