A manager is judged by a different set of criteria for different people. Each time you come into contact with a person, be it your boss, a colleague, a prospect contact or a client, you will be assessed on how you handle the situation. While it is not always possible to please everyone, it is vital to develop a strong set of skills necessary to make decisions, manage your time and employees successfully and give value to the company in order to promote yourself. So how do different groups judge a person as a manager? What skills make a good manager?

From the top down, success is likely to be judged as how much value a manager is adding to the company. For example a manager of a sales team may be judged primarily on the amount of sales revenue brought in by the team he/she manages. While other considerations are important such as sticking to the available budgets and staff turnaround levels, the figures that upper management will regularly review are pie charts indicating sales revenue. This will often be done in comparison to sales managers from other areas. Other areas of review may only be looked at if there is a problem. For example, if the manager runs over budget then this issue will be addressed.

From the bottom up the manager is judged by many different skill areas. 'People skills' are vitally important. This can be broken down into communication and the success at building relationships with people. A team will judge their manager on the way he/she communicates with them on a daily basis and how various situations are handled. A good manager will have good listening and communication skills and will build a rapport with staff. Employees will feel respected, satisfied with their positions in the company and confident that they have the skills necessary to complete their work. There are therefore many talents a manager needs to become successful.

Communication skills are vital and can help with the full range of people a manager comes into contact with. Being able to communicate instructions and ideas to staff while in return listening to them is the backbone of good management. Without this skill communication will break down on all levels, misunderstandings will occur and mistakes will be made. Good communication skills will allow your staff to develop a high level of trust in the manager. This is important since they will feel able to communicate ideas and issues that will benefit the company and strengthen the manager's position.

When communicating with staff it may become apparent that some of them feel that they lack the skills necessary to complete some tasks well or would like to advance their skill set. A good manager recognises that training staff is necessary to ensure that the company get the best value from the employee and the employee will feel fulfilled in the role. Investing in the people that work for you makes sense since you and the company will reap the rewards in quality and varied work. This will mean a lower staff turnaround that will keep recruitment and training new staff member costs to a minimum.

An expert manager also recognises that Information Technology is an important issue. It is vital that data is clean and up to date which can be overlooked until a crisis occurs. Learning to deal with data through software is important since this can include contact lists for existing customer base along with prospects. Once the database become clogged with errors, duplicates and out-of-date information, real problems can occur. You will need to know all relevant information of existing customers including what products they are using, if for example you are a manager in a software house. For sales information the data is important to get accurate statistics for financial decisions. For prospects, it is a waste of time, energy and money to be sending marketing information to the wrong people. Most managers will be in charge of some kind of database of information.

A good manager will therefore take an active interest in what technology is being used to store and protect the data and how this can be improved. Since any problems are ultimately the managers responsibility, it is good practice to know exactly what is happening with the data that your team rely on to do their jobs and which you will rely on to justify your own position. At some point you will be asked to provide reports and statistics for your team and it will look very unprofessional if you cannot provide solid, accurate statistics.

While reviewing the data, it is also worth reviewing the procedures and methods of the team as a whole. Is everything running as efficiently as possible? Get feedback from all members of staff and make improvements where possible, but make changes sensitively. Be aware that some people are wary of change. A good manager will not be afraid to praise and congratulate staff on a job well done. When people feel encouraged and recognised for their good work, they are more likely to strive for further encouragement by working harder and accepting changes you wish to make. A simple gesture such as a box of donuts after a hard week can go a long way to making your staff feel appreciated.

As demonstrated, becoming a great and successful manager requires a variety of complex skills. As a manager you are responsible for all things and should take that responsibility seriously. It is sometimes a juggling act between keeping your staff and your own boss happy while ensuring all the work is done on time, in budget and preferably with a smile! Do not underestimate the importance of learning to manage your time to fit everything in. The best managers are those that can successfully juggle all this responsibility with an active social and home life.