The skills needed to be a successful  manager!!

Many people wrongly presume that to be a good  manager you only need to know the technology you are managing inside out. Whilst this is no doubt important it is only a small part of the formula for success, there are a number of other factors which are as important, if not more so to be successful.

People skills (Interpersonal skill )

This ranks amongst the most important skills, as your job as a manager will be to supervise other staff as well as liaise with other managers and departments within the organisation. You will not be able to motivate and direct your staff or interact successfully with other managers if you do not have good communication and people skills.

A key part of the job will be selecting and building the right team. As a manager you will not always have the answer to everything but by building a strong team and combining efforts and resources the right solution will always be available.

Financial skills ( analytical skill )

A good IT manager must be able to understand the financial climate in which their organization is operating. They also need to know what the financial goals of their organisation are and how the spend on IT fits into this. Also critical will be their ability to see how manager can actually help achieve these goals both from the point of providing competitive edge and in reducing costs.

In such a cost conscious world the IT manager must be able to justify their budget and also know how to couch requests for additional budget by utilising standard financial metrics such as return on investment and payback etc.

Strategic skills ( analytical skill )

The ability to think strategically and understand what the organisation�s future goals are, as well as the current ones, is an important factor that is sometime overlooked by managers. It is too easy to get sucked into current problems and projects and fail to see the longer term picture.

By understanding the current and future business needs it helps to position the IT department as an important player in the future of the organisation and allows you to take a more proactive role in deciding future strategy, rather than being asked to react to requirements you had no hand in formulating.

Political skills (analytical skill )

This is always a tricky one as you need to develop these skills without being seen by others as a political player because this can be counter-productive. Office politics can be an obstacle or an asset, depending on how you use them. Either way it is important that you understand what the political landscape is like within your organisation. In many cases a lot of this information can be discovered by listening-to and observing your peers and/or their staff.

-presentation skills (managment skill )

A Presentation is a fast and potentially effective method of getting things done through other people. In managing any project, presentations are used as a formal method for bringing people together to plan, monitor and review its progress.