Large or small organizations, whether focused on business or non-profit, need good managers. Both at the general level and at the level of smaller teams or departments specialized in certain functions. But what management skills are required to coordinate a team or project successfully? Whether you're already been a manager for a couple of years, whether you want to become a manager or progress to the next level of management, in this article, you will find out how methodologies such as 6 Sigma can help you become a good manager and improve the performance of your business.

Management: What Is it?

Management is the administration, organization, and coordination of an organization, a team, a project, or a department. Or, said management is the art of getting things done with other people. It involves working with people in a team, communication skills, decision-making, analytical thinking, big-picture perspective, and the ability to set directions and goals and track their progress. The role of a manager can be seen as a career step to aspire to, but every role in a team or organization has its importance. You can be a good specialist and professional in what you do, but the manager role doesn't suit you or doesn't fulfill you.

Knowing yourself well is essential before deciding if you want such a role. But at the same time, management skills, like other skills, can be learned and developed through practice, attention, and study of methodologies such as 6 Sigma, feedback, and communication. Strategic planning is a first step that involves imagining/visualizing a future state for the organization/project/department and developing strategies, objectives, and action plans to achieve it. There are numerous techniques to approach an organization's strategy. Whichever tool you choose, document your use and, above all, choose goals relevant to the organization in the long, medium, and short term.

Before setting new goals for your organization, it is helpful to do such an exercise, especially if you involve team members who can come up with new, varied, and valuable perspectives. In any industry, you have competitors vying for the same audience's attention and offering services to fill your needs. It is essential to know who your direct and indirect competitors are, what they do better than you, as well or less well, and to clarify how you differentiate yourself from them. There are a few ways to approach the strategic planning 6 Sigma process, most of which are similar in steps.

Resource Allocation and Control

That involves determining the distribution and availability of people, assets, materials, or financial capital to achieve organizational objectives and organizing financial and administrative assessments. The resources you have available to achieve a goal or to implement a project are essential factors to consider. Sometimes, these may be previously set by top management, but in many situations, you must be involved in developing them. It is essential to have some basic financial notions to estimate the actual costs of a project correlated with achieving its objectives.

Regarding the establishment, organization, and monitoring of budgets, there is no need to take sophisticated financial management 6 Sigma courses (perhaps at a more advanced level of control, they can also help). However, you can still use already existing online tools. Administrative activities may or may not fall within your role as a manager. Of course, you can easily delegate them to your team, but this essential skill is vital to being a good manager. That involves performing administrative tasks such as preparing reports, ordering supplies, maintaining email correspondence, and ensuring the efficiency of organizational systems, processes, and databases.

The Level of Complexity of Administrative Activities

That can increase as you progress into a management role, and it is essential to be organized and able to take over some tasks when the team lacks sufficient resources or knowledge, as well as be able to spot inefficiencies when they occur and to be able to flag and resolve them. This skill is usually developed through practice, specific to the organization and industry in which you work. If you are coming into a management role from the same field or organization, you already know how to implement administrative activities. To grow and improve, you can turn to 6 Sigma courses.

Leadership and motivation of team members involve reinforcing an organization's vision and inspiring and maintaining the enthusiasm of others to achieve positive results. The focus is on the skills to motivate and inspire others rather than managing and supervising a team. Some say leadership skills are innate, while others say you can grow and develop them. There may be natural aspects of your personality that help you be a good leader, but you can grow. To create this skill, you can participate in a leadership workshop.

It may seem like an outdated recipe, but interaction with well-trained trainers and learning some leadership methods through 6 sigma practice at training can be an excellent way to give you a start in this subject. Search for and identify suitable training by asking for feedback from those who have attended such courses. At your own pace, you can learn online through an approach made by experts in the field. Many methods are available, so see if you find something that suits you.

Talk to a Coach with Extensive Leadership Experience

Involve your team in decision-making, give them a free hand to make decisions too, regularly talk one-on-one with them, ask for and give feedback honestly, take their opinions into account, and implement them. You will be a leader who motivates and inspires. Naturally, closely related to the last point in the previous paragraph, an inspirational leader knows how to build a strong team. This skill involves encouraging team members, building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation relationships, and stimulating team-building activities.

Whether you informally find an acquaintance who can be your mentor or a manager in the organization or choose to turn to an online coach or mentor through 6 Sigma, this type of one-on-one interaction can be very useful for discussing challenges that you face and identify how you can work on being an inspirational and motivational leader. Many leadership books can help you become a more inspirational manager for your team. Talk honestly and openly with the team. Share the long-term vision, how it was set, and how decisions are made.

Publication: 15/09/2023 08:29