Managerial skills: what they are and how to recognize them in the workplace
Promoting a good professional to manager is one of the most delicate decisions you can make and, often, also one of the riskiest.
You have probably seen excellent specialists become mediocre managers. Not because of a lack of commitment, but because the skills required change radically. Simply put, managing activities is not the same as managing people, and coordinating a team is not the same as being the most technically competent.
When it comes to managerial skills, there is a twofold risk: on the one hand, reducing them to a generic list of "desirable" qualities, and on the other, confusing them with formal roles or seniority within the company.
From an HR perspective, the question is much more concrete: what skills really distinguish an effective manager and, above all, how can they be identified?
We know that managerial skills cannot be gleaned from a CV or generic statements made during an interview, but are much easier to spot in everyday behavior. For example, we can see them in the way a person makes decisions under pressure, manages conflicts, sets priorities, develops employees, and keeps everyone aligned with objectives.
Here are the managerial skills that are truly relevant today, how they differ from simple technical skills, and, above all, how you can objectively recognize them within your organization.
What are managerial skills?
Managerial skills relate to the way in which a person exercises responsibility over others and over results. If we were to define managerial skills, they are the set of abilities that enable us to:
- define clear priorities that are consistent with the strategy;
- make decisions even in uncertain conditions;
- manage team dynamics and conflicts;
- develop autonomy and responsibility in employees;
- maintain alignment between individual and organizational objectives.
One of the most common misconceptions is confusing activity with value generated. A manager can organize many meetings, monitor tasks, and request detailed reports, but this is not in itself an indication of managerial competence. The real difference can be seen in the impact: is the team aligned? Are decisions clear? Are conflicts managed or avoided? Do people grow or remain dependent on their boss?
That's why we need to distinguish between individual performance and the ability to generate performance through others. This is where managerial skills come into play. They are not just about what a person can do, but what they can achieve through their role.
Managerial skills: which ones are truly relevant today
We have already discussed what we mean by transferable skills and which ones are the most important. In reality, managerial skills can also be transferable, because they do not relate to a specific technical field, but rather to the way in which a person exercises responsibility, makes decisions, and guides others toward a result.
The difference is that, in a managerial role, these skills are no longer "supportive" but become central. While in a specialist they can influence the quality of individual contributions, in a manager they directly affect the performance of several people, team cohesion , and consistency with corporate strategy.
Here are some examples of the most frequently mentioned managerial skills .
Leadership
Goal orientation
Emotional Intelligence
Managing people means managing emotional dynamics. This skill manifests itself in the ability to read tensions within the team, modulate one's communication style, and deal with feedback or conflicts without becoming rigid or avoiding confrontation.
Negotiation
Much of managerial work involves mediating between different interests: top management, teams, other functions. A skill such as negotiation emerges when a manager clarifies constraints, builds acceptable solutions, and maintains functional relationships even in the presence of differences.
Problem solving
In managerial roles, problems are rarely technical and straightforward. They involve people, priorities, and organizational constraints.
We can see problem solving in the ability to analyze the situation, distinguish facts from perceptions, and make practical decisions in a timely manner.
How to recognize managerial skills in everyday work
Let's now go into more detail to understand how to recognize a manager's skills in the context in which they work.
In everyday work, managerial skills do not manifest themselves in spectacular ways, but are visible in the details: in the way a manager conducts a meeting, makes an uncomfortable decision, handles a changing priority, or deals with a team mistake.
If you really want to evaluate them, you have to shift your focus from statements to behaviors.
In a meeting
A competent manager does not monopolize the conversation or limit themselves to neutral facilitation. You can observe whether:
- clarifies the purpose of the meeting before going into detail;
- summarizes the most important points when the discussion becomes scattered;
- takes a stand when a decision is needed;
- assigns clear responsibilities at the end of the discussion.
The difference lies not in communication style, but in the ability to transform a discussion into concrete progress.
In times of conflict
Conflict management is one of the best indicators of managerial maturity. This is because, under pressure, behaviors emerge that are difficult to "simulate."
In case of conflicts, you can observe whether the manager:
- avoid confrontation in order to preserve the relationship;
- personalizes the problem or keeps it on a professional level;
- explains the constraints instead of shifting responsibility;
- seek an operational agreement instead of imposing a solution.
In managing priorities
Every manager says they know how to set priorities, but not everyone does so consistently. Observe whether:
- translates strategic objectives into concrete activities for the team;
- renegotiates deadlines when conditions change;
- protects the team from inconsistent or overlapping requests;
- maintains consistency between what it declares to be a priority and what it monitors.
How to evaluate managerial skills without relying on impressions
If you are involved in recruitment, development, or succession planning, you know how easy it is to fall into the trap of judging by impressions. A charismatic manager is perceived as a leader. A highly skilled professional is considered ready to lead a team. Someone you get along with is considered "aligned."
The problem is that these "shortcuts" are not predictive of managerial quality over time.
To truly evaluate managerial skills, a change of perspective is needed:
- move from opinions to observable behaviors;
- distinguish between individual performance and the ability to generate performance through others;
- Use structured tools that present managers with realistic situations, not theoretical questions.
Skillvue supports HR and organizations in the objective evaluation of managerial skills through assessments based on psychometric science, situational questions, and BEI (Behavioral Event Interview) methodology.
Instead of asking a person "what kind of leader are you?", the assessment observes how they reason and decide when faced with concrete managerial scenarios: conflicts between employees, competing priorities, feedback, organizational changes.
If you want to make decisions about managerial skills based on data rather than impressions, Skillvue's Skill Assessments are a concrete first step. To learn more, start here.
