7 skills for a successful management career

To successfully lead a team and become a respected manager you'll need a specific set of skills. Find out more about the qualities of a good manager and how to develop and hone these attributes

If you're invited to interview for a management position, use your past experience to explain how you've acquired and developed the following skills as you answer management interview questions.

Interpersonal skills

Management jobs are all about people and being able to build successful relationships is integral. To lead a team, you'll need to earn the respect of your colleagues. To do this, you need to know how to effectively deal with people.

Setting time aside to get to know team members on both a personal and professional level, through social activities or team-building events while still maintaining professional boundaries, will go a long way to earning their respect.

You need to demonstrate your managerial qualities and authority, while still playing your part as a member of a team.

To become a manager, you need to be multi-skilled and you can develop all the required competencies relatively easily

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. You'll liaise with a variety of people, from entry-level employees to heads of departments and CEOs, in a number of different ways - via email and social media, over the phone and in presentations, meetings and one-to-ones.

You'll need to establish a trusting relationship with 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. Having an open-door policy or weekly or monthly team meetings should facilitate this. Let your staff know that they matter by maintaining eye contact, smiling and listening attentively.

An open, positive attitude goes a long way to creating a healthy work environment. Don't shut yourself off or put yourself on a pedestal. Simple gestures, such as active encouragement, recognising achievements and taking an interest in the lives of your employees, ensures that staff feel valued. A positive workplace creates happy, motivated employees.

Organisation and delegation

As a manager you'll juggle multiple responsibilities, so excellent organisational skills are vital. You'll need to manage your own workload, oversee the work of other employees, attend meetings and training sessions, carry out appraisals and review company policies. Sloppy working practices, tardiness and a general lack of organisation won't be tolerated at this level and will set a bad example to your staff. Effective organisational skills reduce stress, save time and ensure that important deadlines are met.

Many managers ease their own busy workload by delegating tasks to colleagues. To do this effectively you need to analyse and identify the skills of your employees and assign duties to each depending on their skillset. Delegation isn't a sign of weakness and can in fact multiply the amount of work that a manager can accomplish - while developing the team's confidence and skills.

Forward planning and strategic thinking

It's a manager's job to think of the bigger picture, so as well as focusing on today's tasks and responsibilities you'll also need to plan for the future. This means setting priorities in line with company goals, reviewing systems and policies, and attending training and managing the continuing professional development (CPD) activities of your team. As a strategic thinker, you'll encourage innovation and change to make your team and the organisation as a whole more productive and profitable.

Problem solving and decision-making

You'll be tasked with spotting and solving problems on a daily basis in a managerial position. This requires outstanding attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under pressure. To ensure that your team is productive, and that the workflow runs smoothly, you'll have to think on your feet when problems arise. Creative thinking will help you to come up with innovative solutions that minimise the impact on your team and the business.

Thinking on your feet also comes in useful when you have to make a snap decision about how to successfully complete a task or meet a business goal. Being able to quickly weigh up the pros and cons of a situation and make an informed decision is essential.

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Commercial awareness

This skill is in huge demand among business employers. In fact, according to recruiters, commercial awareness is something that most graduates lack.

If you want to progress to management level, an understanding of the marketplace in which a business operates and what it is that makes a business successful is essential. To demonstrate this, you'll need to show that you:

are aware of the organisation's mission and aims

have an understanding of the sector that the company belongs to

know about the political and economic issues affecting the business

can identify the company's competitors.

Mentoring

As well as being business-focused decision-makers, managers also need to play a supportive role. If you've reached this senior level, you have a repertoire of experience, knowledge and skills, and it's your job to pass this knowledge on and share your skills with others.

This involves training and advising staff and building their confidence and skills. In a management position, you'll be the driving force behind the progression of team members.

How do I develop these management skills?

All of the above can be learned, honed and developed through a number of activities. While at university you could:

Join student societies - you could become the captain of a sports team or sign up to chair a pre-existing club. If your area of interest isn't represented you could use your initiative to create and become president of your own society, or alternatively apply to represent the student body as a students' union officer. Learn more about standing for student elections and the importance of extra-curricular activities.

- you could become the captain of a sports team or sign up to chair a pre-existing club. If your area of interest isn't represented you could use your initiative to create and become president of your own society, or alternatively apply to represent the student body as a students' union officer. Learn more about standing for student elections and the importance of extra-curricular activities. Complete an internship or period of volunteering - upon graduation you could take part in an industry internship. These look great on your CV and provide a first-hand glimpse of what it's like to manage a team. As well as building up your skills and confidence, internships also provide you with a list of useful contacts, which could help you to secure a job in the future. To gain experience in a supportive capacity, you could volunteer as a mentor or sports coach. This could see you working with adults in the community or with children in education settings. Other relevant volunteering activities include leading a community team on an environmental project and managing a group of charity fundraisers.

- upon graduation you could take part in an industry internship. These look great on your CV and provide a first-hand glimpse of what it's like to manage a team. As well as building up your skills and confidence, internships also provide you with a list of useful contacts, which could help you to secure a job in the future. To gain experience in a supportive capacity, you could volunteer as a mentor or sports coach. This could see you working with adults in the community or with children in education settings. Other relevant volunteering activities include leading a community team on an environmental project and managing a group of charity fundraisers. Find part-time work - management and leadership skills can also be built through part-time employment in team/department leader and supervisory roles. It doesn't matter where you work, you could manage bar or hospitality staff, supervise retail or factory workers, man reception desks or lead admin teams. All experience is valuable, especially when you're in a position of responsibility. Discover how to balance work and study.

After graduation you could:

Study for professional qualifications - research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) reveals that three quarters of employers believe more graduates should undertake professional qualifications since these provide evidence of, and help to develop, practical managerial skills. To find out what training is on offer, see management courses and professional qualifications.

- research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) reveals that three quarters of employers believe more graduates should undertake professional qualifications since these provide evidence of, and help to develop, practical managerial skills. To find out what training is on offer, see management courses and professional qualifications. Take online short courses - if you feel that your management skills need a boost consider signing up for an online short course such as the five-week CIPD People management skills programme run via FutureLearn.

- if you feel that your management skills need a boost consider signing up for an online short course such as the five-week CIPD People management skills programme run via FutureLearn. Seek out a mentor - this could be a current or previous employer, a contact you've made through work experience or an internship, a family member or friend or even someone that you admire from afar. Contact them and ask if they will act as your mentor, In this capacity they will be able to give you advice, guidance and personalised feedback in regards to your management style.

Find out more

See what else the business, consulting and management sector has to offer.

Learn about other skills employers look for.

Written by Jemma Smith, Editor Prospects · November 2022

What Is It & How to Improve

The Definitive Guide to Amazing People Management Skills

How to be a manager is the same question as how to improve people management. A manager’s job is just that, to manage, but it’s also to support, cheer, organize, and prioritize. Every manager needs to have good people management skills and those who don’t often get in the way of their own departments’ progress.

You want to be a good manager, who has the best interests of both business and personnel in mind. A manager has to wear many hats and sometimes you may not have the training or soft skills needed to do everything. Some are naturally very good at people management, it’s second nature to them. Even so, it’s always a good idea to look into how to improve people management skills.

If you’re a newly promoted manager or you think your people management skills need a polish, then this is the article for you. We’ll dive into exactly what people management skills are and how you can put them into practice with your team.

What Are People Management Skills?

People management is a collection of skills and techniques managers can use to better oversee their department and employees. They come in handy for retaining talent, dealing with insubordination, optimization, motivation, and providing personal and professional support to your team.

Excellent managers can use their people management skills to boost the performance of their employees, keep their people happy and engaged, and deliver real results for the business. There are some people who have soft skills in people management (it’s their nature, it hasn’t been learned) but there are plenty of ways to develop hard skills to better manage your staff.

Let’s take a look at a few key examples of when good people management skills come in handy:

Delegation . Managers need to delegate work in a fair and considered manner. There is a good opportunity to pair people with tasks that increase their knowledge and experience. Delegating work can increase the bond between manager and employee and build trust within the team.

. Managers need to delegate work in a fair and considered manner. There is a good opportunity to pair people with tasks that increase their knowledge and experience. Delegating work can increase the bond between manager and employee and build trust within the team. Conflict resolution . Sometimes disagreements break out between employees and you’ll need to intervene to get people focused again. It can happen at any time, often without any warning at all. Managers need to control the situation and promote respect and collaboration between employees.

. Sometimes disagreements break out between employees and you’ll need to intervene to get people focused again. It can happen at any time, often without any warning at all. Managers need to control the situation and promote respect and collaboration between employees. Welcoming new recruits . Managers should make themselves visible and available to new recruits. Starting a new job can be a scary experience and people often look to their superiors to lead by example. The first time your people management skills come into play is when a new starter steps foot in the building. Make them feel like part of the team.

. Managers should make themselves visible and available to new recruits. Starting a new job can be a scary experience and people often look to their superiors to lead by example. The first time your people management skills come into play is when a new starter steps foot in the building. Make them feel like part of the team. Deadlines . Communicating deadlines to your team may seem obvious but if it’s not done correctly it can cause major disruption to project development. A good manager sets reasonable deadlines and communicates this clearly with their staff.

. Communicating deadlines to your team may seem obvious but if it’s not done correctly it can cause major disruption to project development. A good manager sets reasonable deadlines and communicates this clearly with their staff. Training. Managers need to get hands-on with training as they’re ultimately responsible for the performance of their team. Great managers can inspire their team and give them all the knowledge needed to do their job. It doesn’t stop there, you’ll need to be on hand to provide refreshers, upskill, and answer any questions your people have.

How to Improve People Management Skills for Managers

Now you know how people management skills come into play at work and how you can make sure you’re delivering for the business and the people on your team. Learning best practices for people management is pretty simple, people have been writing and talking about this for as long as businesses have existed.

Whatever your preferred medium for learning is, you’ll be able to find plenty of content that covers people management. From books to podcasts to self-paced courses, the amount of theory surrounding people management is endless. Stick with us though, as we’ll break down some of the best ways to develop amazing people management skills.

Read books on management

Books on management styles, mindsets, and productivity are all great for developing people management skills. You’ll be introduced to new ways of thinking and methods for handling situations at work.

Written by experts, books are the perfect way to increase your personal knowledge and learn techniques for people management. Here are some books to get you started:

Dale Carnegie – How to Win Friends and Influence People Simon Sinek – Leaders Eat Last Julie Zhuo – The Making of a Manager

Listen to podcasts on management

If books aren’t your style, the rise of podcasting has led to many experts giving away their knowledge for free through audio. Podcasts are the perfect way to get an up-close-and-personal experience with leaders.

There are different types to suit your needs. Interview style podcasts have a new guest each week which gives you access to many different voices. Others might take a more personal one-on-one approach, great for a manager seeking out a mentor. Here are some of the best podcasts to get you started:

The $100 MBA The LEADx Show Happiness at Work

Watch videos on management

Another medium for you to learn from is video, perfect for people who prefer visual stimuli while learning. Youtube is home to many experts who can teach you everything they know about people management, and they do it for free.

You can find great mentors on Youtube, many of whom are multi-disciplined and also share books, courses, and lectures on people management. However, Youtube is a great platform to really connect with experts. Here are some of the best Youtube channels to get you started:

Marie Forleo TED Tai Lopez

Develop active listening skills

Active listening is a vital skill that all managers should learn unless they want to alienate their employees. Simply put, active listening means attentively hearing what someone is saying and responding in kind. You should be able to reflect and draw on this information later.

Make all criticism constructive

There are times when you need to critique someone’s output, perhaps they have produced work that clearly falls below acceptable standards. When this happens you need to be careful how you phrase things and avoid making this conflict personal. Only refer to the task at hand and not their personal traits. Aim to provide constructive advice that helps to build them up rather than tearing someone down.

Practice negative feedforward

One of the best ways to frame criticism is as negative feedforward. Usually, when criticizing, people will focus on past behaviors and offer feedback. This often doesn’t serve any purpose other than belittling someone. Instead, reframe things as feedforward and talk about how to do a better job in the future.

Engage in a course

One method of fast-tracking your education is to engage in a people management skills for managers course. You can find self-paced courses all over the web on websites like Skillshare and Udemy. Alternatively, you may be able to find a more traditional course at a college near you.

Work on your communication skills

How you communicate with your staff can set the tone for the entire department. A manager with a bad attitude is going to infect their employees and this can ultimately stall productivity. Work on being a good communicator who promotes a positive and healthy atmosphere.

Communication is a soft skill which means that it may not come naturally to everyone. While your nature can affect things, there are ways to learn better communication skills such as learning about non-verbal communication. You should also consider how your written communication may be perceived by members of staff.

Make room for feedback

You should encourage feedback from your staff and be open to anything they have to say. Good ideas can go completely missed when employees don’t feel like their managers will be receptive to them. If you can make time for feedback, you might find new ways to save time and money. When this happens, make sure the right person receives praise from upper management.

Develop a reward system

Rewarding your people for a job well done is an excellent way to show your appreciation for their hard work. It can be as simple as dishing out praise when someone goes above and beyond. Alternatively, you may want to put in place a reward system, for example, if someone saves the company money, they could receive a portion of that as a bonus.

Mentor your people

Be a mentor to your staff, teach them what they need to know and then some. Be the kind of manager that leads by example. Approach every interaction with your staff as a two-way conversation. Treat them like real people instead of cogs in a machine. Be kind and fair in your dealings and encourage an exchange of ideas.

You should always be on the lookout for future leaders to take under your wing. When promotion opportunities arise, you can look at hiring from within, and if you can train your people to be the best they can be you can decrease employee turnover. People like to feel valued at work and mentor relationships can help retain skilled people.

Find yourself a mentor

Get yourself a mentor who can teach you as well. We spoke about how to find excellent mentors through podcasts and Youtube earlier, pick someone who resonates with you. Depending on your station at work, you could also seek out a mentor who holds a higher position than you. Observe how they treat staff and take notes on what they do well.

Choose your mentor carefully, pick someone who has a management style you’d like to emulate. Find someone who gets great results and is respected by their employees. If you look outside of work for a mentor, consider reaching out to an executive coach who will work with you to set goals and identify your weaknesses.

Bond with your team

You should try to bond with your team on a personal level as well as a professional one. It’s not necessary to totally ingratiate yourself in their lives, but get to know them. Learn about their outside interests and engage with them. People are more than just their job and acknowledging this can create a wonderful atmosphere at work.

Be an organizational expert

Bad leaders are messy and disorganized which affects their performance and ability to effectively lead their team. When you’re disorganized this can bleed into your team and everyone can start picking up bad habits. Instead, you should try to stay as organized as possible by reviewing what’s not working every month or so.

Invest in ways to automate certain tasks, and use software to keep track of your to-do list. Host performance reviews and monthly check-ins to keep on top of your people and let them know you’re here to help.

Be patient with your people

Patience is a virtue, as they say. It’s never more true than when you are a manager dealing with a large team. Good managers can exercise an extreme amount of patience when their limits are being tested. You will need patience when you are dealing with conflicts, training new staff, or trying to solve problems.

A good manager who treats their employees with kindness and respect may find that people feel comfortable seeking further clarification from them. While it is important to nurture relationships in this way, your patience may start to wear thin. However, this is all in service of creating good work.

7 People Management Skills You Need to Succeed This Year

Story Highlights Team management isn't getting any easier or more predictable

Counter doubt with development; upskill yourself with seven competencies

Try choosing one people management skill to improve each quarter

It's a new year. And there's a lot of work to be done. But somehow, your team doesn't seem as excited as in years past. Some are struggling with burnout; others are confused about what to prioritize. Some feel directionless -- and are possibly looking for jobs elsewhere.

For managers, this climate presents new projects, goals and expectations. The unknowns, however, are many. The only constant, it seems, is the need to adapt to a changing business environment. Work, life and "work life" have never felt so unsettled.

Your job as a manager has arguably never been this difficult -- and simultaneously, your strong leadership has never been more necessary.

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What management skills should you focus on developing this year?

Using data from the world's top performers across three decades, hundreds of job roles and a variety of industries, Gallup discovered the seven necessary skills required for success in any role, in any profession, in any industry -- from front-line to executive leadership.

Read more about this in It's the Manager.

Although competencies like these are typically used in HR departments, they can also be used as an easy "rule of thumb" for evaluating yourself and becoming more successful in your role.

Let's consider how these seven skills can apply to being a successful manager:

Build relationships. Create partnerships, build trust, share ideas and accomplish work.

Managers are uniquely positioned to facilitate powerful partnerships. They can see the larger network of talent that individual contributors cannot, and they have the authority to assemble innovative teams. In turn, employees have the support they need to perform -- and the bonds they need to feel energized and resilient. When looking at the work to be done, consider new and creative partnerships across your organization that could lead to extraordinary success.

Develop people. Help others become more effective through strengths, expectations and coaching. When there's so much work to be done, it can feel like there's no time for development. That's why managers need to take a "develop through work" perspective. Ask, "How can I incorporate development into essential tasks -- so that a year from now, we are a better team?" Lead change. Embrace change and set goals that align with a stated vision. Although change comes to everyone, every individual experiences change differently. A change in process, timing, goals or resources may inspire some while discouraging others. Managers are responsible for translating the meaning of change to individuals on their teams. And the best managers are able to anticipate concerns. But, perhaps most importantly, change is an opportunity to dive deeper into relationships and to get to know individuals better. It's an invitation to ask important questions: How are you feeling about your job? What do you need to be successful? What kind of support would be helpful? Inspire others. Encourage others through positivity, vision, confidence, challenges and recognition. Many managers enjoy being managers because they enjoy people. They may have found that inspiring others comes naturally -- well, that is, until about 2020. The strain and drain on your team are real. But recognizing others and generating positivity is even more important now, even if it requires new tools and a new commitment. Remember: Meaningful recognition occurs when you have intimate knowledge of someone's work. Go beyond resourcing. Understand what it takes to accomplish their work and what makes it meaningful for them. That perspective can help you communicate that every individual is seen and valued -- and in turn, create a work environment where employees recognize one another's efforts too. Think critically. Gather and evaluate information that leads to smart decisions. One of the rewarding parts of being a manager is getting to be "in the know" about what's going on in your organization, through friendships and partnerships at the leadership level. You get to be an information hub, passing knowledge from the greater organization to the individuals you lead. But it's also important to remember your responsibility to bring your team's potential questions and concerns up to leaders. That's important information for leaders -- and your people need their opinions to be heard. Great managers ask their superiors tough questions, knowing that they are going to have to answer those questions from their teams in the future. Communicate clearly. Share information regularly and concisely. Gallup research consistently finds that frequent manager-employee conversations are key to employee engagement. This is doubly important when it comes to remote and hybrid workers, who depend on frequent feedback to feel engaged and prepared to do their job. Of course, the quality of those conversations matters too. Sometimes managers may think they are communicating well, but employees do not know what's expected of them.

Getting communication right is perhaps one of the hardest parts of managing -- simply because, in the real world, asking someone, "How do you want to receive communication?" doesn't resolve the issue. Communicating, really communicating, is an art. It takes practice.

Create accountability. Hold yourself and your team responsible for performance.

When we hear the word "accountability," we often think of metrics or performance reviews. A much better way to think of accountability is as engagement and ownership. When people are engaged with their work, they feel accountable to others and to themselves. When they own their work, they take responsibility for the outcome. For managers, creating team accountability is about instilling a heartfelt sense of ownership in each contributor.

The fastest way to generate personal ownership in someone is to give them work they love to do and naturally do well. When there's work to be done, ask, "Who's gifted in this? Who would jump at this opportunity?"

Don't try to improve all of your team management skills at once.

If thinking about seven things to do -- on top of a hundred other things -- feels like a lot, here are some tips to get started:

Choose one of the seven competencies to focus on each quarter. When you read through this list and evaluate yourself, which item challenges you the most? Or which one would you consider most important for success in your particular role? Focus on tackling one competency at a time.

Apply your talents to develop strength in each area . If there's an area where you're struggling, you may think, "I'm just not good at that one … and I probably never will be!" That's a sign that you're approaching your development by focusing on your weaknesses, rather than on your strengths. If you know your top five CliftonStrengths already, consider how you can use them to address each competency. If you don't know your top five, take the CliftonStrengths assessment.

Recognize that the eternal rules of management still apply but that the field of play has changed. Recent years have shaken up the traditional workplace, and that includes management styles. Every single one of these competencies means something different in practice than it did in 2019. Think about what "success" for each one means now in a disrupted (and regularly interrupted) workplace.