Technical skills are more important for first line managers compared to top managers.

Business owners are entrepreneurs until they become managers. When they become managers, they will feel frustrated because they will need to deal with new problems like managerial problems. And management is not a simple task. It needs knowledge and experience.

Because of that, there is the existence of hierarchy, organisational structure and possibilities for each organizational member with adequate knowledge, experience and skills to move from the bottom to the middle and top level of the managerial pyramid.

What are managerial skills?

Simply, managerial skills are the knowledge and ability of the individuals in a managerial position to fulfil some specific management activities or tasks. This knowledge and ability can be learned and practiced. However, they also can be acquired through practical implementation of required activities and tasks. Therefore, you can develop each skill through learning and practical experience as a manager.

When we talk about managerial skills, we talk about the skills of a manager to maintain high efficiency in the way how his or her employees complete their everyday working tasks. Because of that, managers will need skills that will help them to manage people and technology to ensure an effective and efficient realisation of their working duties.

Types of managerial skills

Robert Katz identifies three types of skills that are essential for a successful management process:

• Technical skills

• Conceptual skills

• Human or interpersonal management skills

Technical skills

As the name of these skills tells us, they give the manager knowledge and ability to use different techniques to achieve what they want to achieve. Technical skills are not related only for machines, production tools or other equipment, but also they are skills that will be required to increase sales, design different types of products and services, market the products and services, etc.

Technical skills are most important for first-level managers. Whet it comes to the top managers, these skills are not something with high significance level. As we go through a hierarchy from the bottom to higher levels, the technical skills lose their importance.

Conceptual skills

Conceptual skills present knowledge or ability of a manager for more abstract thinking. That means he can easily see the whole through analysis and diagnosis of different states. In such a way they can predict the future of the business or department as a whole.

Conceptual skills are vital for top managers, less critical for mid-level managers and not required for first-level managers. As we go from the bottom of the managerial hierarchy to the top, the importance of these skills will rise.

Human or interpersonal managerial skills

Human or interpersonal management skills present a manager’s knowledge and ability to work with people. One of the most critical management tasks is to work with people. Without people, there will not be a need for the existence of management and managers.

These skills enable managers to become leaders and motivate employees for better accomplishments. Additionally, they help them to make more effective use of human potential in the company. Simply, they are essential skills for all hierarchical levels in the company.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog post on the three types of managerial skills. If you are thinking about studying in Germany, PFH offers a Master’s Degree in General Management. While if you are interested in being even more international, we also offer dual degree programmes, where you study part of your time in New York, London, Bordeaux or even Australia and receive two degrees.

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First-line managers play vital roles in any organization. They supervise employees and report to senior managers about the day-to-day operations of the business. If you're looking to hire a first-line manager or promote an existing employee, be sure to clearly outline the responsibilities and required skills so that they are set up to succeed.

The primary function of first-line managers is to oversee their department and its employees. They are responsible for ensuring that their team meets the objectives of the organization, according to Lumen Learning. They are deeply connected to business operations because they work directly with frontline or junior-level employees.

One of their responsibilities is to work with their department to set goals and develop operational plans to achieve them. They may be involved in setting targets, tracking metrics, developing schedules, and making sure employees are staying on track, according to State University.

Part of their role involves communicating regularly with middle managers or executives and keeping them up to date on the progress of their department or project. If a team is running behind schedule, the first-line manager informs their supervisor and works to get the project back on track.

First-line managers may also be involved in the hiring, onboarding and training of employees. They may lead training on specific tasks, projects or technology to ensure that their team has the information they need. First-line managers usually conduct performance evaluations for each of their team members and provide suggestions on areas of improvement.

Offering motivation, encouragement and support to their team members is also an essential part of the role. First-line managers are also responsible for liaising with other departments to ensure that the company’s objectives are all aligned.

A first-line manager needs excellent communication skills. They explain the company's goals in terms that their team can understand and relate to. First-line managers also break down complex schedules or detailed instructions into information that their team can apply to day-to-day operations. Conversing with upper management means that first-line managers need to be proficient in business terms and confident when discussing metrics, profits and productivity.

The Center for Creative Leadership believes that one of the most important competencies a first-line manager needs to master is the ability to motivate others. The key function of their role is to ensure their team effectively completes its tasks to achieve company goals. If the employees are not inspired or motivated, their productivity may suffer. As a result, first-line managers should recognize and reward their team members' contributions and motivate them to excel with incentives.

The manager's performance is tied to their team's performance, notes Business Insider. First-line managers need to shift their focus to helping their team succeed, which, in turn, helps them succeed. In addition, first-line managers need to be agile and flexible. When the directives they receive from executives change as a result of market shifts, a first-line manager must quickly develop a new plan and implement it with the team. They also help their employees understand objective changes and how they affect day-to-day operations.

A successful first-line manager exemplifies model behavior and takes deadlines and production schedules seriously to show the team how important it is to complete their tasks on time. The quality of the team's work is influenced by the quality of the first-line manager's work; managers cannot cut corners when working on a project. A top manager definition includes being willing to learn about new processes and resources and listening to feedback from junior employees.

1. “Skills of managers would differ in different managerial levels” In organizations there are different kinds of managers. They could be categorised into the following. (Figure 1) Top Level Managers: They are responsible for making organisation-wide decisions and establishing the goals and plans that affect the entire organisation. Middle Level Managers: All levels of management between the first-line level/top level of the organisation. Figure 1 First Level Managers: The lowest level of management, and manage the work of non-managerial employees A skill is an ability to translate knowledge into action that results in a desired performance. Robert Katz divides the essential managerial skills into three categories—technical, human,…show more content…
| Middle managers at HSBC are MO’s (Manager operations), AVP’s (Assistant Vice President Operations) they are responsible for the performance of the AMO’s and their direct reports. | Centre manager is the top management of the organization. All strategic decisions and change initiatives are directed by the centre manager. | Technical skills | * At HSBC the AMO’s should have a good understanding of the job role; for an example they should learn how to process customer information such as the executive who reports to him and also they are given a lot of hands on training. * They should know how to use each specialized equipment, techniques and procedures such as database management, spreadsheet analysis, presentation software, e-mail and electronic networks | * Middle managers should posses’ technical skills but the degree of which is lower compared to the frontline managers. * They oversee frontline managers and allocate resources. | * The degree of technical skills are very much lower at the top level of HSBC | | * | * | | | * | | | | * Analytical ability is also one of the must have technical skill for frontline managers. They are required to analyse trends in the work load and to solve specific issues such as revenue efficiency, staff allocation etc. for their respective team, not for the whole department. * They coordinate different activities and mainly manage day to day activities and are concerned only