Some managers are good and others aren’t so good; that’s just a fact of life. There are several reasons why some managers achieve extraordinary results, while others just seem to eke by. Unfortunately, the emphasis we place on the training and development of skilled craftsmen and well-paid professionals is often not applied in the field of management.
I’d like to share some thoughts on why there aren’t more good managers out there and what could be done to change that trend.
Reasons For Management Failure
1. Lack of Training
In many occupations and in all professions, some type of training and/or certification is required in order for competency to be established or recognized. Beyond the training, some type of testing is usually required to demonstrate proficiency. Not so for managers – in 98 percent of corporate America. More often than not, a manager is selected based on tenure, not on proficiency.
2. Lack of Mentoring/Coaching
Once a manager is selected, he or she is almost never mentored. The selection is made and corporate fingers are crossed, hoping the new manager will be better than the last one. No one comes alongside the new manager to provide a vision or a plan. No one closely monitors the new manager’s activity and provides constructive feedback. Nope, the new manager is thrown to the wolves with such sage advice as “just figure it out.” Sadly, most folks never do.
3. Poor Role Model
Most learning for new managers is caught instead of taught. Before being promoted, we get an up-close and personal example of what managers do and how they act in our respective organizations. If we work for an exceptional manager, we’ll probably turn out to be a good manager as well. If we don’t, and this is most often the case, we get a skewed perspective of what managers do.
4. Focus on Personal Performance
If you had the opportunity to look at the typical manager’s performance evaluation, you would see, more often than not, he or she was praised for projects completed and problems solved. You’d be hard pressed to see praise for developing subordinates. Therein lies part of the problem: most managers are praised for individual behavior, not team development.
5. Management Is Hard
Those who think management is easy or that managers don’t do anything have probably never managed, or, if they have, they didn’t do it right. Getting things done through people requires a number of skills and a great deal of perseverance. Management is not for the faint of heart and it’s nor for the lazy.
Action Item(s):
Here are five suggestions on how management could be improved at the individual or corporate level.
1. Take Advantage of Training
If you’re a new manager, take advantage of any and all management development training provided by your company.
2. Take Personal Responsibility
Good managers take personal responsibility for their own training and development. Don’t wait for someone else to do it for you; you may be waiting a long time.
3. Find A Mentor
If you don’t have a mentor – find one. Look for a positive role model, someone with a lot of management experience and ask that person to mentor you. He or she will be honored and probably more than willing to work with you.
4. Assess Your Commitment To Management Development
If you’re an executive, consider the points I’ve made in this eCARD and assess your individual and your organizational commitment to management development. If the commitment to management development isn’t there, take the necessary steps to make it happen. The future well-being of your organization depends on it.
Tags: assess, coaching, management, management development, manager, manager's minute, managerial, managers, mentor, objectives, organize, responsibilities, responsibility, results, role, training
