Management News
How a Lack of Interpersonal Skills Holds Leaders Back  Two years after Gerry was promoted to manager, he was promoted to a director position, both advancements based
on his technical expertise. Now, as Vice President, he’s wondering what's wrong. His boss is questioning his abilities — not his technical abilities, but the ones that never mattered to anyone before. At least not that Gerry knew about. Skills such as leading a group, consensus decision-making, holding productive meetings, teambuilding, motivating and coaching
others, and so forth. Everyone knows that Gerry is really good at what he does, but he’s not good at working with people.
What happened to him? Is it his fault that the rules or expectations have changed? Or was he so “valuable” that management knowingly put up with his leadership weaknesses until those weaknesses became glaring? Often, management does nothing to improve a high performing individual’s “interpersonal skills” until it’s almost too late. One reason is that such people are valuable because of what they know about the inner workings of the company. To spend time developing their “interpersonal” skills would take time away from their work and affect their productivity. Or so management thinks. I think the lack of interpersonal skills becomes important to companies when there is a management change at the top and interpersonal skills are now valued, or when bottom-line results are affected, actual productivity slows, people leave because of the way they are treat-ed by their manager, or the company’s innovation is stifled. Although there are many undeveloped inter-personal skills that hold leaders back, I’m going to focus on five areas that I think are critical for a leader to be effective in today’s work environment. Five Critical Skill Areas
Listening allows the leader to hear both the content of the message and the unspoken words through the tone of the voice — apprehension, tension, or enthusiasm. A good listener responds with empathy, letting the person know they have been heard. Good listening does not mean that the leader agrees with what has been said or will change his or her mind on an issue. Respect for the individual Sometimes respect can be shown in the simplest ways: recognizing a person when you pass them in the hallway, answering their email or voicemail messages, asking them about their families or work, letting them know why their work made or didn’t make the grade. Communication Another interpersonal skill is communicating the why of a decision and not just the decision itself (the what). Frequently, we are so eager to get the information out to people that we for-get or don’t think it’s important for them to know the why. Communicating means informing people of a situation before they hear it through the rumor mill. It also means holding staff or team meetings (physically, telephonically, or electronically) on a regular basis at which you and the team members share information about the group, as well as the company’s strategies and results. Celebrating the differences in people In a group there is a potential for eight different preferences. That variety requires interacting with people differently to maximize their ability to contribute to the group. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator helps to frame the reason for celebrating our differences and using those differences for the good of the team/company. The following help in the areas of communication, listening, and showing respect.
“Some people must have time to look around them, before, behind, on the right hand, and on the left, and then to think, and after all this to resolve. Others see at one intuitive glance into the past and the future, and judge with precision at once. But remember you can’t make thirteen clocks strike precisely alike at the same second.” Inspiring and motivating people to action The quickness of change requires leaders to touch the imagination of people so that they will embrace and commit to a change. Leaders have to paint the picture for people so they can “see” the future, a picture that sparks the imagination and the soul of people to be part of the new way. Recognizing the work of people also lets them know that you and the company value them, which motives them to do their work even better. A leader will coach people to ensure that they under-stand the process and the change in behavior that is necessary, or to create avenues to continue to use the person’s strengths. Sharing your enthusiasm and confidence in the company, a change, or the work of your group helps to foster an where people want to come to work to do their best. So what about Gerry? His first step is to acknowledge the importance of interpersonal skills in leadership responsibilities. Then, obtaining education, training, and maybe some coaching on the five critical skills will leapfrog him to be the leader that business demands he be.
Certainly a leader needs a clear vision of the organization and where it is going, but a vision is of little value unless it is shared in a way so as to generate enthusiasm and commitment.
– Claude Taylor |