Develop your People Management Skills
Develop Your People Management Skills
Managing humans is like herding cats.
Like cats, humans act on their own opinion, and often, they do not do what you want them to do. But humans are more intelligent than cats. Humans can frustrate you in ways a cat could never even imagine.
In order to manage humans, then you need to use the right approach. You need to develop your people management skills.
People management skills are a set of five skills, each one of which will contribute to your ability to get the best performance from other people, both as individuals and as teams.
Take a look at the following list of five skills and ask yourself if you would benefit by developing any one of them.
1. Clear Communication Skills
You need to be able to explain your information and ideas, in such a way that the other person always understands what you mean. Miscommunication between yourself and others will cause unnecessary error, confusion, conflict and delay. Clear communication is a key skill.
2. Persuasion Skills
You may have clearly explained your point so that I understand what you mean, but I think you are wrong. So you need to add PERSUASION, to your list of skills.
In order to persuade people, you need to show that your idea is a good idea, in that it leads to benefits. You to need make mental links between your idea and BENEFITS to the listener. If the listener does not see any benefit in your information or idea they won't be motivated to act on it.
3. Motivation Skills
Even if you can prove your message holds benefits, you need to add motivation to your list of skills.
For example, most people understand they would benefit by improving their dietary habits, but most people are not sufficiently motivated to make the change. So you need to know how to motivate people to act in order to achieve the benefits.
The two major motivators are fear and desire.
You can motivate people by instilling the fear of what will happen if they don't act, (a negative motivator): and you can motivate people by making vivid the pleasures they will gain if they do act, (a positive motivator).
Your management of humans will probably mean you will have to resort to both types of motivation, but we recommend you use positive motivators, 80% of the time or more. (Don't overdose on using threats as a motivator).
4. Planning Skills
It is not enough to motivate people to act. They need to know exactly how to act. What to do. How to do it. When to do it. with what tools. By when.
You need to demonstrate you have a practical plan of action.
Failure to plan is the most common cause of failure for individuals, teams, organisations and even whole nations. You need to develop excellent planning skills, if you are to manage others.
People love to know the plan. If there is no coherent plan, then don't expect much buy-in to your grand scheme.
Remember, a goal with no plan is a fantasy. But, a goal tied to a practical plan is a powerful force. They need to know the way forwards.
5. Appreciation and Praise
In order to manage people, you need to manage their emotions, as well as their minds; Their heart, as well as their head.
And the best way to do that is to give honest appreciation and praise.
Whenever someone does something good, or right, or well, then give them verbal praise and appreciation.
Don't neglect to give appreciation to all those who have earned the right to expect it.
If you don't appreciate what she has done for you, you will offend her.
If you don't appreciate how much effort he put into it, you will lose his commitment.
If you don't appreciate the time they put into the task, even if it was not successful, then you will demotivate the team for the next attempt.
You must, must, must, give people the appreciation and praise they have earned.
Almost everyone needs to be appreciated, and loved, and liked.
And if you want to get the best from people, then you need to appreciate, love and like people.
Simple.
Personal Development Training
In order to improve your performance, you may need to develop your personal and professional skills: meaning: skills of communication, planning, prioritisation, motivation and personal confidence. If you want to learn more, then click here for personal development training.
Definition: people management skills
People management skills are the set of abilities used in business to guide how staff think, feel and behave. They blend clear communication, persuasion, motivation, planning and praise so a leader can steer both individuals and teams towards shared goals. Used well and ethically, they lift engagement and performance.
Show CG4D Definition
- Enable a leader to influence how others think, feel and act
- Combine clear communication, persuasion, motivation, planning and praise
- Focus on guiding both individuals and groups towards shared goals
- Require consistent, ethical use to raise performance and engagement
Article Summary
People management skills boil down to five daily habits: speak with clarity, persuade with benefits, spark motivation, map a clear plan, and praise every effort. Apply this mix and you turn free-thinking staff into an engaged team that stays, grows and delivers results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions that frequently get asked about this topic during our training sessions.
What are the five key people management skills?
How can clear communication cut workplace mistakes?
How do I persuade a team to adopt a new idea?
What is a positive way to motivate staff?
Why is planning vital for team success?
How often should a manager give praise?
Can fear ever be a useful motivator?
Thought of something that's not been answered? Ask Us Today!
Did You Know: Key Statistics
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 reports that only 23% of employees feel engaged at work, yet teams with high engagement deliver 18% higher productivity. The Microsoft Work Trend Index 2023 finds that employees who receive weekly recognition from their manager are three times more likely to stay with the company for at least two years.About the Author: Chris Farmer
Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years' experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.
Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.
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