Levels of the Management Skills Pyramid

Level 2 “Develop staff”
Moving up the skills pyramid, and beyond typical supervisory tasks, you meet the need to inspire and train the people you manage. This set of skills are often referred to as “soft skills”. If you don’t have them, the effectiveness suffers and team spirit declines with time.

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  Motivation – encoring people to engage and perform at their best
  
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  Training – ensuring employees grow as professionals
  
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  Coaching – helping each member to improve performance and develop themselves
  
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  Involvement – enabling creative collaboration focused on problem-solving and innovations
  

Level 3 “Improve self”
As you strengthen your abilities at level 1 and 2 of the pyramid, your self-development becomes important. When you’re engaged in helping and managing people, you should minimise personal mistakes. Try to keep attention on:

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  Time-management – knowing how and where to invest your time throughout the day
  
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  Self-management – motivating and engaging others, while keeping work/life balance
  

Level 4 “Success”
The management skills pyramid puts leadership on a pedestal because this skill is the most difficult to learn.
While leaders are most often managers, not every manager is a leader. Leaders are focused on defining direction, crediting a vision, and ensuring strategy align with the firm’s values and mission.
Simply said, leaders work on the vision and direction not only the day-to-day grind.
How to move on to the next level?

1. 
   Commit to acquiring missing skills
   

Promise yourself to acquire skills you currently lack. Use the pyramid approach to better clarify where you are and where you’re going.

2. 
   Study and practice the new skills you need
   

Like playing a sport, learning the required skills won’t allow you to compete at a high level. You need to practice, practice, and practice new skills to become proficient. The same process works with new management skills.

3. 
   Integrate skills and talents
   

As you practice, you’ll integrate new talents and skills. You should use this advantage to better establish your brand. This activity is more than just improving your workplace perception. A strong brand embodies your mission and commitment.
Keep in mind, that the journey to the top of the management mountain is rarely a direct plan. Your development will not necessarily proceed straightforwardly, beginning at the bottom, and moving systematically to the top of the Pyramid.
Management is not an easy task, and every project manager knows the weight of responsibilities that come with the title. You are expected to know more and understand better at all times. Sounds familiar?
This pressure may often seem overwhelming. After all, there are always urgent tasks on the table that demand your attention. There are also plans and deadlines you have to be constantly aware of. Thus self-education seems to become the last priority when in reality it’s a crucial part of the complete success puzzle.
So how do you find balance in priorities, develop yourself, grow a strong team, and yet deliver great projects on time? Here’s where the Management Skills Pyramid, proposed by a consultant, author, and Ph.D. Kammy Haynes, becomes helpful.
In this article, we will discuss the basics of management skills development and introduce you to this powerful model.