To be truly effective, managers and leaders need to build a toolkit of knowledge, skills, and behaviours that will set them, their teams, and their organisations up for success.
There is a broad combination of fundamental skills that managers need to acquire and develop; setting objectives, motivating, delegating, coaching, and giving feedback for a start. Good management starts with the self; managers must develop an awareness of their strengths and weaknesses, their preferred style and approach, and their emotional triggers. They must learn how to manage, mitigate, and maximize these for the benefit of their teams.
Essential management knowledge starts with finance, strategy, planning, and team dynamics, but it doesn’t end there. The best managers expand their thinking beyond what’s visible and obvious and can also capitalize on the hidden drivers of organisational success: inclusion, agility, flexibility, and employee wellbeing and engagement.
Managers and leaders are role models, and the example they set has a huge impact on the organisational culture. So it’s critical that they first appreciate and then demonstrate the appropriate behaviours that build trust and promote a positive working environment – and do so authentically and consistently.
Underpinning all of this is excellence in communication: influencing, persuading, negotiating, collaborating, networking; and engaging and inspiring people to bring their best selves to work every day.