Throwing in my own random list: - Negotiation - Communication skills (verbal, written, and listening). I've found only a few managers to be good at this. If t

Throwing in my own random list: - Negotiation - Communication skills (verbal, written, and listening). I've found only a few managers to be good at this. If things are happening without your knowledge, or if your employees don't talk much to you during 1:1s, then there is a trust gap (warranted or not), and you need the skills to break down that barrier. - Influence - Social dynamics (yes, I know this is overly broad). So much of the behavior at big companies falls into this category. An example is understanding empire builders, and how they almost always are poor managers. Understanding that having 15 direct reports probably means you're not managing them, and why despite this (I dare say) common knowledge, it is still quite common. Understanding why poor behavior amongst both staff and employees is tolerated, with almost absolute impunity. - Some amount of psychology. Psychology of motivation, etc. Obviously, a lot of the research on this topic is flawed, but some of it is quite "obvious" at the work place. - Cognitive biases in evaluating others (still very common to reward the firefighter handsomely, sadly). (As an aside, understanding why almost all companies have little interest in evaluating their employees, but they all act as if they do).