Stepping into a leadership or management role for the first time can be a daunting experience. This is why it's important to make sure you are prepared and fully equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in your new role.
In a company where you’ve worked your way up, rather than joining a new company as a manager, you have the added pressure of dealing with co-workers who are now working under you. This makes the transition a little more challenging.
Whether you’re just stepping into the new role or have been a manager for a number of years, this is where you should be focusing your attention:
1. Developing Great Communication Skills
Learning to communicate effectively with different people, who all have their own preferred styles of communication, is arguably the most important skill a new manager can have. Being able to communicate in a transparent and collaborative manner helps get people on your side, helps to put fears and objections to rest, and instills a sense of confidence in your employees. You need to possess the ability to effectively communicate with those around you, as you need to be easy to understand as well as deal with potential conflicts in the workplace.
2. Developing Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to know and understand your own emotions, as well as those of others. Being able to read other people, understand how to communicate most effectively with them, and how to respond appropriately both to what they say and do, is the mark of a good leader. Emotional intelligence is probably one of the most important skills you need to possess, especially if you are leading a team.
3. Developing Intuitive Delegation Skills
Effective managing is all about delegating. Learn to draw on each of your employee’s strengths when delegating, and learn to use delegation as a tool for development. Delegating cleverly results in staff who are constantly evolving and who produce work of an exceptional standard - you just need to focus on understanding your team inside and out. As a manager you'll have significantly more work than you've had before, so delegating is crucial if you plan to get all of your work done.
Staff Training is a South African soft skills training provider with more than 60 short courses, including a suite of management and leadership workshops.
