Discover the various skills and abilities that a manager needs to have for effective management

Management: 8 critical skills and abilities

Managers have the role of making sure that organization’s goals and objectives are achieved. They may head a whole company, a department or a project. This means they are in charge of a number of employees, are involved in decision-making, execution, organizing, planning, and delegation, among other duties. To be effective, managers need to have various critical management skills and abilities. These includes:


Technical skills

A manager needs to have technical know-how of an organization's processes in case employees require assistance due to technical issues.

Conceptual skills

Ability to understand how an activity can affect the organization is a critical skill that managers should have. The conceptual skill enables a manager to perceive relationships between parts of a whole, and they can know the impact an action can have on the organization.

Human relations skills

Management involves interacting with people, may it be employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. This makes it necessary for any manager to have human relations skills so that he or she can communicate, motivate, understand and even discipline where necessary. A manager needs to work with people to achieve the organization’s goals. Therefore, interpersonal skills such as active listening, written and oral communication, empathy, resolving conflicts, dialogue, and honesty are some of the core competencies.

Leadership skills

A manager should also be a leader who should have the ability to inspire people towards the achievement of goals by getting them to believe and understand the company’s vision. This ensures that the team can follow the manager towards achieving these goals.

Problem-solving and decision-making skills

Making decisions is part of management, and it goes hand in hand with problem-solving. An effective manager should have decision-making skills that help solve various problems encountered. This is by identifying the problems, weighing different options and choosing the best alternative. It also includes assessing if the right decision was made and modifying it if necessary.

Organizational abilities

A manager needs to have the skills to bring together capital and human resources in the achievement of company goals. This means getting the right people to fill various positions in the company.

Coordination skills

An organization is made up of several parts that need to move together in harmony for the goals to be met. A manager should have the skills to ensure that all the parts of the organization are working and harmoniously.

Control abilities

A manager should have the capacity to check whether the planned goals have been achieved as scheduled and corrective action is taken in case of deviation. This ensures that the organization is on the right course and any deviations are rectified.

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