People Management Skills for Managers – What It Is & Why It Matters

“Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, and how you leave others feeling after an experience with you becomes your trademark”.

People management is more than overseeing others. It is the process of developing, leading, and supporting others to achieve organizational and personal goals. To manage people, you must develop connections with your team members.

What is People Management?

It refers to practices, skills, and strategies adopted by leaders to lead, motivate, and support their team members. People management encompasses the entire spectrum from hiring to onboarding to conflict resolution, performance management, and personal development.

Basically, it is about understanding others – how they work, what motivates them, and how to create a thriving organizational culture.

What are the Five C’s of People Management?

1. Create – Each team member must fit into their role. The key elements include hiring, training, and establishing limits to have an appropriate team structure. This ensures each individual works with maximum efficiency within a disciplined framework.
2. Comprehend – To ensure efficient people management, leaders must understand every individual who makes up the entire team. Recognizing that each person is different having unique aptitudes and personalities, helps to foster growth through active listening, empathy, and a people-first mindset.
3. Communicate – Team success greatly depends on effective communication. Offering proper channels and feedback encourages people to communicate honestly without any hesitation, which further enhances their engagement.
4. Collaboration – Leaders must encourage their people to work together to deliver smarter and stronger results. Individuals who collaborate add value within the organization to achieve company goals and objectives.
5. Confront – Managers must handle differences in a healthy manner to ensure negativity and resentment does not prevent team collaboration and work. They must acknowledge, address, and face conflicts in a constructive manner to prevent issues from further escalation.

What are People Management Skills for Managers?

1. Communication – An important people management skill for managers is effective communication. Leaders must be capable of communicating goals and ideas in a way that motivates others while ensuring team members collaborate to develop the best outcomes.
2. Empathy – This is one quality that every manager must possess. It empowers managers to understand other people’s emotions and viewpoints. Active listening enables leaders to comprehend individuals’ challenges, concerns, motives, and strengths to empower and encourage team members.
3. Honesty – To build a team that feels mutual respect requires honesty in both favorable and unfavorable situations. This encourages honest and open communication within the team without the fear of repercussions.
4. Patience – Often, managers may feel challenged, especially when things aren’t going according to plan. Ensuring they control their emotions and remain patient with a positive mindset in challenging situations helps develop relationships and trust within the team.
5. Problem-solving – Leaders have to address problems regularly. There will always be issues that need resolution and an effective manager is able to identify problems and solve these before they escalate to larger issues. Having an eye for details is an important people management skill required to become an effective manager.

How to Manage People in Challenging Circumstances?

1. Difficult People – Leaders must stay calm and separate the person from their behavior. They must listen actively to identify the root cause while setting clear boundaries and expectations.
2. Manipulative People – Maintaining accurate records of conversations brings accountability. Managers must stick to the facts ensuring they keep their emotions in control. Reinforcing boundaries consistently and seeking professional support when needed helps to manage people in challenging situations.
3. Negative People – While managing people with a negative attitude, leaders must focus on the solutions and not the complaints. They must recognize real concerns and challenge unhelpful attitudes to encourage a growth mindset and reinforcement positivity.
4. Resistant People – Today, the business environment is dynamic and dealing with people who resist change is very challenging for modern-day leaders. Managers must acknowledge the fears of such individuals and offer clarity. When possible, including resistant team members in the change process helps alleviate their fear. Finally, offering support and reinforcing the benefits of changes helps manage team resistance to dynamic situations.

Managers who understand their leadership style and team members are capable to apply people management skills in a more effective manner. Investing in development and learning, seeking feedback from peers and mentors, and applying various frameworks and tools can help managers acquire such skills.

Ready to learn more? Check out our leadership management training programs to develop, hone, and perfect your people management abilities. Get in touch with our experts today.