How to Master 3 Critical Management Skills for 2023

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Management has never been easy, but I would argue that it has become more difficult in recent years. How we work has changed dramatically in recent years, and managers are now expected to do significantly more than they had to in the past.

In some industries, managers have had to figure out how to build teams, measure performance, and foster camaraderie in virtual and hybrid environments, many for the first time. Others have had to work through severe staff shortages, with managers often taking on more responsibilities to fill gaps, all while keeping customers happy and showing business results. Then there’s the reality of the changing social expectations from their team. For instance, whilst the movement for increased diversity and inclusion is necessary and much welcomed, it means that managers are expected to be social and cultural ambassadors.

With this in mind, here are three characteristics essential to being an effective manager to focus on in 2023.

Charisma

Some may associate charisma with being shallow or performative. However, it is really about the ability to connect with people on a human level and is rooted in shared values and inspiration. It is useful to think of charisma as the icing on the cake–it isn’t the main substance, but it might make it more palatable and, therefore, more effective.

We tend to think of charisma as inherent and purely in the domain of extroverts. However, charisma is actually necessary for all types of employees to learn and get things done within a company–building relationships and influence.

If you're in a role where you manage an international team, charisma requires tuning into cultural nuances and adapting your style appropriately. Charisma is absolutely something that can be learned, and here are tips for increasing it:

• Use simple, plain language wherever possible. The key here is not to use complex language or terms that may exclude people - rather, distill it down to the core points that will engage as many as possible. It also helps to use analogies for concepts you are explaining (similar to my cake/icing example earlier)–thinking through one in advance can be very effective.
• Actively weave open questions into your conversations. An open question is one that prompts the listener to think–i.e., a “how” or “why” question rather than one that needs a yes or no answer. Often, we make statements (e.g., “I can’t meet my targets”), but framing a statement as an open question (e.g., “how can I meet my targets”) immediately prompts your listener to engage. It’s a simple but powerful strategy.
• Display empathy. A basic way to show empathy is to demonstrate you actively listen to your team. Briefly replay what they’ve told you to check understanding. Showing you understand their perspective, even if you don’t agree with it, is incredibly powerful for building human connection.

Clarity

Managers play a central role in keeping the activities of their teams aligned with those of the broader organisation. A good manager will find “win-wins” between their team members' individual desires and the needs of the company.

When it comes to running a team and leading with clarity, managers will need to go through a cycle of 1) clarifying expectations, 2) rewarding when those expectations are met or exceeded, and 3) actively managing and nudging behaviour to recognise the good and avoid the bad.

Here are some practices I have found that enable me to instill clarity in my team during changing times:

• Annual team “big rocks.” At the start of each year, the team will agree on our big goals for the year. Typically this is around three to five big items that we agree we need to nail that year.
• Quarterly objective setting. Each quarter, we agree on specific deliverables the team will need to deliver and divide them amongst the team according to workload.
• Weekly deliverable tracking. The team has a weekly informal catchup where we chat through our progress on our quarterly objectives and make adjustments where necessary (e.g., pushing out, adding on).
• Quarterly career conversations. In the middle of every quarter, I make space for a conversation with all of my direct reports on any thoughts they may have had on their broader career direction. This enables me to get a sense of the types of work that will energise them when it comes to planning the next quarter’s deliverables.

Adaptability

Good managers are constantly adapting how they operate to the changing environment and needs of their team, and the following may help you bring this into your learning:

• Integrate what you learn with who you are. It might be tempting to think that there is an absolute right way to be a manager, but actually, each person brings their own experiences that combine with their learning to create their unique style.
• Don’t be afraid to re-learn how to be a manager. In many ways, learning is a re-learning process that involves identifying what no longer works for you. You should regularly re-examine your ideas about being a good manager, testing them, and updating them as your experience deepens.
• Embrace conflict. Conflict is essential to learning. It’s likely that sometimes things won’t go your way, but that’s ok, and it can be incredibly useful to harness. It’s important after conflict to reflect on it, think about what the lesson is, and then put the learning into practice.