Many of our conversations with organisations involve where to start when it comes to developing the right management and leadership training. Often, the answer depends on the unique industry, business, and needs of your organisation and employees.
There's a lot to think about - from the methods to use and skills to focus on, to budget and measuring ROI.
There are a broad range of essential skills required to be an effective manager or leader in today's work environment. Managers need to master these skills, but also have a growth mindset to ensure they continue to refresh and adapt their skills as things evolve. They are responsible for their own development, as well as the development of their team members, who may have diverse needs.
At Peritus, we can help develop the blend of learning and skills required for your individual goals and teams - but here are seven common competencies to focus on when thinking about developing your managers:
Team Building and Culture - It's important that managers can motivate their teams and encourage communication, collaboration and bonding. Understanding team dynamics, diversity, and identifying individuals' strengths and weaknesses can help to build high performing teams that support one another and bring out the best in each other.
Communication - Good communication skills are vital for managers. They need to know how to adapt their communication style to the situation or person, and communicate the right things at the right time. From the company's vision and goals, to how to complete a task - with strong communication comes a team more likely to complete projects on time and to a high standard, and be more happy and successful.
Conflict Resolution - Clashes will happen; so understanding conflict and having the ability to mediate between parties who have disagreements is important, as well as being able to find a resolution and path forward.
Decision Making - Leaders need to make quick, high-quality decisions, while remaining calm under pressure. They need to be able to identify the options and consequences of a decision, and relate it to their industry knowledge and experience.
Effective Delegation - Choosing the right team member for the task, giving them clear instructions, supporting and trusting them to complete it are all part of the transition to people management.
Change Management - The only constant is change! And that hasn't been more true than the last few years. Being able to navigate, lead, sustain, and implement change is a valuable skill.
Strategic Thinking and Planning - Making the move to leader requires more strategic thinking and planning, including setting the right and realistic goals, and allocating resources in the right places to meet those goals. It requires being able to assess the external and internal environment and react accordingly.
Leading with Purpose and Integrity - Last but certainly not least in this list, is leadership important behaviours. Having accountability for your, and your team's actions and errors or failures, is part and parcel of becoming a leader. Being honest and sticking to your moral code, even under pressure, will earn trust and respect. A leader's behaviour sets the standard for others, so being consistently polite, punctual and kind for example, will show you are dependable, and what you expect from others.
The quality of your managers has a massive impact on the whole organisation. From employee wellbeing, engagement, and retention, to the bottom line of your business - leadership development programmes are certainly worth the investment. That's why it's important to get them right, and ensure your learners are developing the right skills and putting them into action.
All of these skills and more are available with Peritus Learning's range of flexible, cost-effective content and courses, particularly our ILM-accredited courses and our Learn to Lead non-accredited version. Get in touch with our team to explore your strategy and find the right blend of solutions for you.
