5 Needed Skills You Should Look for In Your Current Managers

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At times, you have to wonder whether your manager has what it takes to lead effectively. One way to find out is to measure their leadership skills (notice I didn't say management?) against the best-in-class identified in the research.

They are often referred to as?servant leaders , conscious leaders, authentic leaders, or transformational leaders. Whatever you call them, one thing is for sure: under their guidance, discretionary effort is released across an organization. That's really good for business.

What I have witnessed in the past twenty years?in my own practice developing servant leaders ?is that such leaders shine the spotlight on other people. They don't want the attention, and they share their power and status to benefit the people under their care.

Rare, indeed. But absolutely essential in today's post-pandemic, employee-driven economy.

The secret to how they operate comes down to three words:?People over profit. And when that happens, companies will actually?generate more?profit. Imagine that.

While there are numerous leadership skills and practices that lead to great business outcomes, for this discussion, I'll narrow it down to five essential skills to develop in your managers:

1. Create an atmosphere of joy.

Don't take that fuzzy-sounding word, joy, lightly. Let me ask you an honest question: Do you look forward to going to work when you get up on a Monday morning? Do you look forward to interacting with your colleagues? Do you feel appreciated by your manager because he/she takes care of you?

If you're nodding your head yes, you probably experience joy at work. Congratulations! Joy is an emotion evoked by well-being and success that's experienced by every employee in healthy work cultures under great leaders.

It's the feeling you get in a highly collaborative environment where people respect one another, where there's real teamwork among colleagues who encourage each other, where co-workers share the same values, and there's constant synergy in the air. Even as you wrap up the day, the place is still buzzing with energy and excitement, and people find it hard to pull away and go home. This is joy. And leaders create the environment for this type of joy to happen.

2. Give employees meaning and purpose in the work they do.

In his prolific book,?Give and Take, Wharton professor Adam Grant says that when a person?finds purpose?in their work, it will not only?improve that person's happiness, it will boost productivity.

As managers, give the people what they want -- purpose. One way to do it, according to Grant, is to give employees the chance to connect with and meet the people they are serving. Let me explain.

In research cited by Grant, three groups of employees in a university fundraising call center were tasked to call donors to ask for contributions. One of the groups read personal stories from scholarship recipients, about how those scholarships had changed their lives. Turns out that group increased their fundraising by 143 percent versus the other groups who just made calls as part of their duties.

Grant takes it a step further: When these same fundraisers were given the opportunity to meet a scholarship recipient and ask them questions for as little as five minutes, their fundraising went up by more than 400 percent!

Grant's conclusion? Having employees meet the people they are helping is the greatest motivator, even if it's limited to a few minutes.

Employers have a competitive edge when they can give their people access to customers, so they can see firsthand the human impact their work makes.

This is about having work that brings with it meaning, every day. When employees feel they are making a difference in the world through the work they do, it increases their motivation to perform.

3. Foster a learning spirit within the organization.

People development is not a separate retention activity enforced by HR. It's ingrained in the mindset of managers with the servant leader mindset. Obviously, this is good business strategy, as it will increase team performance.

But beyond that, developing people is a goal of leadership in and of itself. It's a way of being. And this is how great leaders do it:

• They identify their employees' talents and strengths for the best job fit, so they can reach their potential.
• They champion a learning spirit within the organization, sending a clear message that "growing our people is one of our highest priorities."
• They provide ongoing training, coaching, and mentoring opportunities that are aligned with job purpose, performance measures, and fulfilling the organizational mission.

4. Build trust that leads to business outcomes.

Let's face it, if you are considering developing your leaders as part of your strategy for growth or retention, trust is a pillar your company's leadership should stand on. Top leadership trusting behaviors known for high employee engagement include:

• Practicing accountability
• Creating transparency
• Clarifying expectations
• Listening first

Imagine the possibilities of leveraging such behaviors to increase trust across the board. Employee performance ratings go up, and as a result, your customers will notice a difference.

5. Communicate with openness and transparency.

Gone are the days of pretending to have it all figured out and leading with or through fear. Today's leader must be vulnerable,?authentic, and transparent in order to?connect and inspire. Leadership today should mean a mutually beneficial relationship between employer and employee.

In its purest (and most radical) form, a culture of transparency strives for every employee to know just about everything. While this can be a daunting undertaking for any company, the power behind this principle goes back to trust. Because nothing makes someone feel more a part of a team than knowing everything has been communicated to them. Sure, some information leaders may share could potentially fall into competitors' hands, but the advantages in the employee experience far outweigh the risks.

Your turn: Do you agree or disagree with any of these? What would you add to this list? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.

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An invitation to develop your management team

I have created the ‘From Boss to Leader ’ course to teach?new and emerging managers?the leadership skills they need to succeed in post-pandemic times. Watch this?2-minute video ?to see if it may be right for your management team. Then I invite you to?book a 15-minute call with me ?so I can personally hear your challenges and offer some free advice.

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes ?is a globally-recognized leadership authority, executive coach, international speaker,?podcast host , and?syndicated columnist ?with a worldwide following. He teaches emerging leaders the skills to build great work cultures where people flourish and businesses grow.