You may manage a team.
You might not have line management responsibility, but you lead projects.
Maybe you need to manage sideways.
Whatever your situation, working in comms increasingly requires leadership skills for success.
But leadership is not always easy.
To help, we held an exclusive masterclass for members of The Media Team Academy with Kirsty Waite and Dan Boniface, leadership and management skills from The BCF Group.
And they identified three crucial management skills comms professionals can begin to implement immediately.
They began by looking at what management skills are and why you need to develop them.
Kirsty said: “Management skills enable you to be more effective and productive in your role. It is about using your skills in a way that empowers other people.
“So, it gives you the chance to develop and develop others at the same time.
“People can sometimes be technically great, and it is assumed they will be good at managing something or someone. And that’s not always the case.”
A key starting point is to understand the difference between managing and doing.
“When we are doing, it is a completely different skill set,” Kirsty said.
“When we are doing, we are head down in that task. We are only looking within our role, and know what we need to do to do a good job.
“When it comes to managing, we need a wider perspective. That may be understanding the end-to-end process or the impact the action has on other people and their workload.
“So, when we go from doing to managing, we need to broaden our perspective. And that requires self-awareness and emotional intelligence – skills that don’t necessarily sit naturally with us.
“They are things we need to intentionally do. That means stepping out of your comfort zone and recognizing the skills you need to do that.
“It is vital you are aware you need those skills, go out and learn them and reflect on them. Don’t just assume you can do these things.”
There are, of course, many different skills that go into management and leadership. So, Dan and Kirsty focused on those they feel are most transferable, whether you are managing a comms team or a project.
Communication skills
“Good communication skills are crucial,” Dan said.
“They are vital for developing respect when we are less experienced than others.”
But what are good communication skills in leadership and management?
Dan believes it is about inclusivity. “I’m sure we’ve all had those conversations where you’re not included, and there isn’t openness and transparency.
“That doesn’t feel good.
“So, from a management point of view, it is vital to have those open and honest conversations that allow our teams to feel part of what we are doing.
“As humans we need to feel part of a team and have a sense of belonging.”
Good communication is also about knowing how to share the message with different audiences.
And it makes managing easier.
“We know in management that preparation, being organised and planning ahead ensure a smoother journey. And early communication is part of that as well.”
“Communication is a two-way street,” Kirsty added. “It offers the opportunity for open and honest discussions. It is not a ‘tell’ communication.
“You have to give people opportunity to feel seen and heard.”
There are lots of different ways to communicate. So, choosing the right channel and setting is crucial.
“If it is a sensitive topic, you might want to have that discussion in a meeting room with a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door,” Dan said.
“If it is more about relationship building, you could do it down the pub or the coffee shop.”
You must also take responsibility. That means ensuring what you need to say is heard.
Kirsty said: “Whether you are managing people or a project, you need to take responsibility for ensuring they know how to communicate to get the message across effectively.
“That might involve asking people the best way to communicate with them. Ask them how they would prefer to see information. If they are visual learners, they may want something written. Others may prefer verbal communication or want to be shown how to do something.”
Delegation
Managing people or projects takes time.
Delegating tasks can free time up to concentrate on management.
But there’s a problem - people don’t find delegation easy.
“Delegation is a key skill, and it is something people tend to shy away from,” Kirsty said.
“People feel guilty asking. They have trouble letting go, and worry about pushback and the standard of the work.
“But others see it as giving people an opportunity.
“The crucial thing to remember is that whether you manage people or a project, you can’t do everything yourself.
“If you try, there will be a downfall. That could be you, the project or the team.”
Successful delegation has many positives, including better time management.
Kirsty said: “There could be people in your organisation who could do something quicker and better than you. That might be a challenge for your ego.
“But if you give it to them, you get time back, and you help to develop them.”
But how do you overcome the feelings of guilt that can come with giving someone more work?
“You have to see it as a collaborative process,” Kirsty said. “You have your role. They have their one. And by communicating effectively, you can recognise where the responsibility lies, where the gaps are and where people want to develop.
“There are people in your team who might want to get involved and learn new skills. By keeping work to yourself, you are disempowering them from learning.”
Kirsty says changing how you think about delegation is vital.
“Don’t think about it as pushing working on to people,” she said. “And don’t deliver it to them like that because they will feel they are being asked to do it because you can’t be bothered.”
And the task needs to be transferred fairly.
“You need to make sure the person you are delegating the task to has the tools to complete it successfully,” she said.
“Set them up to succeed and then trust them to do it. Don’t micromanage them.”
To delegate effectively, Kirsty says you have to plan, communicate effectively and consider other people’s workloads. And confidence.
“You have to step into the confidence of being able to say to someone ‘how’s it going’, ‘what’s your workload like’, rather than thinking ‘oh God, I don’t want to ask because they’ve probably got too much work on’.”
Agility
What is it?
“This is the ability to move quickly and adapt and change easily,” Kirsty said.
“It is about knowing what is going on in your team and project and what you need to do to enable it to be successful.
“You need to be aware of the challenges and the priorities and be able to quickly adapt.”
When we manage people, there are different ideas, behaviours and characters. And that means there is more potential for things to change and issues to arise.
“If you can adapt to them, you can still move things forward positively. That may not be the case if we take a long time to review things and make decisions or if we sit on things.
“You have to be ready for quick demands and changing requirements. If you do that, it has a ripple effect and will impact the success of what you are working on. And those around you become agile.”
How do you use agility effectively?
“You need to communicate effectively,” Kirsty said. “You need to know what is going on. Don’t be attached to the one way you have decided to deliver something.
“And don’t take it personally when things have to change. How you get to your objective may not be A-B like you envisaged.
“But being able to adapt quickly will get you to that end result regardless of the obstacles in the way.
“If you stick to your ideal solution, it may stop you from getting to the end result.”
During this exclusive masterclass, Kirsty and Dan also explored managing expectations and problem-solving.
And they discussed how quickly you can start to use these skills and the importance of reflection.
If you would like access to masterclasses like this, you need to be a member of The Media Team Academy.
Speak to your account manager about joining our learning and development programme.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our media training.
