New Managers need to learn and develop certain skills if they are to be successful when leading others and to ensure they help nurture improved productivity, efficiency and performance from their team.
Attending an Introduction to Management training course (part of our management training courses London) would be a useful method to up-skill new Managers and give them more confidence to do their job more effectively.
This article will explore three essential skills that are key for new Managers:
Delegation
New Managers sometimes feel like they need to do everything and struggle to delegate tasks. They might also feel that it will take longer to explain to someone else how to complete a task so it is quicker to do it themselves. This can sometimes be true but the art of delegation is an essential skill that all new Managers need to master.
Just like in sports Managers should try to get the right players in the right positions. When delegating a task try to learn the strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes of your team members and where possible allocate tasks to team members that match their strengths and preferences.
When delegating it is also key to give clear instructions and double check the other person understands what is expected of them. Therefore new Managers should ensure that they use good listening skills to check understanding.
How to give and receive feedback
The ability to create an open feedback culture in your team and be able to give and receive feedback in a clear and professional manner is of upmost importance to new Managers but also for Professionals of any level. As the saying goes “Feedback is a gift and not an attack!”
There are two main types of feedback – constructive (negative) and reinforcing (positive). Some Managers are too worried to give their staff feedback so they only do it once each year in their annual appraisal. Feedback should be constant. Some Managers also only give constructive or negative feedback as opposed to reinforcing (positive) feedback. This is definitely a great way to demotivate your staff!
Feedback should be timely – meaning that if a Manager notices an opportunity to give feedback to their team on performance it should preferably happen within 24 hours and clearly face-to-face communication is the best method. New Managers should also give a healthy balance of both constructive and reinforcing feedback.
To be a great Manager it is also important to be open to feedback not only from your Manager but also from the staff that work for you. Instead of seeing feedback as criticism you should be hungry to get it from others to help you improve your skills and become a better Manager. This requires a high level of Emotional Intelligence – to learn more about the wide field of EI and how it links to feedback take a look at our Emotional Intelligence training London.
Organisational Skills
Strong organisation skills are important for new Managers so they are able to manage their own time effectively but also to ensure that they spend enough face-to-face time with their team. It is very common for new Managers to feel overwhelmed due to having to both manage their own workload and find time to manage their subordinates.
Time Management techniques such as having clear goals, writing a regular things-to-do-list, reducing distractions and staying focused are useful for new Managers to optimise their time through strong organisational skills.
You might wish to attend a training course to improve your organisational skills. Many books on Management and Leadership say that in order to be a good Manager or Leader the first step is self-management – meaning having strong self-awareness and being able to manage your own time and emotions effectively.
