Why most new managers encounter trouble
By Dan Bobinski
Before placing someone in the role of a supervisor or manager,
a few questions must be answered. Is the person you’re
promoting ready for the position? If not, are you willing to do
what it takes to equip that person for the job? If you answer
“no” to both questions, you’re asking for
trouble.
Managers wear many hats. First, they have the difficult job of
being a translator. When those at the leadership level are flying
at 40,000 feet, they’ve got the big picture in front of them.
They’re looking around at the forests and looking out at the
horizon. After deciding the best direction for the company, they
set goals and communicate those goals to the managers.
Managers must not only be able to interpret those goals
accurately, they must be able to translate them and dice them up
into specific action-items for the front line employees working
among the trees in the forest. That’s not always an easy job.
Many leaders forget what it’s like to work among the trees.
And, most front-line employees have not been up in the leadership
airplane, looking around at 40,000 feet. For that matter, most
managers don’t spend much time flying at that level,
either.
Still, managers must correctly interpret the vision told them
by those in leadership, translate it into manageable pieces, and
delegate tasks accordingly.
To make their job even more challenging, many managers remain
responsible for large amounts of non-managerial work. Recent
research by the Emerge Leadership Group has found that some
managers spend as much as 85 percent of their time doing production
work. Clearly, this does not allow them to be effective in their
managerial role.
Perhaps the worst dilemma for managers is getting placed in a
supervisory role without any training for how to do it well. For
some reason, the idea persists that front line employees who excel
can be placed in management or supervisory positions and they will
do equally well.
That’s rarely the case without help.
People placed in management roles must become translators,
delegators, motivators, trainers, mediators, planners, listeners,
organizers, problem-solvers, example-setters, cheerleaders,
budgeters, ambassadors, regulators, counselors, and more, all while
remaining diligent workers.
With little-to-no training for these responsibilities,
it’s next to impossible for new managers to succeed. This is
why even after five years, less than 25 percent of people promoted
to supervisor or manager positions have successfully transitioned
into the role. And, the Emerge Leadership Group says in the past
three years, that percentage has gotten even worse. They found that
between 2005 and 2008, the percentage of people who have
successfully transitioned to management positions dropped from 25
percent to 16 percent.
Here’s a suggestion: Put ongoing training in place. A
one-day class will not cut it. For that matter, a one week class
will not cut it. Ongoing, intermittent management training with
feedback and coaching gives managers a way to learn, practice, and
improve their efficiency and effectiveness as they progress.
Afraid of the cost? I’ve heard way too many business
owners express concerns that they’ll pay for someone to
become a better manager and then that person will leave. But a
Chief Financial Officer of a major regional bank has a great
perspective to counter that concern. He once told me,
“what’s the cost of not investing in them—and
having them stay?”
Consider what happened to Karen. She had a long history of
success in her tech position at an aerospace technology firm.
Shortly after her promotion to supervisor, she attended a
highly-regarded two-week management training class. Just like in
her technical position, she excelled in the training class and
received high marks from the instructor.
Unfortunately, not long after returning to work Karen began
criticizing and nitpicking her staff for minor issues. She was
unable to separate real issues from trivial matters. She wrote
people up for small infractions, she acted indifferently to
employee concerns, and didn’t spend much time in training,
planning, or organizing. Much of her days were spent going over
each team member’s work with a fine tooth comb, sending
projects back for correction.
Within seven months, five people from her team had requested
transfers, and two simply found work elsewhere and quit. The staff
that remained had lost all respect for her. Although complaints had
been filed, neither HR nor Karen’s immediate supervisor did
any counseling, coaching, or mentoring with her. After a year,
senior management decided Karen wasn’t cutting it and fired
her.
This was patently unfair to Karen, and it’s certainly
not the way to help your organization succeed. As I indicated up
front, if you’re not willing to do what it takes to equip a
person for a job you promote them into, you’re asking for
trouble.
