Four Essential Skills Of a Competent Manager by Craig Wagener D. Optom, Ph.D., MBA, MCNEWhether your business provides goods or services, having a competent manager at the helm will significantly increase its success. In order to identify the skill set of a competent manager, ask these two questions: 1) What is the necessary skill set for the goods or services provided?and 2) Does the candidate possess positive leadership skills which will enhance and culminate in your organization achieving its goals?A competent manager must, at a minimum, possess these four essential skills:1.Be able to build an engaged team that can provide effective support.2.Coach and encourage the development of the necessary skill set.3.Motivate team members to positive performance.4.Encourage team members to lead in growth of the business through presenting individual ideas and theories.Engaging A Team:Engaged team members benefit a company in many ways, which include rare absenteeism, low turnover, low incidence of workplace accidents, high quality production of goods and services, desirable workplace atmosphere and camaraderie among team members; as engaged team members tend to take pride in their work product and company identity and readily report problems to supervisors.In fact research shows that there is 37% less absenteeism, 25% less in staff turnover, 48% less in on the job safety incidents, and 28% less in shrinkage.Shrinkage isa measure of how much time is lost in the business enterprise to things like vacation, breaks, lunch, holidays, sick time, training, etc.A competent manager builds engaged employees by:Listening with objectivity to team members desires and concerns and working with the team members to reach an amicable resolution.Demonstrate the importance of team members by being actively involved in day-to-day operations.Encourage team members by singling them out for praise for going above and beyond what is required.Act as liaison between upper management and team members to ensure that team members are well compensated for good performance.Coach Development:Promote personal growth.Provide superior continuous job training.Improve team member performance using positive motivation methods.Reward improved performance.A competent manager seeks to promote personal growth in his/ her team members; it demonstrates to the team member that the manager is genuinely interested in the teams success. Managers must ensure that all team members receive job training if the team members are to succeed and perform well. An atmosphere of appreciation creates eagerness on the part of team members to continue performing well, as does a tangible reward system such as giving gift cards, free movie or theater tickets, or massage or manicure vouchers etc. Statistics show that 79% of employees quit their jobs because they feel unappreciated.Positive Motivation:Managers must use appreciation to motivate team members toward excellent performance.Managers must hold regular meetings with team members to assess a project status as well as to relay individual encouragement by singling out individuals whose performance has been above and beyond what is required.Motivation and encouragement must be sincere. Team members will readily identify insincere stroking which will quell motivation and possibly cause friction within the team. Genuine sincere appreciation will drive team members to repeat performance on the next project. Competent managers are well versed in team interaction and will take all necessary steps to ensure a competent, productive and engaged team.Enhance Innovation:Encourage team members to share their individual ideas and suggestions. Receiving ideas and theories from team members fosters all of the above-referenced avenues. Managers who encourage team members to offer their ideas and theories acts as validation for team members worth to the organization.Oftentimes, team members offer great suggestions on protocol, quality, and methods of conducting business. Managers must be open minded when considering the ideas and theories presented and, if necessary, be willing to make the appropriate changes for the growth of the business.Contributing to innovation by sharing ideas with managers builds trust and improves engagement among managers and team members. When trust and engagement become the norm team members become loyal to the business.Try implementing these ideas into the way business is conducted within your organization and measure the improvement of your bottom line.