7 Skills Needed To Get a Management Job as a Person with a Disability
The above picture is of a man in a blue suit sitting in an office and smiling.
Although it may vary from company to company, typically a management job has specific prerequisite skills pertaining to managing a unit, be it a small team or the entire department or organization. While every HR department understands that it may or may not be able to find a candidate with all the ideal skills and virtues, quite understandably it seeks a candidate that possesses most of the essential skills that are needed to fulfill managerial roles.
DisABLEDperson, Inc. presents a guide to the 7 top-most skills that increase the probability of securing a managerial role for a person with a disability:
Problem Solving
Given the daily challenges that can surface when managing a unit, all managers are required to solve problems on a daily basis. These could be related to organizational strategy, administration, finance, process, personnel, or any other specialized domain. Disabled persons who are great at analyzing and resolving problems or those who can collaborate with the right team members to design an effective solution must highlight this skill along with relevant examples of how and when they have demonstrated it, when applying for management jobs for a person with disabilities.
Leadership
Leadership is one of the most desired attributes for any managerial role, including management jobs catered for disabled people. The most effective managers are those who are capable of motivating a team to perform optimally and to strive for higher performance benchmarks. Differently abled people have the potential to be great leaders as they have likely surpassed a fair amount of challenges and obstacles in their lifetime. It lends them not only a unique perspective on how to overcome difficulties but also an empathetic mindset, positive attitude, and resilience. Today there are plenty of examples of self-development authors and motivational coaches who use their experiences to mentor others across several platforms.
Communication Skills
Managing the most essential resource – personnel – is as challenging as it is crucial. One of the cornerstones of good management is effective communication, no matter what the medium, be it oral or visual. The ability to listen and communicate clearly with bosses and coworkers sets the stage for collaboration and teamwork while helping each team member understand their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, it helps managers understand and respond to customer needs and complaints.
Conflict Management
Every organization is comprised of people from varied backgrounds and with diverse mindsets, skills, qualifications, and experiences that set them apart. It however also serves as the basis for conflicts to arise. Conflict resolution and management is thus an important managerial duty.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking helps us think clearly and rationally to understand a situation or problem. It facilitates problem solving – the ability to analyze a problem and dissect it to identify and address the root cause in order to find a feasible solution.
Delegation of Duties
A major proportion of a manager’s working life is spent in delegating duties as opposed to actually executing them. Therefore, a manager must ideally be able to identify the right person for a task and ensure that it is executed to the utmost satisfaction.
Being Organized
Maintaining a list of to-do tasks and crossing off each item as they successfully accomplish their set objectives for each day is a skill that helps managers stay focused on the big picture – realizing organizational goals – while managing a unit or group.
The aforementioned attributes, to a large extent, represent the most desired skills for a managerial position. If you think you require coaching or additional help in developing one or more of these skills before applying for a disabled person management job, fear not. There are plenty of in-person and online courses for a variety of managerial skills including leadership, communication, and analytical skills.
To begin your search for disabled person management jobs, apply today!