Managerial Skills and Development

Managerial skills are the knowledge and ability of the individuals in a managerial position to fulfill some specific management activities or tasks. This knowledge and ability can be learned and practiced. However, they also can be acquired through practical implementation of required activities and tasks. Therefore, you can develop each skill through learning and practical experience as a manager.

There are many definitions of skills that talk about talent. Talent is something personal related to an individual and shows a natural gift from nature about something inside that talented person. All persons cannot be artists. Usually, artists are born with the gift of art, but despite their talent, they continue to develop their talent to improve their art skills.

When we talk about managerial skills, we talk about the skills of a manager to maintain high efficiency in the way how his or her employees complete their everyday working tasks. Because of that, managers will need skills that will help them to manage people and technology to ensure an effective and efficient realization of their working duties.

Three Types of Managerial Skills

Robert Katz identifies three types of skills that are essential for a successful management process:

• Technical skills
• Conceptual skills
  
• Human or interpersonal management skills

1. Technical Skills

As the name of these skills tells us, they give the manager’s knowledge and ability to use different techniques to achieve what they want to achieve. Technical skills are not related only for machines, production tools or other equipment, but also they are skills that will be required to increase sales, design different types of products and services, market the products and services, etc.

For example, let’s take an individual who works in the sales department and has highly developed sales skills achieved through education and experience in his department or the same departments in different organizations. Because of these skills that he possesses, this person can be a perfect solution to become a sales manager. This is the best solution because he has excellent technical skills related to the sales department.

On the other hand, the person who becomes sales manager will start to build his next type of required skills. It is because if his task until now was only to work with the customers as a sales representative, now he will need to work with employees in the sales department in addition to the work with customers.

Technical skills are most important for first-level managers. Whet it comes to the top managers, these skills are not something with high significance level. As we go through a hierarchy from the bottom to higher levels, the technical skills lose their importance.

2. Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills present knowledge or ability of a manager for more abstract thinking. That means he can easily see the whole through analysis and diagnosis of different states. In such a way they can predict the future of the business or department as a whole.

Why managers need these skills?

As a first, a company includes more business elements or functions as selling, marketing, finance, production, etc. All these business elements have different goals even completely opposed goals. Think about marketing and production as a business function and their specific goals. You’ll see the essential difference. The conceptual skills will help managers to look outside their department’s goals. So, they will make decisions that will satisfy overall business goals.

Conceptual skills are vital for top managers, less critical for mid-level managers, and not required for first-level managers. As we go from the bottom of the managerial hierarchy to the top, the importance of these skills will rise.

3. Human or Interpersonal Managerial Skills

Human or interpersonal management skills present a manager’s knowledge and ability to work with people. One of the most critical management tasks is to work with people. Without people, there will not be a need for the existence of management and managers.

These skills will enable managers to become leaders and motivate employees for better accomplishments. Also, they will help them to make more effective use of human potential in the company. Simply, they are the essential skills for managers.

Interpersonal management skills are essential for all hierarchical levels in the company.