5 Manager Competencies Contributing to Achievement

Managers rely on 5 competencies that contribute to collective success.

1.     Translating the Strategy Into Actions

Translating the strategy into actions means developing plans and making operational decisions, and mobilizing employees who will implement them. Managers implement this by:

·        Understanding the company’s strategy and sharing it with their employees.

They keep their team informed of the company’s strategic direction and decisions. They explain the impacts of these decisions on the team’s activities. They allow every employee to speak up and raise questions.

·        Organizing their team’s work.

They provide clear and concrete directives that are applied to individual and collective missions. They identify performance indicators. They define responsibilities, schedules, and processes. They ensure that everyone is aware of these factors and understands them.

·        Making sure that action plans are implemented.

They explain their decisions and ensure that action plans are implemented, They communicate with other managers regarding the impact of action plans on their respective activities.

·        Supporting their employees in the execution of their work.

They are close to their teams and support them, particularly at critical moments. They advise them and provide the suitable expertise and resources needed for success.

·        Providing their management and peers feedback.

To positively influence behaviors, they provide candid and objective feedback to their management and peers.

2.     Delivering the Expected Results

Delivering the expected results means reaching the managerial, financial, business, and technical targets on time, while ensuring the utmost safety and security. It means meeting the expectations of internal and external customers. Managers implement this by:

·        Setting an example in terms of safety and security.

At their respective level, they guarantee that the company’s safety and security standards are met. They share these standards and explain their meaning. They supervise the application and strict observation of safety and security rules, and continuously measure the performance and progress of their team.

·        Defining goals that are realistic, yet ambitious.

They share the goals set by their own management with all their employees. Together with their teams, they set SMART targets that are congruent with others in the company. They plan and specify the results and deliverables.

·        On a daily basis, managing the activities in an efficient manner.

They are in regular contact with their teams to assess the state of progress of the action plans. They share the state of progress with their management and flag any difficulties encountered. They are capable of looking beyond their own scope to find the competencies and resources required to achieve the targets. They develop their internal and external networks.

·        Mobilizing their teams.

They are close to their team and build strong relationships with team members. They explain the actions taken. They encourage initiative. With each employee, they review their achievements and contributions to the objectives and the progress of the projects.

·        Anticipating and providing solutions.

They list to and take account of the information escalated by their team and their customers. They are flexible, adaptable and show a sense of initiative when faced with unforeseen events, and they seize opportunities. They continuously assess their own actions and decisions in order to improve their team’s practices and performance.

·        Permanently bearing their customers’ expectations in mind.

They know their internal and external customers, and share their customers’ expectations with their team. They develop constructive relationships with their customers. They keep their promises to satisfy their customer and create opportunities for new business.

 

3.     Leading Change

Leading change means making decisions and implementing the actions required to achieve the company’s ambitions. Most of all, it means mobilizing all of the stakeholders affected by these changes. Managers implement this by:

·        Embracing and explaining the need for change.

They personify the will to change. They share this will with their teams and all stakeholders. They make the reasons for the change clear – for them and with them. They explain the background and constraints (financial, human, time-related). And they ensure understanding.

·        Defining the target and the means of making the change.

They qualify the nature of the change to made: new working methods, a new organization, new tools, etc. They analyze the impacts, risks, and opportunities of the change. They plan the stages of the change. They identify and involve they key players of the changes inside and outside their team, before the project is launched.

·        Organizing and driving action plans.

They know and have expertise in the proven change management tools and methods, and use the tools and methods best suited to the situation. They make sure that the tools are suited to the expected results.

·        Working side-by-side with their teams on the operational implementation of the transformation.

They listen to their teams and regularly adjust their actions. They are able to call working and management methods into question. Together with their teams, they design, and implement suitable solutions and support their teams throughout the change.

·        Identifying opportunities and overcoming any obstacles to change.

They stay close to their teams, are pragmatics, flexible, and persevering. They do not lose heart, even when faced with resistance or disinterest. They accept the risks of the change.

·        Taking stock of the reality of the change and the effects of the transformation.

They measure the progress of the projects and make sure that they produce technical results (the quality of the solution) and engage stakeholders and achieve customer satisfaction. They inform their teams of these results.

4.     Developing Teams

Developing teams means creating conditions in which everyone can make progress. It means giving objective and regular feedback to every team member on performance, competencies and potential to develop. Managers must identify and develop talents. They recognize and value the diversity of their employees. They propose professional development actions. Managers implement this by:

·        Creating conditions conducive to collective performance.

They foster team spirit and collaborative working. They organize their team according to the group’s goals. They listen to their peers’ opinion of their teams.  They set up development plans that match competencies to required targets. They value diverse profiles, backgrounds, and experience.

·        Managing and recognizing induvial performance.

Their assessments of their employees’ competencies and performance are clear and objective. They allow room for errors while addressing inappropriate behavior and poor performance. They support their employees. They applaud success and encourage progress.

·        Contributing to the professional development of their employees.

They assign missions in which their employees can succeed and reveal their full potential. They encourage employees to play an active role in their own professional development. They give their employees the means of enriching their competencies and expertise through training, new missions, and challenges.

·        Favoring their employees’ mobility.

They build career paths with team members and support their mobility. With a focus on internal hires, they engage with other mangers to facilitate mobility.

·        Establishing quality dialog with all their employees.

They build trusting relations with each individual, built on transparency. They prefer direct discussions. They take part in the life of the team. They develop cross-functional cooperations and exchanges of experience and best practices with other managers.

5.     Encouraging Creativity

Encouraging creativity means proposing, nurturing, and implementing innovative ideas. It means creating a climate conducive to innovation and developing creative and original ideas that continuously improve the team’s performance and service to its customers. Innovation is a lever for the creations of value. Managers implement this by:

·        Proposing new solutions.

Managers support innovation in every field: technical, organizational, commercial, social, etc. They regularly and constructively call existing practices into question, to facilitate new ideas and solutions. They step back and think about their professional practices and those of their employees.

·        Encouraging and congratulating initiatives.

They encourage their employees to voice their ideas. They implement tools and processes that encourage new ideas or practices. They actively listen to their employees’ suggestions, including suggestions that go beyond the established order. They widely share and discuss original ideas. They take the various points of view expressed inside and outside their team into consideration.

·        Contributing actively to the implementation of new ideas and encouraging the spirit of enterprise.

They allow and encourage ideas to mature. They make decisions quickly. They are able to find and allocate the necessary budgetary resources. They involve their employees in the implementation of new ideas. They keep track of progress.

·        Using innovation to leverage continuous improvement.

Together with the stakeholders involved, they assess the performance of new ideas that have been implemented. They accept failures and learn from them. They highlight successes and measure the impact of innovation on their activities. They reward the employees who came up with the new idea, and those who successfully implemented it.