First, a plan enables a set course of action to achieve goals and reach objectives. Second, a plan helps to solve problems faster and easier Third, a plan prepares one for how to react under particular circumstances. Finally, a plan provides the steps to follow to improve and get ahead. Planning has an impact on the entire management process as well as being a key factor in establishing a manager's leadership image. The evidence is clear.
Successful managers are effective planners.
The second important skill a manager needs to practice is people skills, or knowing how to communicate effectively with the people. Management plans, no matter how outstanding they are, become useless unless they can be communicated to employees. Everything that a manager does, eventually, must pass through the bottleneck of communication if it is to reach those involved. Effective supervisory communication needs to be two-way, upward, as well as downward, in the organization. The manager needs to be an effective receiver of messages as well as sender of messages.