Skills assessment for managers

In the course of their careers, managers often have to ask themselves questions about their professional development, skills and employability. A skills assessment is an essential tool for assessing strengths, motivations and aspirations.

This article shows you how this assessment can help you get to know yourself better, make informed decisions about your career and capitalize on your skills in team management, performance management, communication and much more!

Identify and enhance your skills

A skills assessment helps you identify and enhance the skills you have developed over the course of your career.

Whether you're an experienced manager or a young professional, it's essential to have a clear vision of your strengths so you can better exploit them, improve them and promote them to your employer.

Analyze your career path

The first step in a skills assessment is to analyze your professional experience. It involves drawing up an inventory of your various missions, responsibilities and achievements as a manager.

This approach highlights the skills you have acquired and those you wish to develop.

Assess technical and behavioral skills

Technical skills are those related to your area of expertise, such as :

• Team management
• Performance management
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Change management

Behavioral skills, on the other hand, relate to your personality, your management style and the way you interact with others. These can be, for example:

• Leadership.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Negotiation.
• Active listening.

Create a professional development plan

Once your skills have been identified, the skills assessment helps you to build a professional development plan tailored to your aspirations and the needs of your company. This plan must be realistic, motivating and meet the challenges you wish to face in your career.

Define your goals and priorities

To draw up a professional development plan, it's important to define your objectives and priorities. For example:

• Would you like to improve your project management and team management skills?
• Would you like to develop new skills such as change management or decision-making?

It's also essential to take into account your employer 's expectations and the needs of the job market.

Identify necessary training and resources

Your professional development plan should also include the training and resources you need to achieve your goals. For example, you could consider :

• Online or face-to-face training
• Practice-sharing workshops
• Seminars or conferences
• Readings, podcasts, tutorials

You can also take advantage of your professional network and the advice of your peers or mentors.

Implement your professional development plan

Next step: implement your professional development plan with rigor and determination. This phase is crucial in a skills assessment for managers, because it enables you to realize your ambitions and achieve your professional goals.

Committing to development

The success of your professional development plan depends on your commitment to the process. It is essential to take into account the constraints of time, money and availability, but also to remain motivated and determined to progress.

Monitor and adjust your development plan

Monitoring and adjusting your professional development plan are necessary to measure the results achieved and adapt your approach to any obstacles encountered or new opportunities arising.

Our advice: don't forget to keep an eye on your needs, your progress and changes in the job market, so you can adjust your plan accordingly.

Measuring the results and benefits of skills assessment

A skills assessment is an investment of time and energy that needs to be evaluated in terms of results and benefits for your career and your company as a manager. It's important to measure the progress you've made and the concrete impact this process has had on your professional development.

Analyze results

Comparing the skills acquired and developed with the objectives set is a key step in measuring the results of the skills assessment.

To assess the impact of your approach on your work and your professional environment, you can analyze feedback from stakeholders such as :

• Your employees
• Your line managers
• Your mentors

Enhancing the benefits for the company

A skills assessment is beneficial not only for your career, but also for your company. By developing your skills, you improve the performance of your team, the quality of your projects and the satisfaction of your customers. Crucial for your professional development!

The players in skills assessment for managers

Carrying out a skills assessment for a manager requires the involvement of a number of different players. These include :

• The beneficiary: the manager himself, who must be fully committed to the process if he is to reap its full benefits.
• The skills assessment consultant: a professional who supports the manager throughout the process, helping him or her to analyze skills, soft skills, aspirations and needs.
• The company's human resources representative: he or she plays a key role in supporting the manager in his or her approach and facilitating access to the training and resources needed for professional development.

Skills assessment procedures

Skills assessment for managers can take a variety of forms, depending on the needs and constraints of the professional. Possible modalities include :

• One-to-one interviews with a skills assessment consultant, providing an in-depth analysis of the manager's skills, aspirations and career plans.
• Online tests and questionnaires, which help to assess a manager's technical skills (hard skills) and soft skills (behavioral skills).
• Field surveys or interviews, which enable you to talk to other managers about their experiences and practices.

A skills assessment is an invaluable tool for managers wishing to optimize their skills. It enables them to identify their strengths and driving forces, and to define their professional priorities. Thanks to this approach, managers can get the best out of managing and developing their careers.

FAQ

What is a skills assessment for managers?

A skills assessment for managers is a diagnosis that identifies the manager's strengths and areas for improvement, and determines his or her learning and development needs. It can be used to improve managerial performance and effectiveness.

What are the advantages of a skills assessment for managers?

The main benefits of a skills assessment for managers are to identify their strengths and motivations, assess their skill levels and help them define objectives to develop their potential and improve their performance and results.

‍