TRENDING robotic and remember we are dealing with people at the end of the day . you must upskill your team with new capabilities and technology to keep pace with the market .
Karan Raturi , General Manager , North America at upGrad
A common weakness we notice with managers is the inability to say no and taking on too much . This results in dilution of quality across all work and it must be prevented at all costs .
With your experience working with and building numerous seniorlevel managers , what are some key competencies every senior leader should aim to have ?
The first one is independent strategic thinking . As my team are aware , whether it ’ s past or present roles I always stress on the importance of challenging the status quo and using data to back up your ideas . Having perspective and empathy are essential .
I think managers have this duty and obligation to look at data and present contradictory thoughts at a company or project level and flag if it is heading in the wrong direction . It could be a small work stream issue within a project and if a manager fails to react , it can snowball creating bigger ramifications .
The second competence is doing more with less which is crucial in current cost-conscious market conditions . It happens every economic cycle , we have the boom periods where spending rises and more resources are available .
Conversely , there are bust cycles that pull us down and the world , investors and stakeholders alike ask us to do more with less . Successful managers are not restricted by this and instead view this as an opportunity to maximise the resources they have at their disposal .
Finally , an underrated competence is being able to smoothly navigate internal barriers and challenges . Good managers know how to position themselves because they have invested their time out of the business grasping where everyone sits and their exact functions . When they have a query or confusion they know exactly where to go for answers . Resourcefulness and investing the time to get to know people can make a telling difference .
What is ‘ upskilling ’ and why do you feel it ’ s important for senior managers to understand and practice ?
Upskilling is a word that has come to the forefront recently . It is not new , but previously the industry did not use this term widely . Essentially to find the skills you need anytime in your life , career or as a manager
It is unlikely you can learn everything in your formative educational years , or even in your post graduate programmes , hence upskilling is a continuous learning experience . In modern times where technology has become the norm , upskilling is here to stay .
For managers , upskilling provides a cost-effective way to improve your team ’ s capabilities . Having churn and attrition in your team and hiring a new person is a big expense for companies . The way to minimise this is by taking the capable people you already hired and upskilling them to the changing demands of the business .
This in turn leads to increased job satisfaction and longer hiring tenures because of the added investment from both parties . It is a win-win in the corporate world where upskilling leads to stronger productivity , efficiency and employee satisfaction all at once . It is imperative every manager ’ s budget makes this a priority for themselves and their teams .
What are the most significant challenges managers face and how can upskilling help tackle these challenges ?
Today we are noticing many tech companies having to maintain a positive culture and morale . Managers face the impossible task of keeping staff engagement high with a rising paranoia about AI replacing their work and fear of job losses . The challenge is further complicated when shareholders are stripping resources and wanting to drive focus .
When competing priorities exist , managers can use upskilling to refocus their teams without compromising on project delivery . For example , if 20 % of your team lacks that skill set , upskilling allows your team to be able to deliver this missing contribution .
Even in the challenging environments that we face today , upskilling can be used as a low-cost incentive to have everyone feel like you ’ ve invested in them . This gives them the potential to contribute today and build stronger careers in the future too . It creates added value in that person ’ s life and career and provides managers with the bonus of overcoming these challenges without the need to scale .
How can senior managers improve their skills and what skills should they prioritise improving ?
How they choose to upskill is dependent on their function . If you are a manager with engineering and
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