THE CORE SKILLS OF

EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
MANAGEMENT
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• Describe the importance of self awareness and
emotional intelligence in managing people at work
• Discuss the criteria for effective leadership
• Distinguish between ‘in’ and ‘an’ authority
• Discuss the importance of credibility
• Understand & explain how those lacking hierarchical
authority can influence & persuade
• Describe how to delegate tasks
• Understand how to organise meetings
Text books for this section
• HR for Line Managers, Best Practice. Scott-Lennon &
Hannaway (2010) Chapter 12

• Managing People. Jane Weightman (2009) Chapters 10

& 11)
Read article: The seven principles for inspiring
employees (in The People Bulletin, 16.6.10)

Read this article.

Reflect on your own work experiences or stories
that you have heard from others at work
and give a practical example of
these seven principles in action.
Developing People Management capacity
is critical
• DDI and CIPD survey (2011)

This new global leadership forecast reveals that only 36%

of UK leaders and 18% of UK HR professionals rate the
quality of leadership as 'high' in their organisations.
Chartered Management Institute Research 2011

• 10 per cent say they end up covering up mistakes that

their manager has made
• The problems are impacting stress levels, with a third (34
per cent) saying their boss negatively impacts their
enjoyment of their job and one in ten saying the issues
have led to poor health.

http://www.managers.org.uk/
Chartered Management Institute Research 2011

• Many employees feel their bosses are unapproachable.

• in the past month nearly two thirds (61 per cent) have
wanted to ask their boss for help making a decision, but
have not been given the opportunity.
• As a result nearly one in four (23 per cent) people
regularly worry about making decisions at work,
• one in three (32 per cent) say they have lost respect for
their manager and

http://www.managers.org.uk/
 http://www.managementbriefs.com/
“People want strong leaders that they can trust
to give people a sense of hope and inspiration
for the future despite the current pressures around them.

Outstanding leaders are not only highly competent at what

they do but how they do it.
They are emotionally-intelligent leaders.
Emotional Intelligence, (EQ), is the
“difference that makes the difference” and
is even more critical to steer us through these tough times.”
Emotionally Intelligent Managers
People high in EI will
build real social fabric within an organization and
between an organization and those it serves,

whereas those low in EI may tend to create problems

for the organization through their individual behaviours

Mayer, 2002
Self Regulation - a component of E.I.
• Video clip our emotional vs thinking brain
Task before next class
• Log onto Moodle
• Go to Section 4: Core Skills
• Click on How Good are your People Skills and complete
the questionnaire
• Click on What is your leadership style and complete the
questionnaire
• Bring the results to the next class and be prepared to
discuss them in class
Review questionnaire results

Work in pairs and review

your results :
1. Did you learn something
new?
2. Will you do things
differently?/.....
Managing People Skills
• What do successful people managers actually do?
• How do they behave in managing people

• Think of a manager you worked for who had

• Good people management skills & behaviours
• Poor people management skills & behaviours

• Summarise the different qualities that led to good people

management skills
Engaging Management Competency Framework, Lewis, CIPD, 2012
Theme Management Competency
Supporting Autonomy & Empowerment
Employee Growth
Development
Feedback Praise & Recognition
Interpersonal Style Individual Interest
& Integrity
Availability
Personal Manner
Ethics
Monitoring Direction Reviewing & Guiding
Clarifying expectations
Managing time & resources
Following processes & procedures
Description
Has trust in employee capabilities, involving them in problem solving
and decision making
Helps employees in their career development and progression
Gives positive & constructive feedback, offers praise & rewards good
work
Shows genuine care and concern for employees
Holds regular one-to-one meetings with employees and is available
when
Demonstrates a positive approach to work, leading by example
Respects confidentiality and treats employees fairly
Offers help and advice to employees, responding effectively to
employee
requests for guidance
Sets clear goals and objectives, giving clear explanations of what is
expected
Is aware of the team’s workload, arranges for extra resources or
redistributes
workload when necessary
Effectively understands, explains and follows work processes and
procedures
12 Criteria for Effective Leadership
(Hall, 2002 in Weightman,2009)
1. Self management – organising oneself to perform
2. Role modelling – setting an example of required
behaviours
3. Coaching & mentoring – supporting others to improve
4. Formal support – giving people resources they need
to get things done
5. Internal exposure – being seen around & championing
the team
6. Expressing a vision – aims & goals expressed and
based in reality
12 Criteria for Effective Leadership
(Hall, 2002 in Weightman,2009)
7. Communicating – clearly and regularly
8. Trusting people – assuming they will do it right
9. Giving praise – formally and informally
10. Spotting talent and stretching it – developing the
next leaders and excellent performers
11. Taking responsibility – when things go right and when
they go wrong
12. Walking the talk – doing it not just talking it
How Netflix Reinvented HR
Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb 2014
Sheryl Sandberg has called it one of the most important documents
ever to come out of Silicon Valley. It’s been viewed more than 5 million
times on the web. But when Reed Hastings and I (along with some
colleagues) wrote a PowerPoint deck explaining how we shaped the
culture and motivated performance at Netflix, where Hastings is
CEO and I was chief talent officer from 1998 to 2012, we had no idea it
would go viral. We realized that some of the talent management ideas
we’d pioneered, such as the concept that workers should be allowed to
take whatever vacation time they feel is appropriate, had been seen as
a little crazy (at least until other companies started adopting them). But
we were surprised that an unadorned set of 127 slides—no music, no
animation—would become so influential.

THE FOLLOWING SLIDES ARE AN EXCERPT FROM THIS

PRESENTATION
 19

MANY COMPANIES HAVE NICE

SOUNDING VALUE STATEMENTS
DISPLAYED IN THE LOBBY, SUCH AS:

Integrity
Communication
Respect
Excellence
 20

ENRON, WHOSE LEADERS WENT TO JAIL,

AND WHICH WENT BANKRUPT FROM
FRAUD,
HAD THESE VALUES DISPLAYED IN THEIR
LOBBY:

Integrity
Communication
Respect
Excellence

(These values were not, however, what was really valued at Enron)
 21

THE ACTUAL COMPANY VALUES,

AS OPPOSED TO THE
NICE-SOUNDING VALUES,
ARE SHOWN BY WHO GETS
REWARDED, PROMOTED, OR LET GO
 22

ACTUAL COMPANY VALUES ARE THE

BEHAVIORS AND SKILLS
THAT ARE VALUED
IN FELLOW EMPLOYEES
 23

AT NETFLIX, WE PARTICULARLY VALUE

THE FOLLOWING NINE BEHAVIORS AND
SKILLS
IN OUR COLLEAGUES…

…meaning we hire and promote people who

demonstrate these nine
 24

You make wise decisions

(people, technical, business,
and creative) despite
ambiguity

Judgment You identify root causes, and

get beyond treating symptoms

You think strategically, and

can articulate what you are,
and are not, trying to do

You smartly separate what

must be done well now, and
what can be improved later
 25

You listen well, instead of

reacting fast, so you can
better understand

You are concise and articulate

Communication in speech and writing

You treat people with respect

independent of their status or
disagreement with you

You maintain calm poise in

stressful situations
 26

You accomplish amazing

amounts of important work

You demonstrate consistently

strong performance so
Impact colleagues can rely upon you

You focus on great results

rather than on process

You exhibit bias-to-action, and

avoid analysis-paralysis
 27

You learn rapidly and eagerly

You seek to understand our

strategy, market, customers,
and suppliers
Curiosity You are broadly
knowledgeable about
business, technology and
entertainment

You contribute effectively

outside of your specialty
 28

You re-conceptualize issues

to discover practical solutions
to hard problems

You challenge prevailing

Innovation assumptions when warranted,
and suggest better
approaches

You create new ideas that

prove useful

You keep us nimble by

minimizing complexity and
finding time to simplify
 29

You say what you think even

if it is controversial

You make tough decisions

without agonizing
Courage You take smart risks

You question actions

inconsistent with our values
 30

You inspire others with your

thirst for excellence

You care intensely about

Netflix‘s success
Passion You celebrate wins

You are tenacious

 31

You are known for candor and

directness

You are non-political when

you disagree with others
Honesty You only say things about
fellow employees you will say
to their face

You are quick to admit

mistakes
 32

You seek what is best for

Netflix, rather than best for
yourself or your group

You are ego-less when

Selflessness searching for the best ideas

You make time to help

colleagues

You share information openly

and proactively
Project Exercise
• Working in your project teams (4 students)
• Map Halls 12 criteria for effective leadership to the
Engaging Management Competency Framework
• What is similar
• What is different
• Assimilate the two perspectives (use outcome in project write up)
Influencing & Persuading People
(Chapter 11, Managing People, Weightman, 2008)
QUESTIONS – DISCUSS
Think of an organisation you have /work for…

1. What are the formal methods of influence?

2. What are the informal methods of influence?
3. Who is the most influential person?
 Authority

• The right to give orders and the

power to exact obedience (Pugh
1971:103)

• Power made legitimate by position

or expertise is authority
‘In’ authority v’s ‘An’ authority

What’s the difference?

 ‘In’ authority ‘An’ authority

• Relies on the position of • Based on personal

authority e.g job title attributes, credibility or
• Relies on control over ability to influence people
resources to influence • Often the basis of
• Confers the right to control credibility
& judge action of others
• Leadership is the exercise
of the power conferred by
that right in such a way as
to win a willing and
positive rather than a
grudging and negative
response
Authority
• Team leaders are given ‘in’ authority
• Effective team leaders earn the role of ‘an’ authority
Credibility
The basis of credibility is usually
an appropriate expertise and some contribution of personal
qualities

The components of credibility are:

1. Keeping in touch with the main task

2. Legitimacy
3. Clear managerial/leadership role
http://www.google.ie/imgres?q=credibility+images&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=H8Qb5PLMTIC7bM:&imgrefurl=http://publicspeaking.freeservers.com/whats_new_10.html&docid=L5QE
GkwFxxyhlM&w=550&h=343&ei=GK2BTuTRHYj1-
gb92qS8Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=175&vpy=355&dur=266&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=145&ty=183&page=7&tbnh=123&tbnw=198&start=121&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:121&biw=1440
&bih=675 on 27.011 @12 noon
What behaviours undermine credibility?
Great Places to Work Criteria
Read Article
• Authentic leadership: the key to
building trust

• What is meant by the term the psychological self

• What are the three pillars of authentic leadership
• Give practical examples of leadership behaviours which
demonstrate each
• What practical tips are outlined for organisations on
how to strengthen authentic leadership in the workplace
Credibility - summary
• The affect of the organisation’s culture on a team leader’s
credibility

• Acquiring credibility is one challenge, maintaining

credibility is an ongoing challenge

• Key component of establishing and maintaining trust

5 Critical Incidents of Influence
1. Delegation
2. Networking
3. Negotiating
4. Meetings
5. Making a case
Delegation
• not about giving people jobs to do
• about giving people scope, responsibility and authority
• Mullins (1996) founded on the concepts of

1. Authority
2. Responsibility
3. Accountability
Delegation - DISCUSS
Advantages Disadvantages
Delegation
Advantages Disadvantages
• Supports training & • Risky
development • Assumes good
• Increases efficiencies performance
• Flexibility across locations • Less easy to control
• Develops experts & • Not in keeping with the
specialists culture
• Cheaper
• Video Clip Delegation
Networking – What is it?
Networking
• creating a network of contacts is crucial to getting
things done easily.
• Networks help you achieve your Agenda
• Need networks inside and outside the organisation
• Kotter (1982) having a network means that team leaders
hear & understand when things might be going wrong
rather than after they went wrong.
• Agendas & networks are interdependent
• What’s the differeence between the two ?
• Are you using networks to promote yourself? Or to get
the job done?
Negotiating Negotiating Cartoon
• Review first year communications
• The word implies that both sides expect to gain something
• One to one negotiating or
• Several parties in negotiation
• E.g. building of the Olympic stadium
• Promoting Sligo as a tourist destination
Negotiating
Why have a meeting?
Overt Reasons Covert Reasons
Why have a meeting?
Overt Reasons Covert Reasons

• To make decisions • To build cohesion

• To make • To enable catharsis
recommendations • To manipulate
• To train newcomers
• To analyse & report
• To inform
Tips on Managing Meetings
• Video Clip on 5.5 tips for managing meetings
 Review hand out

‘Meetings checklist’
Torrington & Weightman, 1989
Making a case
• When might team leaders have to make a case? Give
examples
• Look at ‘Making your case’ checklist
Making a case - ACTIVITY
Using the handout
make a 3 minute presentation
on a topic of your choice or one of the following:

• Why should you visit...........

• Why you should take up................
• Why it is wrong to..................
Discuss
‘The difference between the right word and the almost right
word is the difference between lightning and a lightning
bug’

Mark Twain
Channels of Communication
• Factual - content of
message
• Self Revealing –
discern the hidden
message
• Relationship –
sensitivity – how is
s/he dealing with ME
• Appeal
 Exercise
• Review CIPD Report
‘ Line management behaviour and stress at work;
Updated guidance for Managers (2009)

• Discuss & summarise the people

management competencies in this report,
paying particular attention to the examples of effective
manager behaviour
Tesco Leadership Styles Case Study
1. Summarise Tesco’s Leadership and Management
approach?
2. What qualities does Tesco value in team leaders?
3. What types of behaviours are associated with these
qualities?
4. What factors influence leadership styles ?
Real-life leaders: closing the knowing-
doing gap, CIPD Report, September 2013
• Recent leadership approaches suggest that one of the reasons for the
lack of effectiveness of managerial training could be that development
activities target the ‘wrong’ leaders.
• There has been increasing recognition that all managers, including
first-line supervisors, need at some level to be leaders to achieve
performance targets through motivating and engaging individual
employees.
• However, many organisations continue to view leadership as a
function of the senior team, not attaching sufficient priority to
developing the leadership skills of front-line managers or informal
leaders in non-managerial roles
Real-life leaders: closing the knowing-
doing gap, CIPD Report, September 2013
• Evidence suggests that people management makes good business
sense (Purcell et al 2003).
• At the same time, the survey findings reveal the perceived tension
between achieving objectives and managing people: although 43% of
employees in the survey agree that their manager balances the needs
of the organisation with the needs of individual employees, only 39%
of managers could say the same about their bosses.
• The public sector appears to be the best at managing the tension
between people and task responsiblities.
• The survey showed that junior managers seem to be able to get
ahead by raising employee engagement levels and developing staff
• 60% of line managers are evaluated on people management skills in
their performance review
Project Tutorials
 Referring to the theory (remember to use a number of
sources) covered in class develop
 Approx. 12 headings under which you will research the
effective people management practices, skills and behaviours of
your chosen leader
 Under each heading consider how you will source relevant
and appropriate examples which will demonstrate this leaders
level of skill in each are of competence
 In doing this consider
 Overall organisational approach to managing people
 Practices of effective people managers
 Behaviours of effective people managers

Be prepared to discuss & justify your approach

Five things bosses say that they shouldn’t !! Irish Independent, 2 October, 2013

Having encountered countless Miranda Priestly-style

Challenge (n) – Typically said in an enticing tone of
bosses in her time, Lydia Whitlock has just written a book
voice; anything described as such is really just a
about her start in LA. To My Future Assistant: Your
tedious and difficult project in disguise. Foolproof Guide to Handling the Boss from Hell is a
light-hearted take on her experiences, and those of other
Internet, the (n) – A blanket word used by bosses to assistants. It deals with bosses’ ridiculous requests,
describe anything to do with internet connectivity or offered up in the form of promises to her future assistant,
even just basic technology, from email to YouTube. listing all the crazy behaviours she won’t partake in when
she becomes a boss.
Let’s . . . (v) – The beginning of a sentence spoken
by the boss who wants to tell you to do something
but is too passive-aggressive to actually give you a
direct order, and therefore starts everything with the
incorrect suggestion that both of you will be
performing the task.

Political (adj) – A word used to describe any

situation that the boss is too lazy/scared to deal
with.

Thanks (n) – A word used by bosses when they

realise their assistants are almost at breaking point,
in an attempt to make them feel appreciated for just
a little bit longer, so as much work as possible can
be sucked out of them before they’re allowed to go
home at