Soft Skills for a Software Maintenance ManagerAs a software maintenance and operation professional, you have technical training of some kind, you have a basic knowledge of software management principles, you have technical knowledge of the software you manage, and you have practical experience from years working in the field. These are the hard skills needed to perform your job.However, technical education, training, and knowledge will not give you the skills you need to effectively manage a team of software maintenance professionals. In addition to these hard skills, you need a very particular set of soft skills to excel in your role. If mastered, these skills will lead to greater productivity and efficiency across the software maintenance team.Leadership SkillsTo be a successful maintenance manager, you need to demonstrate leadership ability. You must be self-motivated, organized, trustworthy, empathetic and optimistic. A true leader has a clear vision of where they want the maintenance team to go and they set a positive example that encourages others to follow. To be a successful leader, your motivation and confidence must rub off on the team and create a healthy and productive work environment Leadership is also about getting the job done properly through others. Delegating work to subordinates is an important function of management otherwise nothing ever gets done. Delegation frees up precious time so the manager can focus on high-level, high-value activities. Successful managers foster motivation by giving subordinates autonomy to do the job, by creating a supportive environment, and by giving recognition when the job is done well.Interpersonal SkillsOne of the most important life skills is the ability to communicate clearly and concisely with those around you. Having good interpersonal skills means that other people are more likely to see you as calm, yet assertive and employers tend to promote employees with good interpersonal skills, as they can communicate effectively and maintain good relations with both colleagues and customers. Having excellent interpersonal skills will help you maximize the value of each interaction you have to everyone’s benefit. Software maintenance managers negotiate daily with subordinates, management, suppliers, contractors, machine operators and project managers - so effective excellent interpersonal skills are crucial to their day-to-day jobs.One of the best ways to develop your interpersonal skills is to practice active listening. It’s important to realize that listening is not the same as hearing. When we communicate, 45% of the time should be spent actively listening, which means you’re really paying attention to what is being said and not just waiting for your turn to speak. That way you’re sure to hear other people’s point of view. Good interpersonal skills can be the foundation on which other life skills are built on, so they must be continually improved and refined.Time Management SkillsTime management is the process of organizing and planning how much of your time you spend on each activity in order to provide the greatest value for the organization. As software maintenance managers, you are constantly interrupted and pulled in different directions by conflicting demands, so it can be difficult to plan your time. !Don’t run around trying to get everything done as it comes in!This is inefficient and leads to more stress, missed deadlines, and poor quality of work. Don't confuse activity with achievement. Good time management requires a shift in thinking from getting stuff done to achieving results. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Spend 15 minutes each morning planning your day, stick to meeting schedules and ensure all!You can plan your day, and your software maintenance teams’ day, by prioritizing and scheduling the work. Insist all work requests are submitted through the guest request portal so your hone is not constantly ringing and you can get things done. You can schedule time in your day to review the work request queue. Reserve the phone for issues that could be critical to the business. The most effective software maintenance managers have excellent time management skills and get more done in the same time. It’s a valuable skill that can be learned easily and then honed over time.Teamwork SkillsTeamwork is viewed as the most efficient way to get things done in any organization. The results achieved by the entire team are greater than the sum of the results achieved by the individuals. Why? Well, for one, when individuals work together as a team instead of going it alone they can bounce ideas off each other and arrive at the best solution quicker. Many hands also make for light work, so deadlines get met sooner. Teamwork also often leads to better decisions, products, or services. All of this means that in your role as a software maintenance manager you need to be looking out for and promoting behaviors that lead to effective teamwork. Look for team players who are reliable, respectful, cooperative, flexible, and who show commitment to both the team and the task at hand. Those are the people you want to work with. As a successful maintenance manager, you also need to recognize the different strengths in each individual member of the team and then create teams of people who complement each other and work well together. Putting two type-A personalities together is just asking for trouble. Having the ability to get the most out of the team through teamwork and collaboration is a crucial skill to have and will take you a long way in your career.AdaptabilityThe world is changing fast. Markets evolve quickly, equipment and systems are getting more complex, health and safety is now the highest priority, Co2 emissions are influencing how we manufacture goods and we’re using mobile apps for everything. Organizations must be adaptable to maintain a competitive advantage. The same is true for individuals. In today’s fast paced environments, you cannot be set in your ways or you will get left behind. Change is inevitable, so the ability to adapt to change is a crucial skill for maintenance managers to have. In addition, great leaders also have the ability to facilitate change. The modern maintenance manager must have the ability to adapt quickly in response to changing circumstances and environments. They must be willing to embrace new ideas, new ways of working, and new technologies. The most adaptable individuals thrive on uncertainty and respond positively when their routine changes. To become more adaptable, you must get out of your comfort zone and push the envelope. You must continually grow, improve and try new things. Learn new skills, adopt new technologies and continually reinvent yourself. Challenge the status quo, demonstrate openness to fresh ideas and loose the rigidity. Welcome new ways of doing everyday tasks or ways to make existing work processes more efficient. Being adaptable makes you more approachable and increases your ability to communicate with other people. It also makes you more able to handle change when it happens.Stress ManagementIf stress is allowed to build up over time, it can consume you. As a software maintenance manager, having the ability to handle stress may not be a skill in the strictest sense but it can mean the difference between success and failure. Managing stress doesn’t mean taking a deep breath and just getting on with it, managing stress means controlling the things around you that can lead to stress. When you control the controllable you can reduce the chances you’ll suffer from stress. If you have the skills, you probably handle very little stress on a day-to-day basis. Having the skill to control stress will keep you in good spirits and positively affect those around you.ConclusionIf your goal is to lead a team of software maintenance engineers, then master these skills and you are sure to succeed. If you are already in a position of management, developing and refining these skills will help you get the most out of your team, help you gain greater respect from company executives, and give you more opportunities for career advancement. Many of these skills intersect so improving one will have a big impact on others. Some of these skills will come naturally to you but they all will require additional effort to perfect. They will help you create a healthy work environment where employees look forward to coming to work and taking on more responsibility and exciting new challenges.“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” - John C. MaxwellQ1: As a software maintenance manager, how should I make a plan for the work of myself and my maintenance team?______________________________________________1___________________________________________________________Q2: In software maintenance and operation, which types of results are greater, the results achieved by the entire team, or the sum of the results achieved by the individual team members? Why?______________________________________________2___________________________________________________________