This article throws light upon the three main skills that a manager should have. The skills are: 1. Conceptual Skills 2. Human Skills 3. Technical Skills.
1. Conceptual Skills:
These skills refer to mental ability of managers to integrate the organisation’s internal environment with its external environment. It is the ability to analyse the organisation and integrate its parts with each other and the organisation as a whole.
Managers at top levels have conceptual skills to analyse environmental opportunities, exploit them gainfully and relate them with the internal system. Managers should be knowledgeable and imaginative to use these skills as they help to frame and implement organisational plans and policies.
It requires skills such as thinking globally, anticipating environmental opportunities and threats, empowering people, creating a shared vision, building teamwork, promoting change management and transformational leadership, appreciating workforce diversity in the global business environment etc. Adding a new product line, deleting an existing product or entering into international markets, requires conceptual skills.
2. Human Skills:
Managers at all levels have human skills to deal with people as individuals, groups and team. These skills comprise the ability to work with and understand people in the organisation. Managers at different levels pass orders to the subordinates keeping in view their ability to carry out those orders.
They also interact with their superiors and peers and therefore, apply these skills to understand and analyse their behaviour. They help to gain confidence of others, to work as a team and co-operate with each other.
Management is the art of getting things done through others. This can be done when one uses human skills to understand the needs, behaviour and desires of others. It aims at building a cooperative team environment in the organisation where people respect each other’s needs and coordinate them with needs of the organisation.
3. Technical Skills:
These skills require the ability to use tools and techniques in one’s area of specialisation. It requires specialised knowledge to perform a task, be it computer operation or operating a machine. Managers possess technical skills to perform manufacturing operations or public administration.
It requires knowledge of procedures and methods to perform various jobs and give instructions to subordinates to carry out the procedures. Managers at lower levels possess highest degree of technical skills. They deal with actual operations at the work place and, thus, technical skills help them to issue instructions, develop congenial environment at the work place, promote productivity by effectively working with tools and equipment’s and create the sense of belongingness amongst them.