Look after your people ......

Many people aspire to being a leader or a manager, if this is you, ask yourself if it for the right reasons? Is it because of the elevated status, the hike in salary or because it’s the next most logical step on the career ladder or because of what you think you can do for the people that you work with?

Being a manager or a leader, can be very satisfying when you have the skills and as importantly the support of the business behind you. However, it can also be incredibly stressful particularly when the manager or leader doesn’t have the skills needed to successfully run a productive, effective and engaged team and / or when the culture or business doesn’t support those who are trying to perform the role effectively (yes that does happen).

I have worked in and with many businesses that focus on “operational skills”, the knowledge and skills required to perform tasks, and regularly promote people because of this. They are often far more open to providing training to improve a person's technical ability. Whilst this is important and should never be overlooked, “soft skills” as they are often referred to or people skills as I prefer to call them, are frequently underestimated.

People skills are fundamental to all relationships and whilst many of us take them for granted we all have different traits which help or hinder us. People skills are an important part of being a successful manager or leader, the ability to communicate well, inspire, support, engage, listen, challenge, delegate, adapt and develop teams and at times have tough conversations. These are all part of the job description and not necessarily traits we possess naturally.

Managers and leaders have a significant impact on how both their team and the individual members feel about their job, the organisation and ultimately their performance.

“People leave managers not organisations”

This statement is probably true to a degree, although statistics vary and of course there are multiple reasons for people leaving; however, poor management and leadership is often high on the list.

Whilst people development at all levels (including people skills) needs to be a priority for any organisation, developing effective managers and leaders needs to be a key priority. The return on investment may not be an individual line on the balance sheet, however it will in time have a significant impact when organisations support and commit to united high performing team, management and leadership.

In this time of post Covid upheaval, with a shortage of employees, there has never been a better time to review (or create) people plans and seriously consider providing development for managers and leaders at all levels, it could well make a big difference to your people and your business.

One final thing. If your business is struggling to find people to fill roles, consider looking internally. Who knows what talent is hidden right in front of you!