Interpersonal skills and communication skills go hand in hand but are not the same thing. Communication skills involve your ability to convey an idea, but your interpersonal skills convey your ability to do such in a manner that is appealing. Your interpersonal skills define they way you interact with your employees. People with bad interpersonal skills usually have bad communication skills by default.

As a manager, you shoud constantly be striving to improve your interpersonal skills. Here are 5 things you can do to become better at dealing with your fellow managers, coworkers, and team members.

1. Pay attention to what others are saying and doing. Pay attention to your team members on both a professional and personal level. Is one of your team members having a difficult time – dealing with an illness or family tragedy? Is someone getting married or having a baby? Acknowledge both the ups and downs and show you appreciate them on all levels.
2. Keep smiling, no matter what is going on in your life. I know that sounds hard, but if you never smile, your friends and coworkers won’t want to be around you. Try to stay as positive in attitude as possible. Everyone understands a bad day. Just don’t make it a habit.
3. Adopt an active listening strategy. Repeat what was said in your response, look the person who is speaking to you in the eye, and offer positive responses. Make sure the people you are speaking with know you are paying attention and understand the actions you intend to take in response.
4. Practice empathy, or the ability to see a situation from someone else’s perspective. Even if you don’t agree with a situation, an empathetic response will prove you at least understand it.
5. Help to resolve any conflicts in your workplace as quickly as possible. If members of your team constantly bicker, bring them together and try to mediate the situation. The faster you diffuse tension the less likely it is to turn into a long-term situation.

Try your best to connect with the people you work with. Communicating is one thing – identifying with them as you communicate is another.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Let’s take a closer look at a manager’s interpersonal roles. As a manager, your interpersonal roles will be dictated by the type of position you hold. Lower level managers will have different interpersonal roles than middle management. The same goes for upper management as well. To review, the interpersonal roles of a manager include acting as a figurehead, acting as a leader, or acting as a liaison.

As a figurehead within your organisation you are responsible for doing work that some may consider flashy or ceremonial in nature. You do, of course, have dozens of administrative tasks but you’re also in the public and professional spotlight. You have to represent the company at business functions, take out of town business partners out to dinner, and sometimes even attend the private events of your employees.

As a leader you are responsible for making sure your employees are able to work in a safe and productive environment. The growth of your department and your employees rests on your shoulders and you have to be able to foster growth while at the same time avoiding conflict.

As a liason you must be prepared to communicate with others. You’ll not only have to report to upper management but will have to work with peers from other groups within your organisation, vendors, and even clients. The liason is responsible for knowing who to contact to resolve any situation.

It’s no secret that being a manager means you need to have extremely strong communication skills. Your ability to communicate effectively while working with people is paramount to your success.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Something we don’t necessarily talk about enough is your level of interpersonal skills. Your interpersonal skills dictate your ability to communicate and deal with other individuals on a regular basis. If you lack interpersonal skills you may find yourself labeled as difficult to communicate with, stubborn, aloof, or any of a number of negative descriptions.

In order to develop great interpersonal skills you need to focus on four main qualities. These can be summarised easily by remembering the STAR acronym.

• S = Sensitivity. You need to be aware of the different needs of each of the people on your team. No two people are alike, and each will need to be treated differently.
• T = Tolerance. Not everyone you work with will have the same beliefs. You need, especially as a manager, to be able to set aside your own personal beliefs so that you can objectively work with and understand the beliefs of your employees. Tolerance applies not only to cultural and religious beliefs but to individual work ethic as well (within reason, of course).
• A = Assertion. You’re the manager. You’re in charge. You have the final say. You don’t have to be arrogant or rude to get your point across but if you see something about to go wrong you do need to have the guts to stand up for yourself and your ideas.
• R = Restraint. We all have times where we want to say or do something inappropriate. You need to have the presence of mind to stop and think before speaking or taking action. If you need help, go back and brush up on some of your anger management tactics.

Get all four of these factors under control and you’re bound to build beautiful relationships with your team members and fellow managers. Let one slip and you may just find you aren’t necessarily a favourite within your office.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”<-->