Although most skills are acquired through training, some are learned through observation. Learning from an employer or manager gives employees room to grow and excel in their career. Many successful people will testify that they always look for an opportunity to be better in their profession. Justine Imbabazi says she loves her job as an accountant, and this isn’t just because she gets a good pay-check, but because of the lessons learned from her employer along the way. She explains that many employees focus their attention on only the pay and lose out on the bigger picture. It doesn’t matter how much one is paid, leaving any workplace without any skills is a hindrance to one’s growth. Imbabazi explains that having a manager who communicates effectively on how to go about daily activities and tasks makes work fun and thus enables all employees to be effective at what they do. It also allows workers to be transparent and open. Proper communication is when a leader knows when and how to communicate and allows employees to express their opinions or give feedback concerning any discussion, that way, employees feel valued, respected, and understood. Imbabazi believes that when communication is lacking, it’s easy to misinterpret information, or the message, a thing that can affect the relationship of workers, hence hindering improvement and advancement in the company. Imbabazi notes that problems are bound to happen in every workplace but employees need to know how to go about such. Problem-solving is the process of understanding a challenge and working on how to find the appropriate solution for it. Imbabazi says that being able to identify a problem and find solutions is a skill most job recruiters are looking for. According to Sky Dennis, a human resource expert, every leader should be able to mentor their staff. This involves sharing knowledge and skills with their workers. “At times, mentorship comes with career training, and pushing workers to be confident and believe in their abilities and utilise every opportunity within the company, for instance, at times, it may be volunteering in different departments to challenge oneself to acquire new skills within the same organisation,” he says. He adds that most employees get bored of doing the same tasks every day, yet they can challenge themselves to learn new things, as learning is a continuous process. “There is nothing as fulfilling and rewarding as leaders complimenting and praising workers for the good job done. Some leaders think it’s an obligation for employees to perform to the best of their knowledge and abilities, however, great leaders recognise employee efforts. That’s one of the ways to boost employees,” Dennis says. He also explains that leaders should have the ability to be flexible, by being able to view an opportunity to grow or be better out of every challenge, and having numerous ways to find solutions. “This is a skill every employee should emulate as it may be useful in the future.” He also notes that good leaders extend empathy to their workers, they provide a listening ear, and this builds trust and respect between the parties. He adds that leaders ought to listen carefully and give feedback or solutions, that way, the workplace can be a better place because employees feel valued. This also creates a happy and healthy work environment and allows employees to open up where necessary.
