News of slowing growth, cost increases, layoffs and hiring freezes are dominating global headlines. This means businesses are being forced to achieve more with fewer people.  

How can organisations best leverage existing talent as they navigate uncertain waters?

For many, the answer is to double-down on strengthening the capabilities of middle managers. The role of a manager is to make their direct reports more effective. In the current climate of tight resources, middle-managers offer the most potential to be multipliers.

We analyzed data on the skills of thousands of managers across experience levels that have been enrolled in our Global Business Skills course over the last 3 ½ years to understand:

• What are the biggest skills gaps middle managers face today?
• What capabilities offer greatest potential for immediate impact on their teams?
• In uncertain times, what are the most valuable skills to develop in your managers?

 Three aspects stood out:

1. ‍How to influence others: Striking a balance between holding people to account while maintaining motivation is hard!
   
   High-impact capabilities that solve this: Active listening, how and when to ask questions, how to use storytelling to persuade and give purpose.  
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2. ‍Planning for Agility: a capability often overlooked but invaluable especially in turbulent times and in the busy distracted world of today.
   
   High-impact capabilities that solve this: How to focus, how to structure planning and how to think critically.
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3.  Collaboration across Hybrid Teams: Many managers struggle with how to get teams to truly collaborate when hybrid.
   
   High-impact capabilities that solve this: Understanding the difference between teamwork & collaboration. The power of Questions.  

To help managers navigate disruptive times, companies need a clear understanding of the skills that offer the most impact and then, invest in enabling these. Skills such as how to be open to change, turn setbacks into learning opportunities, listen actively, communicate effectively and persuasively & take decisions confidently.  

See how clients such as PwC, DB Schenker and Kuok Group use our products to build better managers. talk to us.