Are you currently a manager in charge of a project or team? Or would you like to move up the career ladder and be one someday?
Either way, management skills can bolster your career now and in the future. Below, we will discuss ten key management skills.
Once you’ve mastered these skills, you need to include them on your resume. This quick online resume builder can help you do just that. We’ll also discuss the best ways to leverage managerial skills on your resume.
According to the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business, the following skills are most needed by managers.
1. Effective Communication
Effective communication may be the most important skill a manager can develop. They serve as a liaison between upper-level management and their own team. Many managers must write reports, emails, and other documents. They may also be a front-line contact with customers, suppliers, or others.
Good communication is an essential cornerstone to virtually every one of the managerial skills to follow.
2. Relationship-Building/Interpersonal Skills
Managers have been called “the glue that holds teams together.” They should therefore set the example in getting to know all team members, fostering friendly interactions, and resolving conflicts quickly.
Good managers are also aware of employees’ strengths and weaknesses. This helps them properly delegate tasks and apportion workloads. Knowing something about their personal circumstances can also help managers be sensitive to each employee’s unique needs (for example, if they need time off for religious events, must deal with unpredictable school schedules, or have specific anxiety triggers).
3. Resilience
Frustration and failure are workplace realities. Managers should set an example by getting up and trying again when things go wrong.
4. Self-Awareness
Good managers are also aware of how others may perceive their words and actions. They are careful not to offend others, and they work to identify and remove any prejudices or stereotypes that could affect their interactions with others.
5. Strategic Thinking
Managers need to be able to think about the big picture in order to find success in the current economy. They should set priorities that are aligned with company goals. They should also analyze current practices and look for ways to make improvements.
For example, you might examine daily procedures to pinpoint processes that waste time. Then, you can make adjustments.
6. Constructive Criticism
When issues arise, managers need to be able to have constructive, tactful conversations with team members. Scolding the employee is usually not constructive. Instead, try to “sandwich” criticism and advice on how to improve between statements of commendation.
In other words:
- Commend them for something they do well.
- Point out something that needs improvement.
- Instruct them on how they can improve.
- Commend them again.
7. Approachability
Team members should feel like they can approach their managers with questions or concerns. Managers should be transparent, open, and honest with employees.
8. Recognition of Achievement
Employees want to feel appreciated, and a manager’s recognition practices can either fill that need or deny it.
Celebrate big achievements as a team. But don’t forget smaller individual achievements as well. Don’t save recognition for annual reviews or other rare circumstances. Be quick to verbally praise a job well done. When employees meet certain benchmarks, reward them with tangible benefits like gift cards, lunches, paid time off, or bonuses.
9. Creativity
A Creative Manager can lead their team well enough to cross any hurdle. You can describe some points with real-life situations you worked on and resolved with your creativity. Your creativity is not limited as a professional, you can show your creativity on your resume by experimenting and creating a unique resume template to make it look unique from the crowd.
10. The Ability to Inspire
One report estimated that “managers are responsible for at least 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement scores.” This should not be surprising, as employees must look to their managers to provide support, guidance, and instruction.
Good managers also develop trusting and respectful relationships with their teams. Providing a safe and peaceful work environment is also essential. When employees like their boss and where they work, they are much more likely to be motivated and work hard.
Managers can also inspire employees with a “compelling mission and vision,” according to Gallup. They should try to rally employees around a common goal. If they feel that their work is meaningful and important, they are more likely to get excited about it.
How to Include Management Skills on Your Resume
You could simply list the above skills under your Skills or Qualifications section. Or, you could demonstrate those skills in a more powerful way.
Strive to include specific examples of these skills in action within your Work Experience descriptions. For example, could you use one of the following?
- Created benchmark incentives to boost morale and productivity; observed a 6.2 percent increase in overall sales during the following six months.
- Fostered team cohesion by sponsoring monthly employee luncheons, resulting in a 50 percent decrease in conflict resolution intervention requests.
- Established an open-door policy in order to better understand employee needs and circumstances, resulting in 62 percent fewer schedule change requests.
Yes, when your hiring manager sees the results of your skills in action, it will be more meaningful and memorable than listing the words alone.
