All managers must possess leadership skills to lead a team. These skills support people management and strengthen the bottom line.
Understanding which leadership skills to develop as a manager improves your performance. The following are four skills to focus on.
What Leadership Skills Should Managers Possess?
Strategic Thinking
Managers use strategic thinking to evaluate situations, develop goals, and create plans to attain them. Managers also use strategic thinking to adapt to evolving circumstances and communicate the importance of the changes to their team.
Examples of strategic thinking include:
- Navigating change without complete information or relevant data.
- Maintaining balance while handling conflicting demands.
- Encouraging your team to progress toward goal achievement.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence involves understanding and influencing your and others’ emotions. Example behaviors include:
- Professionally interacting with others
- Actively listening
- Expressing empathy
- Providing support
- Monitoring stress levels
- Remaining calm under pressure
Managers use emotional intelligence to think before responding to situations. Taking time to respond lets managers consider the factors, adjust their emotions, and respond professionally.
Communication Skills
Communication skills help managers share information, messages, and directions within the organization. Managers use diverse strategies, tools, and methods to communicate their vision, expectations, goals, and strategies with others.
Effective communication lets managers give and receive guidance, support, and constructive feedback. These activities create feelings of respect, value, and inclusion within the work environment.
Examples of communication include:
- Clarifying expectations for specific situations
- Assigning action items during meetings
- Touching base with employees to determine project progression
- Coaching employees to improve performance
Delegation
Managers delegate tasks to employees with the skills to complete them. Managers explain each task’s purpose, methods for completion, and desired outcome. They also answer questions and provide resources and support for task completion.
Delegation frees up time for managers to focus on core business activities. This practice also lets employees develop their skills and take on additional responsibilities. These activities help develop future leaders.
Examples of delegation include:
- Asking an employee to research, gather feedback, and report on a topic so the manager can make data-based business decisions.
- Encouraging employees to complete tasks as they see fit.
- Letting employees make certain lower-level decisions.
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