The 9 Key Skills of 
Effective Management

All organisations – both big and small - are very reliant on how well they function from within, and this has to be guided by effective management. 

Effective management empowers a team to succeed, improve and take on challenges to achieve success.

In this article, we explain the 9 core skills that managers must possess.

In this article, we talk about each in more detail.

1. Clear communication
2. Thoughtful transparency
3. Strong Emotional Intelligence
4. Setting goals
5. Delegating tasks
6. Facilitating teamwork
7. Managing workflows
8. Collaborative problem solving
9. Effective monitoring

1. Clear Communication

First and foremost, communication is essential.

No one can lead without being able to communicate ideas, intentions, instructions and feedback. But it’s not just simply talking to staff; it’s about reaching them effectively and getting the message across in ways they will understand and be inspired by.

This means that your communication must adapt to each audience and allow a useful two-way discussion for the best outcome.

2. Thoughtful transparency

After you have strong communication, the next step is to gain trust and that comes from sharing updates and information with staff.

But this requires tact. You need to be able to share the relevant information that your team needs to know when it directly affects them, however you must equally filter out things that are confidential, off-topic or distracting.

It’s very important to get this balance right, and this requires careful thought.

A manager that baits or teases information will negatively affect staff morale, in the same way that one who blurts out everything will too.

3. Strong Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability of a person to appreciate and understand emotions in both themselves and those around them and adapt accordingly to channel positive relationships.

Those with high EI can manage change and relationships with colleagues while developing a strategy to keep them grounded, which results in stronger business outcomes and more effective leaders.

4. Setting goals

At this point, you now possess all the internal management skills. It’s time now to build external management skills, and this starts with working with your team to set effective goals.

Every organisation has a vision and mission, and it’s up to management to set out clear, measurable and relevant goals which your team will work towards.

An effective manager collaborates with their staff to decide on these objectives so that everyone has buy-in and can agree, however it still requires a strong leader to make the final call and set these in place.

5. Delegate tasks

Once goals are decided, a manager must be able to assess the strengths and skill set of each of their team members and allocate parts of each task to the best person.

Delegating tasks can often be quite difficult for many reasons, which is why it’s an important skill so that the whole organisation is working together effectively to fulfil overarching goals.

6. Facilitating teamwork

Many hands make for light work, and this cannot be truer than in business.

Employees can be a powerhouse of strength when all working together in an effective way, and this only comes from a good manager who is able to coordinate efforts and encourage the right partnerships.

Without this, you can get staff who either work in silos or chaotically in groups.

A manager must have the skills to see when and how to facilitate effective teamwork.

7. Managing workflows

While no one likes being micromanaged (including the manager themselves), it’s still important for an effective manager to check in with staff, address concerns, track progress and make them feel well-supported across everything they do.

Without this, staff can become unproductive or feel they don’t have the right support to do their job effectively.

A manager must be able to provide this guidance and know when to be present.

8. Collaborative problem solving

There are always going to be bumps along the way – nothing is ever problem-free.

However, an effective manager is able to identify problems at all levels and bring staff together to solve them. It’s not up to the manager to have all of the answers, but you should be able to take control and empower staff to work together to find the right solutions.

9. Effective monitoring

One of the most challenging yet important skills management must possess is the ability to monitor ongoing employee satisfaction.

So much of your business’ success comes down to how happy your team is. They are the ones who make it work have such an impact on everything from customer service and branding, all the way down to the bottom line.

The difficulty with this is that often, staff won’t share their feelings, so it’s up to management to be monitoring everything.

This is where VibeCatch can help you.

How VibeCatch can help managers become even more effective

As you can see, managers play a very important role in any organisation.

This is why it’s crucial to ensure you have these skills and can implement them well. However, it can be quite a long list, which is why there are platforms like VibeCatch to help you be even more effective in your role.

VibeCatch is a Human Resources platform based on 15 years of proven research, offering you the opportunity to make a positive difference not just for everyone around you, but your business and customers too.

Through VibeCatch, a manager can easily improve transparency, monitor staff sentiment and communication well with all of your teams, to become a more informed and effective leader – all of which drives far better results.

VibeCatch is simple and automated, which makes it easy to ensure that your business is optimised.

How can your business benefit from a science-based approach?

We’d love to show you, so you can see it in action for yourself.

Book an obligation-free consultation and we’ll discuss your options to demonstrate how VibeCatch can help you help everyone.