Conceptual skills become less important as a manager moves into top management

Management and Leadership in Today’s Organizations

1. What set of managerial skills is necessary for managerial success?

In order to be successful in planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, managers must use a wide variety of skills. A skill is the ability to do something proficiently. Managerial skills fall into three basic categories: technical, human relations, and conceptual skills. The degree to which each type of skill is used depends upon the level of the manager’s position as seen in (Figure). Additionally, in an increasingly global marketplace, it pays for managers to develop a special set of skills to deal with global management issues.

The Importance of Managerial Skills at Different Management Levels

(Attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license.)

Specialized areas of knowledge and expertise and the ability to apply that knowledge make up a manager’s technical skills. Preparing a financial statement, programming a computer, designing an office building, and analyzing market research are all examples of technical skills. These types of skills are especially important for supervisory managers because they work closely with employees who are producing the goods and/or services of the firm.

Human relations skills are the interpersonal skills managers use to accomplish goals through the use of human resources. This set of skills includes the ability to understand human behavior, to communicate effectively with others, and to motivate individuals to accomplish their objectives. Giving positive feedback to employees, being sensitive to their individual needs, and showing a willingness to empower subordinates are all examples of good human relations skills. Identifying and promoting managers with human relations skills are important for companies. A manager with little or no people skills can end up using an authoritarian leadership style and alienating employees.

Conceptual skills include the ability to view the organization as a whole, understand how the various parts are interdependent, and assess how the organization relates to its external environment. These skills allow managers to evaluate situations and develop alternative courses of action. Good conceptual skills are especially necessary for managers at the top of the management pyramid, where strategic planning takes place.

1. Define the basic managerial skills.
2. How important is each of these skill sets at the different levels of the management pyramid?

conceptual skills A manager’s ability to view the organization as a whole, understand how the various parts are interdependent, and assess how the organization relates to its external environment. human relations skills A manager’s interpersonal skills that are used to accomplish goals through the use of human resources. technical skills A manager’s specialized areas of knowledge and expertise, as well as the ability to apply that knowledge.

Do you have all the required managerial skills to manage your own company? What do you think about your management skills? Can you be a real manager with all the skills necessary for you and your company?

Business owners are entrepreneurs until they become managers. When they become managers, they will feel frustrated because they need to deal with new problems like managerial problems. When you start your business, in large part, you will need entrepreneurial skills. But, as your company starts growing, there is a need for more formalization inside your company. Formalization inside your company requires more managerial skills, training, and development. Such an expansion will require different skills and capabilities across the company. So, this is the right time you need to change yourself and how your company operates.

Why You Will Need Managerial Skills?

Management is not a simple task. It needs knowledge and experience. Because of that, there is the existence of hierarchy, organizational structure, and possibilities for each organizational member with adequate knowledge, experience, and skills to move from the bottom to the middle and top level of the managerial pyramid.

I have already written about entrepreneurial skills, and you can read more in ten smart skills all entrepreneurs need now.

As you can see from this article, there are many different management skills. Learning them and excelling in them will give you a competitive advantage for your company.

I want to talk about the three primary managerial skills and their link to the hierarchical structure.

What Are Managerial Skills?

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 the 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 they continue to develop their talent to improve their art skills despite their talent.

When we talk about these skills, we talk about the skills of a manager to maintain high efficiency in how their employees complete their everyday working tasks. Because of that, managers will need skills that will help them 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 and
• Human or interpersonal management skills.

Technical management skills are closely related to the technical or engineering dimension of management. They are like I want to say, practical craftsmanship skills. These skills are essential to start your company, build your products or services, and design the systems inside the company. Here we talk about management skills related to the mechanics of doing things. What will you need to do? How will you do that?

As the name of these skills tells us, they give managers the knowledge and ability to use different techniques to achieve what they want to achieve. Technical skills are not related only to machines, production tools, or other equipment. They are also skills required to increase sales, design different products, and services, market the products and services, etc.

Example of Technical Skills

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 his skills, this person can be a perfect solution to becoming a sales manager. This is the best solution because he has excellent technical skills related to the sales department.

On the other hand, the sales manager will build his next type of required skills. If his task were only to work with the customers as a sales representative, he would need to work with employees in the sales department and with customers.

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

Project Management Skills

Project management skills are also technical skills. But also, these skills can be part of the other category of skills — human or interpersonal skills that we will cover in the following paragraphs of this article. This is important because project management will require technical skills. Also, they will need skills to manage and work with people to implement the project most efficiently.

Anything you do that is limited in time, money or other resources with a clear goal in mind can be considered a project. As you can see, these skills are not related only to your professional life. Still, there are also many projects in your private life. So, these management skills are essential for your development as a person and then as a business owner and manager. With project management skills, you will design the project plan, organize, lead, and control the implementation.

Other Technical Skills

There are also other technical skills like sales management skills, product manager skills, operation management skills, business development skills, risk management skills, financial management skills, etc. Additionally, other required technical skills include event management skills, retail management, wholesale management, supply chain management skills, etc. These managerial skills are part of technical management skills.

As you can see, all of these skills are related to doing specific things in the company.

Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills present the 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 conceptual skills?

First, a company includes more business elements, such 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.

Strategic Thinking Skills

An essential part of management skills in conceptual skills is strategic thinking. You need to see things that others don’t see. You need to plan ahead and improve your tactics based on what you have experienced and learned.

Analytical Skills

Analytical skills are also part of conceptual skills. You need to be analytical to make the right decisions. This is the ability to see something in numbers, relate different information, and bring conclusions depending on that.

Entrepreneurial Skills

Here are also entrepreneurial skills that can help you make your vision a reality. Abstract ideas, connecting the dots, and changing the world are only a tiny portion of the abilities that entrepreneurial skills will bring you.

Human or Interpersonal Managerial Skills

Human management skills are related to managing critical social processes inside the company. These 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. They are essential skills for managers on all hierarchical levels in the company.

Conflict Management Skills

The most crucial human management skills are conflict resolution skills or conflict management skills. As your business grows, you will start having more complex ways of doing things. Also, you will have more team members with different competencies and skills. But they will not always agree on all important stuff. It is usual for them to disagree on many topics and have a conflict between them. So, conflict is a reality in most organizations, and conflict resolution skills are an essential part of management skills.

Disagreements and conflict are normal and healthy until some point. You need to manage them in the right way. Because of that, you as a manager will need to allow such conflicts. Conflicts that will make better decisions and better ways of doing things. But, after some point, the conflict will become counterproductive for the company’s performance (look at the image below).

Communication Skills

Another vital skill set is related to communication skills. All managers will need to communicate with customers, team members, partners, investors, stakeholders, etc. Communication is an everyday job for managers. You can not manage without communicating with your team members. So, you need communication skills. These skills are also part of human or interpersonal management skills.

Negotiation Skills

In addition to communication skills, there are also negotiation skills. This is a valuable skill in all fields of your life, not only in business or politics. As a manager, you will need to become an exceptional listener first. Also, be more analytical, and ready to find a professional and fair compromise as an outcome of your negotiation process. These are also managerial skills that you will need in your entrepreneurial career.

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork skills are also critical here. Why? Working in a team provides much better utilization of different skills of team members. It is a great learning possibility. Teamwork will help you in increasing your company’s effectiveness and performance. So, you need excellent teamwork skills if you want to be a real manager.

Delegation management, employee relationship management, customer relationship, partnership management, stakeholder management, effective team management, and coaching and training are traditional interpersonal management skills. All of these skills are related to creating and dealing with interpersonal relationships inside and outside the company.

Self-Management Skills

Self-management skills are another important skill not only for managers but for everyone. These skills will help managers to lead themselves in their management tasks.

Time Management Skills

One of the most important self-management skills is time management skills. Time management is the personal ability to organize and prioritize time. Your productivity will become the mirror of your organization’s productivity. According to Mintzberg, managers:

“appreciated the opportunity cost of their own time, and they were continually aware of their ever-present obligations—mail to be answered, callers to attend to, and so on. It seems that a manager is always plagued by the possibilities of what might be done and what must be done.”

– Mintzberg

Time management means doing the right task, in the right way, and at the right time. So, you will not procrastinate, do the most priority tasks on time, and bring more time to your life. In such a way, you will avoid frustration and will start feeling more fulfilled.

So, generally speaking, time management skills will:

• Help you with how to schedule your own time,
• How to make prioritization,
• Increase your own individual productivity,
• Help you start with delegation
• Help you to know how you spend your time.

Adaptability Skills

Another skill worth mentioning here is adaptability skills. Today, we are living in a world that is changing rapidly on an everyday basis. The skillsets and competencies that you possess today will become obsolete tomorrow. That’s the fact. You need to be an adaptable person. Learning and experiencing different management skills will help you in growing your company.

Are There More Managerial Skills

These are the three necessary skills required for successful management as a process. Some authors also mention other skills related to management skills. But, when I think about it, they are simply part of these three types of primary skills.

Let’s take the example of controlling skills. Controlling can’t be a skill but rather a process or one of the managerial functions. Managers are controlling their employees through the interpersonal skills that we already described. Another additional skills that I find in theory are decision-making skills. Again, decision-making is a process and not a skill. When we have conceptual skills, we will make better decisions. Furthermore, when we have technical skills, we will make better technical decisions. All managers will need technical, conceptual, interpersonal management skills and self-management skills.

In the end, I want to note something about managerial skills and business potential energy. Better management skills in your company will produce more considerable business potential energy. So, these three types of skills are in the category of business elements that can increase your business potential energy.

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