The coronavirus pandemic has forced many people to switch to remote work, or to put it another way, telework. It triggered a blast of amendments, investments in digital infrastructure, structural transformations of cities, catering, and retail.
The McKinsey Global Institute suggests that after humanity overcomes the consequences of COVID-19, some firms will continue freeing up office space. It means that most companies will have to rethink their business processes if they haven’t done it yet. Moreover, in a world where all communication and transactions occur online, it matters whether a site is compliant with core web vitals for Magento or other platforms, implying the need for large-scale updates.
What’s for other fields and professions, the changes will foremostly affect management. In addition to traditional planning and budgeting competence as well as human resource administration, managers need to enhance their coping skills. In this article, we’ve collected six versatile abilities that are especially in demand for a manager in 2021.
What Skills Should a Manager Focus on in 2021
1. Creativity & Critical Thinking
The constantly renewing business world requires fresh approaches to yesterday’s problems. As a result, the modern environment makes managers discover modern inventive strategies to work. The reason for this is that predictability in competitive conditions will quickly lead to dawdling. Leaders should bear in mind that change and uncertainty are now the normal market states. And perhaps this state will be with us for a long time.
To adapt your company to such conditions, it is essential to generate fresh ideas, turn them into working concepts, create goals, and start moving towards them. Thanks to the creativity and critical thinking, a person becomes more open to inventive ideas and can go beyond the boundaries of stereotypes.
According to statistics, it is beginners who are most often successful in solving complex problems. Why is that? It’s all about a fresh look at the situation and a non-standard approach to its solution. Having developed creative thinking, the manager acquires the ability to adapt the business to modern conditions.
2. Agility & Adaptability
It is one of the essential knacks for a top manager and entrepreneur. Adaptability allows you to grapple with changes appropriately and proficiently and to convert them into unique opportunities.
Psychologists and anthropologists reckon adaptability as a skill of the future. A successful businessman knows how to modify his company to the constantly fluctuating conditions of the world. The most potent example is the pandemic, which in 2020 exposed the weaknesses of many offline companies that failed to adapt to the online format quickly.
Business always means risk, and it is vital for an entrepreneur not to lose and try unknown things. The most successful are always those who aren’t afraid to leave the state of a plateau from a calm comfort zone.
To develop adaptability, analyze situations from different angles, experiment, and pursue new development points of your business. And do this search regularly to improve various zones.
3. Handling Stress
Entrepreneurship, people, and project management is, above all, a hard row to hoe. As in any business, there can be many troubles on the way to a successful venture. In conditions of constant stress, the psychological stability of a top manager and a businessman is one of the fundamental qualities.
To become stress-resistant, first, you shouldn’t avoid stress. Second, it’s essential to learn to admit your failures. Being honest with yourself is the first step to learning from your mistakes. When you make an error, you need to understand that this experience helps you become stronger as a person, and your company will only benefit from it in the future.
Looking at the various photos and videos of industry leaders, you might get the impression that the path of the most successful people was ideal. However, this is a profound misconception. They also faced difficulties that eventually turned into prosperity. In the business world, people often face rejection, sometimes even ridiculous, but it is all part of the journey that leads to progression and improvement.
4. Allocating Time Correctly
Effectively managing one’s own and other people’s time is a prerequisite for developing the personal and professional qualities of a leader. Time is the most precious resource in an eventful world. The number of tasks increases, and there is less time to complete them.
Today, the market demands people do their job quickly and efficiently, regardless of complexity. Many tasks require concentration, diligence, and speed of decision-making. And at the same time, decisions must be effective.
In order not to waste time in vain, you should learn how to establish priorities. Analyze the amount of time spent on various tasks and try to minimize it. In the calendar, schedule tasks and appointments in minutes. Do not round up to hours if it isn’t necessary.
Plus, no manager can do all the work alone. Therefore, in order not to waste time, you need to delegate responsibilities to your subordinates. First, the manager thus focuses on the main details of various projects. It will help to avoid burnout and show what tasks employees perform more efficiently. Secondly, young employees will develop a skill set to become more promising and more experienced.
5. Self-Education
Many business processes become robotized in high gear. It is a fact that managers should take for granted. Accordingly, it puts your business, position, or the whole profession at risk. After all, some jobs are becoming a thing of the past.
If a professional doesn’t want to let nature take its course, they should constantly learn unknown skills, including alternative ways of thinking. Apart from adaptability and time management skills, leaders who reject changes tend to stagnate. In comparison, those who continue to learn, as a rule, progress in their careers.
Golden rule: successful entrepreneurs develop throughout their lives. It keeps them flexible to business changes. Those who strive for self-study are more sociable and active. They can generate non-standard ideas, aiming to bring the process and work to perfection. While not being afraid of public opinion. Such people get out of difficult situations faster and more competently, gaining unique, invaluable business experience.
Don’t be afraid to make bolder decisions, trying to generate the gained experience into action. Schedule time on your calendar for regular self-education and fulfill your goals.
6. Communication
Management activity cannot exist in the business world without effective communication. Verbally and non-verbally, everyone interacts with each other all the time. In a remote work environment, communication within a team can be difficult. To maintain the team’s climate, it is essential to listen to and hear every one of your subordinates.
Since it is more challenging to convey your thoughts through correspondence in messengers than with the help of emotions, facial expressions, gestures, intonation, it is crucial to take time to communicate with employees one on one. It will help convey your message clearly, resolve conflicts, and notice any possible triggers at the right time.
