7 skills for a successful management career

Many graduates harbour management aspirations. To impress business employers and climb the career ladder, you'll need to brush up on the following management skills


Interpersonal skills

Management jobs are all about people and being able to build successful relationships is integral. If you want to lead a team you'll first need to earn the respect of your colleagues and to do this you need to know how to effectively deal with other people.
Setting time aside to get to know your team members on both a personal and professional level, perhaps through social activities or team-building training, while still maintaining professional boundaries, will go a long way to earning their respect.
You need to demonstrate your managerial qualities and authority while maintaining the ability to play your part as a member of a team.

Communication and motivation

Effective leaders must master all forms of communication including written, verbal and listening skills. As a team manager you're the line of communication between frontline staff and senior management, so you'll need to be able to communicate with a variety of people from entry-level employees to heads of departments and CEOs in a number of different ways such as via email and social media, over the phone and in presentations, meetings and one-to-ones.
As a leader you'll need to establish a trusting relationship with your employees so they feel comfortable sharing information with you and vice versa. To ensure that lines of communication remain open you'll need to make yourself readily available and accessible to your employees to discuss any issues or concerns that arise. Putting in place an open door policy or weekly or monthly team meetings should facilitate this. When communicating let your staff know that they matter by keeping eye contact, smiling and listening attentively.
Projecting an open, positive attitude at work goes a long way to creating a happy and healthy work environment. Don't shut yourself off or put yourself on a pedestal. Simple things such as active encouragement, recognising achievements and taking an interest in the lives of your employees boosts morale and ensures that staff feel valued by the company. If people are a product of their environment, a positive workplace creates happy, motivated employees.

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