Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Kyrabe Stories. Today, we have a special guest post from P.A. Raymond on management skills every leader needs to improve upon!
Being in a position where you have to manage, train, and guide people comes with responsibilities seldom contemplated by onboarding programs. That is why the styles and types of leaders vary broadly. Yes, that gives room for plenty of freedom, but it also allows for plenty of mistakes. This article will explore skills that make a great leader stand out from the crowd.
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Task Management
Employees are exposed to some grade of multitasking depending on their role and job. However, for leaders, managing multiple tasks has to be second nature. Leaders have a set of responsibilities that come with their position; however, they also must manage their team members—keeping track of their needs, inquiries, and performance.
Most leaders will also need to report the results of their obligations to their managers, almost every boss has a boss of their own or a figure of authority to whom they must answer too. None of these responsibilities must be left unattended. However, task management is a skill that is gained with experience and structure.
Start small, understand everything you need to do, and plan your day with these responsibilities in mind so that every responsibility has the time it needs while making room for eventualities. You never know when you need to have a 1:1 with a trainee or management calls an “all hands on deck.”
| Priority | Urgent | Not Urgent |
| Important | Do it first | Schedule it |
| Not Important | Delegate it | Discard it |
For managing your tasks, it’s helpful to apply this simple priority matrix above to determine your priorities. For example, if you have an important and urgent task, you must focus on that one first. But if it is important but not urgent, you can schedule it for later. As you gain more experience, your task management and capacity to lead the team’s assignments will improve efficiency.
Quick Tip
Take advantage of planning apps or project management software. Platforms such as Asana or Monday.com can assist you with assigning these priority tasks visually, especially if you have plenty of people under your management. The idea of these apps is to make it easier for your group to know who is doing what and how long they have to do it. Some companies have these services already, consult for their availability or consider asking to allow their use.
Time management
Most leadership positions have a set of tasks but no schedule or set order to complete them. This unorganized pile of expectations can cause you to be overwhelmed and not know where to begin. You must use your allotted time as efficiently as possible.
The priority matrix we discussed before could help you, but also, a few rules come into play regarding your shift. Some jobs will erase the line you have drawn between your available and unavailable hours. Managers often allow their position to consume more and more time; they skip their lunch and breaks to address unplanned requests or add extra hours to complete an overload of tasks. It is crucial to the sustainability of your health that you draw clear lines that keep you from extending your working hours. Remember, work smarter, not harder.
Performance Management
This skill goes deeper into the ability to understand where your results are coming from and be able to understand how to improve them. While metrics are numbers, the ones producing them are human beings full of variables to explore.
Many in leadership positions make the mistake of trying to authoritatively force results such as, “Hey, you are taking too long in your calls, do it faster!” Instead, observe the employee, identify why those calls are taking long, divide the reasons between controllable and uncontrollable factors, then proceed to give the employee strategies to improve. This could look something like “Hey, I noticed that your calls are longer than usual to resolve because you’re asking your customer more closed questions instead of open ones that give them the chance to explain the issue more thoroughly a lot sooner. Let me teach you a few questions you could use to assist with this.”
Remember, letting the same variables operate and hoping for better results is a poor strategy if you want to develop your team. Communication is essential, not just with your team but with other departments too. Remember that you are part of a system; communicate with other teams timely and efficiently, and make sure they understand what you need from them for their assignment to succeed. Never assume someone knows what to do just because you sent a message.
Skills Management
When managing a team filled with different talents, skills management helps you understand those strengths and weaknesses and assists with developing those skills per individual and yourself. These improvements aren’t limited to hard skills (the job or industry-specific talents) but also soft skills (interpersonal talents). As you understand the importance of soft skills, you can build rapport with your team organically and healthily. Active listening and empathy will also help you understand the reasons for your team’s difficulties and areas of opportunity.
Study your employees and learn what their career goals are. Are there relevant pieces of training available that would be of interest to your team that can lead toward a healthy and productive work environment? What are some areas that your company is lacking experience in? Could this be an upward advancement opportunity for your coworker, resulting in increased employee retention? Show interest in your team member’s growth, and they will return the appreciation back to you as their leader.
Conclusion
A leadership position has both its challenges and opportunities. Unfortunately, many tend to think it’s just a matter of telling people what to do and scolding them when they don’t meet expectations, even unclear ones. Effective leadership requires you to manage the situation, check and measure performance, and look out for your employees. Keep learning and practicing. Your abilities and ideas will improve, turning you into a leader whom others will want to grow with you while you create a healthy work environment.
Many thanks to our special guest, P.A. Raymond, for providing us with some amazing tips today! And as always, remember to just live your life one story at a time.
Take care,
Kyndall Bennett from Kyrabe Stories
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