Top 5 soft skills all Accidental Managers need

At World of Learning earlier this month, Hari and Aaron heard a lot about “accidental managers” - people who have taken on managerial responsibilities without intention, promotion or training. It’s a phrase they really connected with it, not least because in their careers both of them have ended up managers accidentally…

But if you have ended up accidentally becoming a manager by way of stealth, misfortune or length of service, here’s a few of the most important soft skills that good managers have, making them good areas for accidental managers to work on.

Communication

Good managers need to be clear communicators. They need to provide feedback to their teams, updates to their reporting lines, and sometimes serve as the face of the team or project.

Most of us learn to speak as children, but good communications skills are more than that - you need to understand the message you want to deliver as well as knowing the audience you’re talking to. One size does not fit all and good communication skills should never be underestimated.

Our Storytelling for business course is a great way to kickstart your communications skills - let us know if you’re interested in learning more.

delegation & prioritisation

Management is stressful. You feel responsible for others, regardless of whether that’s officially the case or not.

As an accidental manager, learning to manage your own stress level is a key part of the job. You cannot do it all alone.

It’s stressful trying to juggle all the different elements of being a manager - even more so if you’re in the role accidentally or temporarily. Burning yourself out trying to do everything isn’t good for anyone so do ask for help.

Managers are allowed and encouraged to delegate - but as an accidental manager you might not feel you have the authority to delegate anything.

This is a time to lean on your network, talk to your manager and any mentors you might have and ask them for advice on delegating. If they are in your reporting line they might be able to delegate on your behalf.

At the very least they can give you some guidance on prioritisation which may make things easier.

Projecting Confidence

Imposter syndrome is real, and as an accidental manager you may feel it acutely.

However, this is one of those circumstances where “fake it ‘til you make it” is golden advice.

You don’t have to know everything, but projecting confidence about what you do know is pretty important.

Because for a lot of people, confidence = competence.

Sometimes we need to front it because looking nervous, anxious or uncertain will actually make our lives harder.

So how do you project confidence? Well first of all you need to slow down your speech - we’re not talking Sloth-speed from Zootopia here, just don’t let your anxiety speed you up. Take your time, make eye contact and remember, most people are faking more confidence than they actually feel. Welcome to the club.

Coaching

A good manager isn’t just a boss - they’re also a coach. They help their team develop and grow their skills. It’s not just about telling people what to do - in fact that’s often a minor element to a managerial role.

Coaching skills are becoming more and more recognised as key for self and team development. But you don’t have to sign up for an evening course to get a qualification - you can start by understanding what a coaching mindset is, rather than learning the toolkit.

LinkedIn learning has a number of e-learning courses that could be worth a look. We haven’t done all of them so don’t forget to check the reviews to find the one that’s right for you.

Personal brand

Talking about personal brand always makes me think of advertising and influencers, so let’s shift the focus - it’s not about brand but reputation.

If you’re become an accidental manager it’s probably because you’ve got a good reputation as a worker, team player, subject matter expert or similar. You might have gotten this nonpaying promotion based on length of service or seniority - or maybe you saw and gap and had to stand up and fill it for the good of the team.

Either way, if you do this well it will be a boost to your reputation, and could lead to an actual promotion or pay rise. So keep track of what you do, what you’ve done and what the impact is, and don’t be afraid to tell some of those stories to enhance your personal brand.

We would suggest building an anecdote library to keep track of these actions and impacts. It’s really easy to forget all the good work you’ve done and are doing, so make sure to capture those stories so that when you need to tell them, you’ve got them ready.