At Cheesecare, we devote a lot of energy in training and developing the skills of people we work with. Its not a coincidence that Cheese Care alumni either end up going for a higher degree at one of India's top school or end up working at one of India's top companies.
We have focused on improving both job specific skills as well as soft skills. I have found that job skills are easier to improve while soft skills are comparatively harder. Nobody is born an excellent communicator, mentor or a manager, they learn these skills. India's schools are notorious when it comes to improving soft skills, so we spent some time thinking about what can be done. Lack of soft skills is a big impediment to our ability to scale the firm.
We decided to first identify what traits make a terrific manager, so we conducted a survey among Cheeselings and here is the list of responses in no particular order:
- Good understanding of issues facing individual team members.
- Always has time to discuss & remove roadblocks for individuals and team
- Should take problems head on and find a solution
- Ability to build consensus and convince all stakeholders
- Is fair in dealing with the team and resolving conflicts.
- Humility: should always be courteous and patient especially with newcomers
- Ensure a healthy workplace free of tensions and stress
- Does not under-rate or over-rate capabilities of the team members
- Understands strengths and weakness of team members and leverages them accordingly.
- Gives prompt feedback and does not wait for the appraisal cycle
I am actually surprised at the responses above. This list is now going to become a part of our regular performance review for managers.
