In the current business climate, having scalable management skills is more of a requisite than ever before. With rapid growth happening across the board, managers today, regardless of their industry and management role, need to place emphasis on refining their management skills in order to be prepared for the moment that rapid growth hits them, which it inevitably will.
But it’s also important to note that not all management skills are made equal and that some hold a higher value than others, especially when it comes to scalability. Below we’ve outlined which skills managers should focus on today to ensure their future growth for both themselves and their teams.
Management skills that will guarantee growth
The following soft skills are a must-have for managers today, regardless of the management role or industry. By refining these soft skills, you’ll ensure that your management skills are scalable and be prepared for rapid growth when it inevitably comes around to your organisation.
Emotional intelligence
An intangible skill that gets overlooked too often is emotional intelligence, which refers to the ability to be aware of, and understand, emotions without having them influence your decision-making process. This is an especially important skill for managers to have when leading a group of individuals, as you cannot be caught off guard and let your emotions do the decision-making for you. You need to be able to put your emotions aside and decide on the best course of action regardless of how you are feeling.
As the manager, you are also going to be responsible for the emotional state of your team and their stress levels, which adds further value to this skill. Being able to recognise burnout before it’s too late and being able to understand and empathise with your team members is important to ensure the continuous supply of quality work from them. It’s also a key relationship-building skill in the workplace for managers, which adds another level of value to this scalable skill.
Strong communication skills
It should come as no surprise that managers need to possess outstanding communication skills in order to keep everyone on the same page and ensure smooth sailing in the workplace. This includes keeping communication channels open between team members, resources, clients and stakeholders to ensure that any and all problems are swiftly dealt with to avoid any future complications. With so many moving parts in the workplace, communication is vital to ensure that what’s expected to happen actually gets done on time and by the respective resource.
A lapse in communication could lead to a major failure in the delivery of work that could have easily been avoided if the appropriate communication had taken place first. This is especially true for managing clients' expectations, meeting deadlines and dealing with issues as soon as they arise. Maintaining constant communication between all the parties involved forms part of the manager's role, which is why it’s so important that they need to refine both their skills and the communication processes within the company to ensure they and their teams are able to deliver their work without any major issues.
This is also a highly scalable skill, as you can apply it to any area of a business and to a business of any size. The communication channels may change, but the importance of that communication doesn’t. In fact, it grows even more important the larger a company gets.
Ability to cultivate trust
The ability to cultivate trust is not only an extremely valuable skill in itself, but it is also a skill that is important to companies undergoing rapid growth. This is due to the fact that employees may get lost in a large company, and a manager without this ability will lose the chance to get the most out of their team members by not giving them the chance to feel part of something bigger than themselves. If you cultivate trust with team members, they’ll give you their best work, you’ll be able to focus on the bigger picture and you’ll have more time to identify future opportunities and risks. This makes it one of the most important skills to have when looking at skills that are both scalable and ones that will help the company's ability to scale up as well.
An eye for opportunity and innovation
A key skill for top managers to have is the ability to notice gaps in the market and within the business and use them to their advantage to usher in innovative ways to take advantage of these “gaps”, which they will view as opportunities. Being on the lookout for opportunity and innovation is a key management skill for rapid growth and scalability for both the business and the managers.
Adaptability
Today’s business climate is in a constant state of flux, and the ability to adapt without hesitation to the advancements in technology and business practices and processes is a powerful skill to have. This is especially true if you are a manager in today's climate, as this will ensure your skills are scalable if you are constantly keeping up to date with the latest industry trends and have a lust for learning.
Without the ability or willingness to adapt, managers will find themselves stuck in their ways and unable to work in the new world of business. The way in which we work in terms of technology, inspiring and motivating employees and reviewing performances and processes are constantly changing due to finding more efficient ways. This is why a manager, regardless of their industry, needs to constantly upskill and be willing to adapt at a moment's notice in order to stay relevant and help the organisation they’re in do the same.
Effective delegation
The last scalable skill that managers need has got to be effective delegation, as no business is going to be able to upscale if the leading force, aka the manager, is trying to do everything themselves. Leadership is not a one-man show, and you may be able to get away with ineffective delegation on a small scale, but as soon as the business you’re in scales up, this will no longer be possible and could lead to dire consequences if not addressed.
The growth of a business entails more than just upping quantity in the form of staff numbers and the amount of work; it also means that managers will need to have more mental energy in order to focus on guiding the business and their teams through that growth and evaluating the process to find where it can be improved.
In order to do this, managers will require effective delegation so they may have the mental capacity to focus on their areas instead of falling victim to an inadequate management style that is not viable in the future.
Ensure your management skills are scalable
Make sure your skills are scalable by refining and working on improving them throughout your career to ensure you never get made redundant. Brush up on the latest industry tips and tricks by signing up for an operations management course online and give yourself the tools you need to ensure your future in the management field.
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