5 Skills You’ll Need To Be Promoted Into A Management Position

It’s time for a change. Maybe you’ve been working for several years now, or maybe you’re completing your studies and are set to enter the workforce. Whatever your situation, you’ve surveyed the job market and decided that a management position will be your goal.

Makes sense, as there are some rewarding aspects to working in management. The pay is better, and you’ll acquire the marketable job skills necessary to grow your career. There’s also the fulfilment of helping people in their professional development.

To help you in your endeavors, here are five skills you’ll need to develop to be promoted into a management position, as well as some tips and tricks for using these skills to stand out.

1.  Communication Skills

Successful managers must know how to communicate effectively. Managers need to clearly relay information on how to complete tasks and meet goals so their team members know exactly what’s required for success. The better they communicate, the less back and forth is necessary, and the more efficient and productive their teams will be.

Remember, you demonstrate these skills every day. To improve, study the psychology of effective communication, and don’t forget—communication isn’t just words. Learn how to use active listening and nonverbal communication to your advantage as well.

2.  Delegation Skills

As an employee, you’re typically responsible for one part of the team’s project, but a manager is responsible for the entire undertaking. If you want that promotion, you’ll need delegation skills, such as the ability to analyze strengths and weaknesses and assign responsibilities and duties accordingly.

Before the promotion, practice trusting your team and your intuition. Don’t try to do everything or micromanage others, but if your skills are a natural fit for another part of the project, volunteer to take it on.

3.  Organization And Time Management Skills

Project management can be complex as you juggle many moving parts spread out over long—and short!—periods of time. Organization and time-management skills are a must in these situations. Effective managers keep project materials organized for easy access and create schedules to ensure everyone has time to complete their assignments.

Start by learning how to break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. You should also be creating schedules for yourself. Stick to that schedule, but also learn to adjust seamlessly when the unexpected happens—and it will happen.

4.  Creativity

Managers are often given an objective but not necessarily the path to get there. At times like these, creativity will help a good manager devise a route to that goal. They also need to be adaptable and pivot easily when new challenges and opportunities arise.

To prove your chops, take opportunities to talk with your boss about new ways to tackle old problems. Maybe you can devise a way to streamline an ineffective process or improve office productivity by adopting new time-management techniques.

5.  Self-Reflection Skills

The best managers are introspective. They’ve learned to assess their own self-confidence and fears, strengths and weaknesses. They seek to improve themselves while building strong teams that support their natural abilities and fill in where they fall short. This bolsters performance, which creates better working conditions for the whole office.

Yearly evaluations are an excellent time to show you’ve spent time thinking seriously about areas where you excel and those where you can improve. If you and your boss’s assessments align, it’s a good sign you’ve been honest with yourself. Do your best to actively improve the disciplines where you struggle while strengthening those you’ve mastered. Come next performance review, your boss will notice the effort.

Working on these interpersonal skills will improve your chances of being promoted to a management position. But remember, developing this kind of skill set isn’t always about being the best. It’s about always seeking opportunities to improve and to learn from past mistakes. If you can show your boss self-growth, not perfection, you’ll be well on your way.