Why do People management skills matter at the Workplace ?
It is perceived that technical and job related skills are sufficient to excel at one’s job and limit the challenges at the workplace - but that is a myth.
Understanding the importance and context of People skills at work :
Achieving workplace excellence is what all corporate workers aspire — but unfortunately it is far from from the truth that only your on-the-job skills can ensure a smooth sail at the workplace. There are many other factors that contribute greatly to have a effortless stint at the workplace and keep you climbing the cliched ‘corporate ladder’.
One of the top areas in this bucket which is very essential to workplace success is the subtle but powerful — people skills(interchangeably referred to as interpersonal or social skills).
Also another myth is that people management/people skills are only required for managers or those having people management responsibilities. But that is also far from reality- as everyone in the corporate world needs people skills. Whatever be the level in the corporate ladder that one operates at and regardless of being responsible for management of a team or not -people skills are essential to all corporate personnel.
Whether you lead a team or contribute independently (also called an Individual contributor (IC) role), you would inevitably work & interact with a team.
Also one would be responsible for delivering work by coordinating with a team and therefore one would need to master the Team management or team player skills.
If one is responsible for a team i.e. you have direct reports then possibly the team management aspect becomes more significant. Otherwise being a team player is definitely a foundation for any corporate workplace role.
Closer look at what differentiates Team management from Team player skills :
Team Player skills for a Non- Manager (Individual contributor role):
As called out above being a non- manager does not disqualify one from needing team or people skills. Though one may not be responsible to manage a team and may be contributing as an individual role, however the day-to-day work would still involve meetings and interacting with people, sharing or exchange of information, handoffs between members or teams, participating and contributing in team meetings, coordinating information to be able to deliver work.
Given all of the above it becomes imperative that one have robust people or social skills to be able to interact and work with the people in the organization at the different levels and layers to deliver outcomes. Also these skills come into play in order to meet the goals of the team and self goals.
Therefore an individual contributor would still need to be great at people management.
Team Management skills for a Manager :
For a Manager the team management skills become slightly more complex , as he/she has to not only be a team player — in the way of interacting with the team(s) they work with and other stakeholders ; but also as a manager who has to be responsible for the day and life of the people they have reporting to them . Therefore it can be said they need to supervise , set the goals and ensure the right career progression for their reporting team members.
Given this they have to be adept at the skills of managing the day to day activities of the team, their assignments, their goal setting for measuring performance, conducting one on one sessions to stay abreast of their actions, alleviating and solving their challenges , while providing them feedback regularly , and ensuring they meet their career aspirations.
Can ‘not’ having the right quality of people skills hurt one or pose challenges at work? :
Some might argue that people or social skills at the workplace are not a must- as one is not there to build a social network and are hired to do a job . Also in some scenarios it is perceived that having a sprinkling of the people skills — picked up and spruced up over the course of one’s career is sufficient to navigate the workplace situations and make it manageable at the workplace.
Contrary to this deep rooted misunderstanding passed down the generations- the people skills sometimes even trump the job or vocational skills in their importance.
For example — consider that you are top of the notch in your technical skills but fail to communicate effectively, be unable to share information effectively or on the other hand are not punctual e.g. perpetually late for work meetings or lacking team etiquette i.e. making personal/abusive comments etc. All of these can hurt your prospects at a career progression and do more damage that one can imagine, despite one being technically/vocationally astute.
And also consider an opposing situation — where someone is average at work and job skills, but due to having great people and interpersonal skills, possibly a great sense of humor or ability to build camaraderie — is able to jet set in his/her career by bridging the job skills gap over the years with experience.
Also the bottom-line is who would deny not enjoying a workplace which is conducive and effective at the same time. So the people skills aspect is becoming more important than ever!
How can one improve People management skills:
People management and team skills is no rocket science. And also one does not have to be a manager to know team management and vice versa i.e. if you are a manager it doesn’t imply you are already an amazing team management and people management skills. So this can truly be the quintessential chicken and egg problem- what comes first ??!! Or which is more important ?!
So where does one start ? While it being said that it is no rocket science , at the same time it is not as easy as a pie. Does one need to learn people management before qualifying to be a people manager and if so where can one learn and fortify these skills. There are plenty leadership courses which claim to teach these essential skills- but none really teach what's needed ‘on the ground’ i.e. on the day job for one to excel.
There are many resources available by the Gurus of this core area-who profess on the area of Workplace and Business culture. Some well known leaders in this area are Stephen C. Lundin, Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H Blanchard who have authored acclaimed books ‘Fish: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results’, ‘Who moved my Cheese’, ‘The One minute Manager’ etc- which all teach one how to first gain understanding of and then slowly master the aspect of people management.
By way of some day-to-day parable references — such as a ‘fish market’ in the book “Fish: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results’’ or ‘ a piece of cheese’ these workplace culture bibles guide one through how to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude to the job every day.
They help one to understand and explore the nuances of workplace dynamics of the people and teams , they lead people on how to make the workplace truly something you look forward to work in everyday and achieving astonishing outcomes ; all while enjoying every bit of the work you are doing! And therefore being good at people skills and enjoying one’s day job is is definitely both possible to achieve!
Also there is nothing like ‘practice makes perfect’- therefore having gained some understanding of people/social skills from the Gurus, one can then experiment and cement what works for them and what doesn’t at their workplace. This will help one to slowly refine and ace the people management function along with their vocational aptitude.
To sum up in a quote on people management by Peter Drucker- one of the Gurus and influential thinkers of Management :
“ Most of what we call Management is consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done”.
