Top 8 Leadership Skills Required by Today’s Managers
According to a report by Harvard Business Publishing[i], the eight key capabilities leaders need to handle today’s complex business landscape include acting strategically, managing complexity, and promoting employee engagement. The report also puts emphasis on personality development, especially on adaptability and resilience.
Lack of important skills in leaders and managers can be disastrous for companies. On the other hand, by training their managers or hiring talented managers, companies can increase their earnings per share by 147% than their competition, a study by Gallup establishes.[ii]
Based on the findings by Harvard, Gallup, and SIA,[iii] the top leadership skills today’s leaders and managers need are:
| Problem Solving and Decision Making | 1 | Be able to solve problems, and make timely and correct decisions |
| Strategic Planning | 2 | Create and implement a strategic plan, and evaluate and review its effectiveness |
| Commercial Acumen for Managing Opportunities | 3 | Recognise opportunities, take correct decisions, and manage resources |
| Motivating Employees | 4 | Motivate employees to help them be satisfied, excited and productive at work |
| Employee Engagement | 5 | Connect with employees at various levels to keep them engaged and interested |
| Assertiveness | 6 | Be clear and confident, and replace negative attitudes with positive approaches |
| Communication | 7 | Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication to influence employees |
| Leadership | 8 | Have a clear vision, good decision-making, excellent work ethics, and ability to bring people together |
Sources
[i] http://www.harvardbusiness.org/sites/default/files/19309_CL_LeadershipCap_Paper_July2015_0.pdf
[ii] http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/167975/why-great-managers-rare.aspx
