{"id":109832,"date":"2023-08-04T14:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=109832"},"modified":"2023-08-07T09:48:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T13:48:49","slug":"leadership-skills-for-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/leadership-skills-for-managers\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Essential Leadership Skills for Managers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the difference between a leader and a manager? Should managers bother to develop leadership skills<\/a>? If so, which ones?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee experience expert Russ Laraway laments the widespread problem of bad management<\/a>. But, he has good news. He believes anyone can become a better manager by learning and practicing basic leadership skills: setting and reaching goals, coaching, and helping employees with career development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn what Laraway thinks are essential leadership skills for managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Leadership Skills for Managers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Laraway says that, by developing a few key leadership skills, you as a manager can greatly improve your team\u2019s morale and performance. Suggesting that you can become a better manager by practicing leadership skills may sound strange; modern business theory often draws a line between management <\/em>(controlling how people do their work) and leadership <\/em>(inspiring people to do their best work). Supposedly, leadership results in more productivity and employee engagement<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Laraway disagrees with this distinction. Instead, he believes that leadership skills are really just people skills, and they\u2019re something that any good manager should develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do you become an effective manager and boost employee engagement? <\/strong>Laraway says you should focus on three leadership skills for managers, which he calls The Big Three<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Some business experts (the ones whom Laraway disagrees with) say that in addition to people skills, leaders must also have vision and foresight<\/a>: the ability to plan ahead, anticipate business opportunities, and take those opportunities as they arise. In other words, \u201cleader\u201d isn\u2019t just another way of saying someone\u2019s a good manager\u2014a leader makes large-scale and long-term decisions, while managers handle day-to-day business functions.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership Skill #1: Setting & Reaching Goals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first area of focus for an effective manager is setting clear goals for your employees:<\/strong> Your workers should know exactly what\u2019s expected of them and when. We\u2019ll examine several tiers of goals that managers can set for their employees, and then we\u2019ll explain how to evaluate your effectiveness in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 1: Daily and Weekly Goals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The foundational tier of goals is what Laraway calls priorities<\/em>\u2014<\/strong>what workers get done daily or weekly. For example, a manager at a health insurance company might set a daily or weekly goal for each worker to process a certain number of claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 2: Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly Goals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The second tier is what Laraway terms Objectives and Key Results<\/a> (OKRs)<\/em>. This is what a person or team achieves in a somewhat longer timeframe: monthly, quarterly, or yearly. For many employees, an OKR<\/a> may just be an extension of a daily or weekly goal. For instance, if their daily goal is to process a certain number of insurance claims, then their monthly goal might be to process that number of claims on average each day for a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 3: Long-Term, Multiyear Goals<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The third tier is what Laraway calls the company\u2019s vision<\/em>\u2014the specific thing it\u2019s trying to achieve.<\/strong> This is a major undertaking, often lasting for multiple years and requiring the entire company to work together. There might not be an obvious connection between an average employee\u2019s day-to-day tasks and a company\u2019s long-term goals\u2014if that\u2019s the case, then you should explain to your workers how and why their work is crucial in meeting those goals. In other words, explain to your employees exactly what you need them to do to support these long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tier 4: The Company\u2019s Ultimate Aspiration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the highest tier of goals is the company\u2019s ultimate aspiration, which Laraway calls its purpose <\/em>or mission<\/em>\u2014in other words, the reason the company exists in the first place.<\/strong> Ideally, the company\u2019s mission statement spells out this goal so that every employee knows what they\u2019re ultimately working toward. This is a goal that\u2019s likely to take many years to reach, possibly decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring Your Effectiveness With This Skill<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To see how well you\u2019re doing at setting clear and reasonable goals as a manager, Laraway suggests sending an anonymous survey to your team. Ask your team members to rate you in the areas of goal communication and collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership Skill #2: Coaching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Laraway says that setting clear goals is only the first part of being an effective manager\u2014you also need to coach <\/em>your workers on how to reach those goals. Not only does effective coaching make your employees better workers, but it also helps build bonds of trust and mutual support between you and your team. Those bonds, in turn, make your employees feel more comfortable and happier at work<\/a>; in other words, they become more engaged<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encourage What\u2019s Working<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Many people think that coaching employees<\/a> means correcting their mistakes, but it\u2019s just as important to provide positive reinforcement for the things your employees are doing well. Laraway says that the majority of your coaching should be encouragement and praise.<\/strong> People like to hear when they\u2019re doing well, so positive feedback factors heavily into employee engagement and retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fix What\u2019s Wrong<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Another important part of being a manager is correcting your employees\u2019 mistakes and helping them improve. However, people tend to feel threatened when managers tell them what they could improve, so they may become upset and defensive. Therefore, Laraway recommends that you limit yourself to one piece of negative feedback per five pieces of positive feedback.<\/strong> Doing so will reassure your workers that their jobs aren\u2019t in danger and keep them in a positive mindset<\/a> where they\u2019ll be able to learn from their mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring Your Effectiveness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Again, Laraway says that the best way to judge your effectiveness as a coach is to survey your team. To see how well you\u2019re doing as a teacher, ask your employees to rate you on helpfulness, approachability, and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leadership Skill #3: Helping Your Employees With Their Career Development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Laraway\u2019s third and final focus area for managers is career development<\/em>: helping employees to plan and realize their long-term career goals, not just their current job goals. Notably, this focus area includes helping your workers advance their careers even if doing so means they eventually leave your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Three Meetings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Laraway recommends setting three meetings with each of your employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. At the first meeting, ask your employee how they got to their current job role<\/a>.<\/li>
  2. At the second meeting, ask about their goals and their aspirations.<\/li>
  3. At the third meeting, work with the employee to create what Laraway calls a Career Action Plan<\/em> (CAP). In short, this is a plan to get the employee from their current position to the dream position that they described in the second meeting.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Measuring Your Effectiveness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    To find out how effectively you\u2019re helping your workers with their career development, Laraway suggests asking employees to rate you on constructiveness and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Exercise: Boost Your Leadership Skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you\u2019ve read Laraway\u2019s advice on how to become a more effective manager and leader, think about how you could start improving your leadership skills. Remember: Engaged employees<\/a> are productive employees, and good management is a crucial factor in employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Which of the three management focus areas (goals, coaching, and career development) do you think you need the most work in? Why?<\/li>
    2. What\u2019s one thing you could do today <\/em>to start improving in that area? For example, if you want to improve your career development skills, perhaps you could start by creating or refining a career plan for yourself.<\/li>
    3. Which of the three focus areas do you think you\u2019re the strongest in? Why?<\/li>
    4. What\u2019s one thing you can do to leverage that strength in the workplace? For example, if you know that you give effective feedback<\/a>, you could start scheduling monthly coaching sessions with your employees to further boost their performance.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      What’s the difference between a leader and a manager? Should managers bother to develop leadership skills? If so, which ones? Employee experience expert Russ Laraway laments the widespread problem of bad management. But, he has good news. He believes anyone can become a better manager by learning and practicing basic leadership skills: setting and reaching goals, coaching, and helping employees with career development. Continue reading to learn what Laraway thinks are essential leadership skills for managers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":76371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,79,14],"tags":[1118],"class_list":["post-109832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entrepreneurship","category-management","tag-when-they-win-you-win","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 3 Essential Leadership Skills for Managers - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anyone can become a better manager by learning and practicing a few basic skills. 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