Management and leadership skills

This week we were looking at the decision of whether to promote an existing employee to manager or recruit someone new to take the position. I took some time to draft up a list of management and leadership skills, as a starting point for identifying what we should be looking for from our managers.  Here’s my list – it’s a draft and by no means complete – I’m hoping to refine it over the next few months depending on the feedback I get from other managers.  In my view, most managers would need at least a basic understanding in each area and some would need both an advanced understanding and the ability to apply/train.  So you could set a target level for each manager and then record the level they are currently at, to give them training goals.

Technical skills

• Process or technique knowledge and proficiency in discipline managed.

Management skills

Resource management

• Financial resources (how money will be spent to get the work done, accounting for these expenditures)
• Material resources (obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed)
• Personnel resources (obtaining and seeing to adequate staffing levels)
• Time management (managing own time and other peoples’ time)
• Physical office management

Finance management

• Budget management (planning, monitoring, controlling)
• Finance process management
• Forecasting
• Finance decisions (deriving/using financial info to assist with decision making)
• Cost benefit analysis
• Breakeven analysis (should this go in operations?)
• Funding
• Measuring and managing organisational performance
• Tax
• Cash flow

HR management

• Diversity
• Discrimination
• Personality / working to strengths

Crisis management

• Business continuity
• Anticipation/proactivity

Operations management

• Logistics (delivery, inventory etc)
• Economies of scale
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Joint ventures
• Optimum use of resources
  • Improving team performance
  • Improving company performance
  • Reducing expenditure (without detriment!)
  • Reducing inventory (without detriment!)
  • Improving team efficiency
  • Improving company efficiency
• Systems (optimising)
• Forecasting timelines
• Office management

Change management

(Explanation and good article here: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm)

• Change management principles
• Preparation for change
  • Assessing concerns/potential resistance
  • Assessing readiness for change
• Change management plan

Strategic management

• Organisational objectives
• Corporate objectives
• Strategic business plans for team
• Strategic business plans for organisation

Collecting, reporting and analysing

• Conducting research products, for example:
  • Forecasting revenues
  • Gauging competitor threats
  • Examining consumer attitudes
  • Evaluating effectiveness of advertising
  • Establishing a pricing policy
  • Gauging quality control

• Defining problems
• Planning
• Collecting data
• Analysing data
• Writing effective reports
• Reporting results
• Making recommendations
• Commercial judgement

Customer focus

• Customer profiling
• Problem solving / troubleshooting
• Customer satisfaction

Risk management

• Risk management frameworks for a project
• Risk management frameworks for a team
• Risk management frameworks for company
• Risk management tools (e.g. self-assessment, mapping, indicators, escalation triggers)
• Environmental, reputational, project and operational risk
• Impact of psychological, personal and ethical issues

Problem solving

• Problem orientation (appreciating the problem)
• Problem definition (properly defining the problem)
• Proposing alternative solutions
• Decision making
• Implementing a solution
• Evaluating and adjusting

Marketing/product management

• Value cycle
• Value factors/pains
• Value propositions
• USPs
• P15
• Customer focus
• Market research
• Market segmentation
• Branding
• Set up and running costs
• Pricing
• Risk
• Setting short and long term goals
• Metrics
• Tracking
• Reporting and evaluating

(Micro) Economics

• Supply and demand
• Utility
• Productivity
• Nature of competititon

Technology management

• Database management (non technical)
• Internet access management
• Telecoms systems management
• Server/hosting management
• Technology change management
• New technology management (research, adopt best)

Knowledge management

• Intellectual capital
• Competitor intelligence/analysis

Management of policies, values and ethics

• Policies
• Values
• Ethics
• Dispute resolution

Legal management

• Health & safety within team
• Health & safety within company
• Job related legal and regulatory provisions

Leadership skills

Training

• Identifying training needs (self / team / company)
• Professional development of self
• Professional development of team
• Professional development of company
• Providing learning opportunities for team

Project management

• Managing a project
• Managing a number of projects
• Directing people
• Budget management
• Organisation
• Communication (email, face to face)
• Setting clear goals and objectives
• Following up
• Updating
• Time estimation
• Risk impact/probability
• Scheduling simple projects
• Project plans
• Motivating
• Post project review

Team management

(Explanation and good article here: http://www.teal.org.uk/et/teampro.htm)

• Stages of team formation
• Setting of objectives for individuals/team
• Setting clear targets for individuals/team
• Setting smart goals for individuals/team
• Following up
• Meeting own goals/deadlines/commitments

Personal skills/qualities

• Adaptability
• Assertiveness
• Calmness under pressure
• Committed
• Confidence
• Creativity
• Determination
• Diplomacy
• Efficient
• Energy
• Flexibility
• Focus
• Hard working
• Inspiration
• Integrity
• Interpersonal skills
• Mobility
• Observation
• Passionate
• Positivity
• Presence
• Proactive in self development
• Respectful
• Role model
• Servient leader
• Transparency

Communication

• Negotiation
• Giving feedback – being candid
• Ability to speak and present
• Motivating the Team / whole company
• Upward and downward communication
• Face to face communication (1-1)
• Face to face communication (team)
• Email communication
• Phone communication
• Presenting to a group

Meetings

• Knowing when / when not to call a meeting
• Meeting preparation
• Chairing a meeting
• Follow ups after meetings

People management

• Recruitment of staff
• Selection of staff
• Retention of staff
• Developing relationships with & between colleagues
• Develop culture of team
• Develop culture of organisation
• Team working
• Appraisals and reviews
• Monitoring performance
• Facilitation skills
• Conflict management

Training skills

• Training
• Selecting appropriate method of training
• Providing clear guidance
• Patience / empathy
• Making training interesting
• Training 1-1
• Training a group
• Motivating
• Mentoring

Values and ethics

• Upholding the Company’s values
• Promoting the Company’s values within the team
• Promoting the Company’s values within the Company

Task management

• Allocating work
• Delegating work
• Monitoring progress of work
• Monitoring quality of work
• Prioritisation and 80/20

Conceptual skills

• Formulation of ideas
• Development of ideas
• Understanding abstract relationships
• Solving problems creatively
• Encouraging innovation