Section 2 - Influencing Behaviour / Effective Listening

Perhaps the most obvious difference between being a manager and being a non-manager is the reliance on getting things done through other people. This can be a reliance on direct reports or on people in other departments. It becomes more complex when some of those people in other departments are actually positioned higher in the company hierarchy than you are. This poses a real problem because you will only be effective as a manager when you have the necessary skills to motivate, instruct, support, develop and communicate with others. It is from within this skill set that truly outstanding managers emerge.

Understanding people and knowing how to win their cooperation is just as, if not more, important, as understanding the equipment, the products and the processes.

Managers need to recognize that in order to develop good teamwork we must recognize that Conflict is our enemy and overcoming or avoiding conflict in the first instance is the key to working in association with people.