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"How do I learn skills for people management? I want to move into management, but I'm having difficulty articulating why I think I can take on the responsibility since I've never managed people before."
Welcome to Ask a Coach. In this weekly column, I’ll answer the most common questions we get in career coaching sessions here at Career Contessa.
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5 People Management Skills to Master
The classic “How do I get the experience I need if I don't get my first opportunity?” dilemma.
This is all too common in the workplace. It can stem from leadership getting “burned” by promoting the wrong people into management in the past, or it can even be because there are simply not enough management positions for the number of people who are ready for that next step.
Regardless of the reasoning, a few key skills stand out in the best people managers. If you can master the below soft skills, and directly call them out in upcoming performance reviews or job interviews, then you’ll already be ahead of the game for the next management opportunity.
1. Time Management
One of the biggest adjustments when moving into management is that your schedule is no longer yours.
You now have to account for being pulled in more directions due to cross-functional meetings and any fire drills from your direct reports. The good thing about honing in on this skill is it’s arguably the easiest to practice before moving into management, because it’s something you’re already forced to do every day.
How To Practice Time Management Skills
If you’re in the groove of your current role, a good place to start is by forcing changes into your current schedule. Is there a project you’ve wanted to prioritize but haven’t had the time? Or even a lifestyle change you’ve been looking to make but haven’t been motivated to make the switch?
Anything you can do to break up your current schedule can shake up any monotony and help you start to flex the “planning for new priorities” muscle. This will look different based on the type of role you’re currently in, but here are a few tangible ways I’ve personally found success:
- Block off “do not book” time on your calendar, making space for unforeseen to-dos
- Commit to a new project, setting a specific number of hours per week
- Audit your current processes, locating any inefficiencies where you’re doing double work
Why it Matters
Showing that you can adjust your schedule helps position you as an agile worker. By molding (and re-molding) your schedule to fit new needs, you can show that you understand the power of prioritization.
Often, new people managers have no shortage of ideas for improving the business, but there is always a finite amount of time for any given priority. The real power lies in where you decide to focus.
If you can sharpen the skill of learning how to adjust your behavior based on priorities, you’ll demonstrate that you can effectively steer your larger team to do the same in a management role.
2. Giving Feedback
Shoutout to the other people-pleasing women in the workforce. Giving feedback, especially feedback that's critical in nature, can sound daunting. However, it’s another extremely important skill for not only being a good manager, but a valuable teammate in general.
Depending on the culture of your workplace, you may have infinite arenas to provide feedback. In other organizations, there is no real opportunity to give (and receive!) meaningful feedback. Regardless of the situation, there are ways to open feedback loops between everyone on the team.
How To Practice Giving Feedback
Start by looking for opportunities within your current role where you are already encouraged to provide feedback. Assess how you handle those moments. Are you taking advantage of the opportunity to share your perspective?
If so, are you doing it thoughtfully and with the receiver's best interest in mind? While giving feedback is an important first step, you want to ensure your insight feels thoughtful and rooted in good intentions.
If all that seems like a lot to weigh in your mind, try using these quick questions:
- Do I have a differing viewpoint that hasn’t been shared yet on this topic? This requires active listening to ensure if you are doubling up on someone's point, you're still adding your own perspective in as well.
- Does providing this feedback have the potential to create a positive outcome? Think: A better work environment, more revenue generated for our team, etc.
- Is there a place for me to provide this feedback in a way that feels appropriate? The last question is the most crucial, as you want to make sure the setting is right to have your feedback received in the best possible light.
A good rule of thumb: If you have constructive feedback, save it for a 1:1 setting versus calling anyone out in a group. If you find that you don’t have a place to provide feedback within your current role, bring it up to your manager as a growth area you’d like to work on as you track toward a management role.
Why it Matters
A large portion of day-to-day people management is feedback.
Working with cross-functional teams, advocating for more resources, or even hopping on a tough client call to support a team member all come down to ultimately giving and receiving feedback.
If you can master being comfortable with providing feedback in a manner that is clear, direct, honest, and kind, you will automatically start the practice of trust-building with your future direct reports.
3. Deep Empathy
I’ve always thought of empathy as a way to “read the room,” while I've heard other people use it interchangeably with emotional intelligence.
You don’t have to be the most warm, fuzzy, or doting personality. However, you must be aware of your team members and their perspectives.
This approach can apply to any part of management and any leadership style: how you evaluate someone in an interview, how you train a new employee, or how you handle tougher feedback conversations.
How To Practice
One of the easiest ways to understand someone’s perspective better is to get to know them in a deeper way.
This isn’t always an option, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish (you might not be able to become besties with the CEO). A surefire way to get to know anybody is by asking more questions. Most people enjoy talking about themselves and feel more “seen” when you take the time to ask them about their interests or opinions.
This doesn’t mean you need to go down the dreaded “What did you do this weekend?” path, but it does mean that you should prioritize hearing from your co-workers on a regular basis.
If you can set up regular 1:1’s with peers and skip-level managers, that’s an easy space to create and start to deepen the relationships. If you can’t set an ongoing touch base, here are some effective ways to naturally kick off more collaboration:
I love how you did [XYZ]! Can you walk me through how you came up with that approach?
As I start to focus more on [XYZ] in my role, is there anything you think I should keep top of mind based on your experience?
I’m really eager to help the team out more by doing [XYZ]. I know you’ve been a great resource for everyone in this arena. How has it been going, and is there anything I can help take off your plate?
As I start to focus more on [XYZ] in my role, is there anything you think I should keep top of mind based on your experience?
I’m really eager to help the team out more by doing [XYZ]. I know you’ve been a great resource for everyone in this arena. How has it been going, and is there anything I can help take off your plate?
Why it Matters
One of the best pieces of advice I got when I first moved into management was, “No one is going to be like you, and that’s okay.”
If you move into management after being a top performer, it can be tempting to think that your way of doing the job is the “right way” or that you have the “right answer” for any given problem.
There are many different ways to find success in any given role, and your job as a manager is to meet each team member where they are both literally and figuratively. If you can start to put time and effort into seeing other people’s perspectives, you’ll notice that you can be more strategic about your interactions, ultimately leading to a stronger relationship with your future team.
4. Critical Thinking
I’ve learned that many people get into management because of the desire to think “big picture” and really drive strategy, but finding the time to switch into “deep think” mode can be a challenge.
Outside of simply making the time to brainstorm, creative and critical thinking is also a muscle that needs to be strengthened over time and is normally built through conflict resolution.
How To Practice Critical Thinking
The definition of critical thinking is "the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue to form a judgment."
Depending on the speed at which you are currently working, there might not be too much room for analysis or evaluation of any kind. The sooner you can make time to practice your problem-solving skills, the sooner you'll be able to use the full spectrum of your work talents.
That might sound like a big promise, but if you've ever had a meeting-free day where you accomplished what felt like magical work, you know the power of deep thinking time.
My favorite way to get in the habit of critical thinking on a regular basis is to block time on my calendar before and after important calls. For example, if I know I'm going to hop on a client escalation call with a direct report, I'll make time to prepare for the call by digging into what's already happened in the client experience.
This prep work allows me to come to a tougher conversation with a deeper understanding of the historical context, which means we'll spend less time rehashing the details of what's gone wrong and more time improving the client's morale.
Why it Matters
When your critical thinking skills are improved, every aspect of your role will benefit. You have stronger communication skills because you've thoroughly analyzed the matter at hand. You'll also have a stronger sense of ownership over larger strategy decisions because you can be confident you've invested the appropriate amount of time and brainpower to make your ideas as bulletproof as possible.
5. Effective Pitching
Always be closing, always be pitching, or always be negotiating—the heart of the message is the same regardless of the words. At its core, people management involves pitching your case to so many different parties on any given day.
Whether you are explaining to your team why a goal is set the way it is or advocating for more resources from executive leaders, there is almost always an element of sharing why your idea or priority is worthwhile.
For anyone who shies away from “sales” jargon, I can clarify this isn’t the classic sales “schmoozing” you might be thinking of—it’s really just framing your needs and requests in a way that other people can easily understand.
How To Practice Effective Pitching
Odds are your current role already requires you to be pitching your ideas and needs. If you’re client-facing, you are constantly sharing why the client should buy into a service, invest their time into a program, or simply see the value in whatever it is you’re representing.
If you’re internal-facing, you are still pitching teammates anytime you are debating priorities or simply thinking through the best way to optimize a process. The key to practicing pitching is simply being aware that you are doing it and making sure you take a beat to assess how your pitches are being received.
A few things to consider in your self-evaluation:
- Is my request clearly understood? If you’re getting a lot of follow-up questions that you feel like you’ve already covered, there’s something that isn’t translating to the other party.
- Is there a sense of urgency for my request? If you’re asking someone to respond in any way, giving a reason to follow up in a timely manner will help make sure everything stays moving forward (even better if you can provide an actual deadline!)
- Am I leaving out important details? If you think of points you would have liked to bring up after the fact, note what they are. Practice preparing for your next pitching experience with those blind spots in mind.
Why it Matters
Mastering this skill allows you to communicate in the most effective and motivating manner for your team. Outside of the examples discussed above, as a manager, you’re often asked to think about performance reviews within the frame of a business case (e.g., how does promoting this person help our bottom line?)
The more metrics you can provide within your pitches, the more likely you will secure the “yes” you need to keep your team growing and thriving.
This skill rounds out our list because it’s also the one that encompasses all the other skills. For a successful pitch, you need to know how to use your time effectively, provide feedback in a way that is well received, lean on empathy as you craft the best angle, and use critical thinking to be strategic about your larger game plan.
Until Next Time!
Sending lots of support to any new or soon-to-be people managers!
I hope this skill deep dive provided a clear picture of effective people management in practice. If you have feedback on the Ask a Coach column, send it my way. If you want to discuss any of these topics with one of our career coaches, you can browse our directory here.
