Skills

There are two types of skills you need to excel in your career: hard skills and soft skills.
To be a
successful manager, you need to develop both.
Hard skills are technical, teachable abilities you learn through school, training and job experience. For
example, if you’re a software engineer, one of your hard skills may be proficiency in programming
languages. As a manager, it’s important to develop these abilities so you can effectively lead others in
honing the same skills.
On the other hand, soft skills are applicable in any role or industry and are often even more important
for management than technical proficiencies. Generally, soft skills are developed over time by managing
your responsibilities and interacting with others. Problem-solving, time management and verbal
communication are all examples of important soft skills.
While hard skills are key when completing specific tasks, soft skills are essential when directing people,
overseeing projects and making informed decisions.
Management concepts
A manager needs to understand a few simple ideas to employ the five basic operations. These concepts
are essential to ensure their team comes together to reach the business’ goals:
Control: Employees of an organization need to understand the goals that they are aiming for as well as
the measurement that will be used to determine whether they have been successful. Different staff
members in a company have different roles that entail separate levels of responsibility. A manager must
have control over what the members do, how they do it and how to measure their progress. Control
over these factors helps a manager reach success.
Planning: The best managers know that planning is critical before the implementation of any strategy,
but it is also an ongoing activity. Planning does not end when implementation begins. Rather,
management needs to be prepared to answer the questions of who, what, when and where a team is
working to implement the organization’s mission. Planning should include selecting objectives as well as
implementing them.
Staffing: Staffing is an underappreciated but crucial function of management. Managers need to ensure
that they have the right people for the job, but they also need to pay attention to issues like organizing
workplace policies. The company needs to retain the best talent by providing incentives such as
benefits, paid time off and a thorough training program.
Related: How to Become a Manager
Management styles
Analysts who study management have identified several effective leadership styles. There is no one best
style of management, and some people will feel more personally suited to one type or another. You can
also select elements of different styles of management to create the best archetype for you and your
company.
Here, we briefly review three positive management styles that can help make any manager a more
effective leader.
Persuasive management style
A compelling leader spends a lot of time with their team members. Being engaged with employees
allows the persuasive manager to lead by example, and to gain buy-in and compliance from the team by
persuading rather than instructing or demanding. Influential managers are aware of the work that their
team members are doing on a day-to-day basis and are involved in their work lives.
Democratic management style
A democratic manager invites the team to be directly involved in decision-making. Open lines of
communication between democratic managers and employees allow these types of managers to
understand the skills and advantages that each employee brings to the table. Open participation and
exchange of ideas among different levels of employees allow everyone to contribute to the outcome of
a decision or a project.
This style of management is more successful when managers develop organized and streamlined
decision-making processes. Otherwise, accepting input from everyone can make the process sluggish
and disorganized.
Laissez-faire management
The laissez-faire manager functions almost more like a mentor than a manager. They empower their
employees to step up and make decisions. This allows the team to feel like they own a part of each
project. The manager takes a backseat role, stepping in to offer advice or get things back on track when
something goes wrong. Otherwise, they stand aside, allowing their employees to flourish creatively and
exercise their own leadership.
Related: 10 Common Leadership Styles
Three layers of management

Large businesses and corporations often have three primary levels of management organized in a
hierarchical structure. You may have heard terms that refer to these different layers of management,
such as “middle management” or “senior management.”
Low-level management
Low-level managers include roles like front-line team leaders, foremen, section leads and supervisors.
This level of management, the lowest in the three layers, is responsible for overseeing the everyday
work of individual employees or staff members and providing them with direction on their work.
Low-level management’s responsibilities often include ensuring the quality of employees’ work, guiding
staff in everyday activities and routing employee problems through the appropriate channels. They also
are responsible for the day-to-day supervision and career planning for their team, as well as providing
feedback on their employees’ performance.
Middle management
Middle managers, the next layer in the management hierarchy, are overseen by senior management.
Middle management includes those working in the roles of a department manager, regional manager
and branch manager. Middle management is responsible for communicating the strategic goals
developed by senior management down the line to front-line managers.
In contrast with senior management, middle managers spend more of their time on directional and
organizational functions. This includes defining and discussing important policies for lower management,
providing guidance to lower-level management to achieve better performance and executing
organizational plans at the direction of senior management.
Senior management
Senior management, including the chief executive officer, president, vice president and board members,
is at the top layer of this management hierarchy. Senior management needs to set the overall goals and
direction of an organization. Senior management develops strategic plans and company-wide policy and
makes decisions about the direction of the organization at the highest level. They also usually play an
essential role in mobilizing outside resources and are held accountable to the company’s shareholders
as well as the general public for the performance of the company.
Related: Manager vs. Senior Manager: What's the Difference?

Tips for being a good manager
There are several ways to advance your management skills, including:
Communicate. It is important to communicate with your team so you can understand their needs,
evaluate their progress and help them achieve their goals.
Be positive. You should be the one to set an example for your team to follow. Be positive during your
interactions with your team so they feel more comfortable communicating with you.
Train when needed. Assess the skills of your team and see if you could improve any areas with training.
Training also helps your team learn new skills and fosters growth.
Collaborate. As a manager, you should feel comfortable delegating tasks, but you also work with your
team to accomplish common objectives. Collaborating with your team will also allow you to see if
there’s anything you can do to help individual teammates or the team as a whole.
Practice. Perhaps the best way to acquire new skills is to practice them in a real-life management
setting. Gaining on-the-job experience in these skills will help you on the promotion ladder. Do your best
for your team, serve as a leader and treat your team fairly.
Read more: How to Be a Good Manag

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There are two types of skills you need to excel in your career: hard skills and soft skills.

Related: How to Become a Manager

Persuasive management style

Democratic management style

Related: 10 Common Leadership Styles

Three layers of management

Related: Manager vs. Senior Manager: What's the Difference?

There are several ways to advance your management skills, including:

Read more: How to Be a Good Manag

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