It is necessary for a manager to possess a variety of abilities, attributes, and qualities in order for them to be able to carry out the management functions. The major factor that will determine a manager’s level of effectiveness and efficiency is their skill set. Robert Kartz believes that performance, rather than certain personality attributes, is the most important factor in determining managerial success. Furthermore, according to Kartz, a manager’s performance is directly correlated to their level of managing expertise.
A skill is the aptitude or degree of competence required to do a certain activity. Ultimately, a person’s ability to apply their knowledge determines whether or not they meet the necessary performance standards. One may learn management skills, particularly management accounting, through education and experience. A manager needs a variety of skills to manage the demanding nature of the role.
Mastering Managerial Skills: Key Competencies for Effective Leadership
According to Dorothy Steward, a manager need the following three types of skills: (i) managing other people, (ii) managing oneself, and (iii) managing the business, whereas Robert focuses on (i) managing himself, (ii) managing other people, and (iii) Katz categorized the capabilities of administrators into three categories: human capabilities, technical capabilities, and conceptual capabilities. Koontz included the ability to come up with solutions as the fourth item on his list. Financial management is also necessary for efficient resource allocation and decision-making. A successful manager must possess the following qualities:
Abilities in the Trade
The capacity to accomplish a task or job in a specialized manner requires a set of abilities known as technical skills. These abilities include the ability to apply certain concepts, methods, tools, techniques, information, and resources. Technical expertise is required in a variety of professions, including but not limited to engineering, medicine, accounting, and music. In addition, analytical ability and the competent use of tools and work equipment to address challenges specific to a given discipline are included as components of technical abilities.
Human Skills
The capacity to interact effectively with other individuals and coerce them into productive activity is known as human talent. It is the ability to inspire other individuals, take charge of a group, and interact effectively with others. Interpersonal and behavioral competence are included in this category of abilities. These skills are required to understand people’s problems, needs, and feelings; to easily interact and communicate effectively with others; to manage people, their working, discipline, and conflicts; to provide counseling to subordinates; to inculcate team spirit among subordinates; to retain good workers in the firm and to improve overall organizational performance.
Conceptual Skills
To grasp the relationship between an organization and the external environment in which it operates and to be able to organize the operations of an organization, conceptual abilities are required. The ability to think strategically and to visualize the complexities of an organization are both examples of conceptual abilities. Conceptual skills are sometimes referred to as the ability to grasp the “Big Picture.” To be more explicit, the following are examples of conceptual skills:
- Consider and imagine the entirety of the organizational system.
- Determine and comprehend the nature of the relationships between its subsystems.
- In order to approach these individual systems in a coordinated manner to have an overall perspective of the organization
- In order to get a mental picture of how the organization fits into the larger surroundings
Diagnostic Skills
The capacity to solve an issue by determining and analyzing its nature as well as its essential aspects and how they interact with one another is referred to as diagnostic or analytical skills. It is not simply the capacity to explain ‘Why’ something took place; rather, it is also the capacity to generate several hypotheses or potential solutions when presented with a ‘what if’ scenario. To diagnose the problems specific scientific approaches are utilized broken.. If there is a problem, it is broken down into its constituent parts, and then a diagnosis and analysis are performed on the issue. Managers who have this type of expertise can quickly and accurately get to the heart of a problem, which gives them a competitive advantage. A scientific mindset combined with common sense and intellect is what makes up diagnostic capabilities.
Design Skills
According to Koontz, upper-level managers of an organization need to have the problem-solving ability of a good design engineer in order to come up with a solution that can actually be implemented. A key part of having design talent is being able to handle problems in ways that are advantageous to the business. Managers are expected to be able to do more than simply identify issues. They need to be able to come up with ‘workable solutions’ to the problem in light of the facts that they are up against.
Administrative Skills
This talent entails the capability of getting things done through other people by putting plans into action in a manner that is compliant with the policies, procedures, and rules of the organization. To put it another way, this ability requires determining what activities need to be completed, determining how those duties may be completed, allotting resources to make those tasks possible, monitoring progress to verify that the tasks are completed, and so on. The following items are included in this competency:
- Collecting data, doing analyses, and finding solutions to issues
- Organizing and planning the various projects;
- Time management; and
- Management of Financial Resources and Budgeting
Conclusion
At the supervisory level, having strong technical abilities is of the utmost importance. In the regular interactions with subordinates, human skills are also important because of their frequent use. On the other hand, conceptual and design abilities are typically not required of lower-level supervisors and managers. At the middle management level, the value of technical abilities reduces but the requirement for human skills remains the same and conceptual skills become increasingly important. At the level of senior management, it is very desirable to have strong creative and design abilities as well as strong interpersonal skills; yet, there is a relatively low demand for technical abilities. It is taken for granted, particularly in large corporations, that top executives are able to make effective use of the technical skills possessed by their direct reports.