According to Wikipedia, soft skills are a set of skills that “enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals.” Almost none are taught in school, and almost all are taught by simply living life and noting how others prefer to be treated. Much is said about the soft skills that are most important for job seekers to have, but what about soft skills for management? There may be no type of worker where success depends more on their people skills than is the case with a manager. In that spirit, here are eight soft skills every manager should have in their quiver.
1) Communication – One soft skill to rule them all, communication is an essential part of the makeup of any manager. Clear and concise communication is the order of the day here, upwards to the C-suite, downwards to your employees, and outwards to customers. The amount of work misadventures that can be avoided by clear communication from a central manager are innumerable..
2) Delegation –No manager is an island, and delegation is key to success as a manager of other employees. You can’t do it all by yourself, so choosing who to parse work out to and when is essential for management. Know your employees, be fair, don’t play favorites, and don’t lose track of who you delegated to do what. Without enough delegation from the top, micromanaging will set in by necessity.
3) Active Listening –The key to active listening is truly hearing what the other person is telling you before forming a response in your mind. You’ll need to really listen to your employees if you want to run a smooth ship and keep egos in check, and when it comes to employee satisfaction, one size most definitely does not fit all. The answers for a specific employee’s issues can’t be found anywhere but by listening to what that employee is really saying. Active listening is, above all, respectful.
4) Appreciation –Appreciation as in “visible appreciation for your employees,” a huge plus of a soft skill for any manager to have, and a basic part of the job. It’s not enough that employees get their paychecks on time. They need to feel seen and heard, and those are things only a manager can do: celebrate their wins, share any glory with them, and make sure every deserving employee (and most are deserving in one way or another) gets to feel recognized for their value once in a while.
Survey: Just Half of Employees Feel Recognized for Their Work
5) Smoothly Managed Discipline –We’re all adults here, and nobody likes getting a tongue lashing or having to give one. (Well, almost nobody.) It’s sure to be one of the more unpleasant parts of managing employees, but swift and reasonable discipline is a hallmark of worthwhile management. A fast response is key so authority isn’t undermined, and make sure it doesn’t come off as personal: the bottom line is that stuff happens, and both you and the employee in question should be able to keep it professional.
6) Dependability – A manager has to be “as constant as the northern star” (to quote Joni Mitchell by way of Shakespeare), and his or her trustworthiness and dependability is key to building a substantial relationship with his staff. A manager’s behavior sets the standard for all employees beneath them, so make sure you’re as good as your word and unwavering in your behavior and ethics.
7) Candor –Now we’re advancing a bit in difficulty levels, as true candor is hard to achieve when you’re also responsible for handling a team of individuals under you and the politics that come with the responsibility. But the best managers allow their employees to feel included in company machinations. There are always going to be things you can’t tell them about for their own good and for yours, but be their voice among the higher-ups and communicate to them some of the challenges you face. It will allow them to be more honest with you when the time comes.
8) Work ethic –Last and easiest: do your job well, perform at the level you expect your employees to, and don’t let them ever feel that you’re sitting on a golden throne behind your office door playing with their fates like the gods of old. Instead, manage by example.
