What people skills do managers need when working with people who may be working in different places and/or at different times?
To understand this, it’s helpful to take a close look at the underlying skills involved in being an effective manager. A lot of it is to do with communication and relationship-building.
The following exercise unpacks some of these key management people skills, and is designed to get you thinking about how as a manager you interact with people in your team and other stakeholders. This can be done individually, but it also works well as a group workshop exercise.
On the grid below, assess your people skills as a manager on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is excellent and 1 is not good at all. “DK” is for “don’t know” – it’s good to be honest about this and you may seek the views of others.
Then think about the techniques you use now. Do you have quick conversations across a desk, send bluntly worded emails, gather people into a morning huddle, etc?
Then think about when your team members are working in different times and places, and with new communications technologies at their disposal, how this would change – if at all. For example, think “What more would I need to do inspire and get the best out of my team – and actually how good am I at this at the moment?”
Rethinking face-to-face meetings table
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People Skill |
How good am I? |
Technique(s) now |
Future technique(s) |
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Being understood |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Listening skills |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Influencing/motivating |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Inspiring/getting the best out of people |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Trusting others |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Involving others |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Building team spirit |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Delegating |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Assertiveness |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Coaching/mentoring |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Developing team’s skills and capabilities |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Setting appropriate objectives |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Giving feedback/appraisal |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Detecting performance problems |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Detecting personal problems |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Problem solving |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Resolving disputes |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Decision-making |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Persuading |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Negotiating |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Disciplining/having awkward conversations |
1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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Add in any others below: |
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1 2 3 4 5 DK |
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1 2 3 4 5 DK |
1 = Not good at all, 5 = Excellent. DK = Don’t know / not at all sure