Managers often attract exactly what they manage for
Just as moths are attracted to a light bulb, employees are equally attracted to the management style that best suits them.
I frequently find managers who lament that their employees show no initiative, do not pay attention to details, or won’t solve problems. Sadly, in almost every case, the manager has caused this problem. Peter Drucker said: “The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker but of the manager.”
Here are several ways managers often cause their own problems.
They recruit them:
I had a conversation today with a manager (it was this conversation that prompted me to write this) and I asked her what her greatest joy was as a manager. She told me she really enjoyed finding people she could help grow and develop. On the surface this sounds okay. However, I happen to know that the last four people she hired left the company within four months. She is a fixer. She sees opportunities in candidates to help them turn their lives around, and although this is admirable, it is also time consuming and has a low success rate. Because of the low success rate, successes are that much sweeter, yet we still complain about how much time it took to get there. There are numerous variations on this theme. Here’s another one: I need someone right now, and I don’t have time to go through an extensive selection process, so I end up with a candidate that wastes more of my time. I think you get the picture.
They do it for them:
I have watched too many managers do this. An employee comes to the manager with a problem, any problem. The manager then solves the problem for the employee. Then the manager complains that the employees are not able to solve problems. Can you see the self-defeating cycle here? Instead of taking the time to coach the employees and instruct them to come up with potential solutions to problems, it is quicker and easier to provide the solution. (It also allows the managers to show how smart they are!)
Managers have to learn how to let go. Delegation is always a struggle – we all believe no one can do it as well as we can do it ourselves. However, the reason the manager has a job managing others is that the job is now too big for just one person to handle. As a manager, you need to let your employees learn to do for themselves, and in some cases they will make mistakes, which are also learning experiences. If you want employees to show initiative, give them the opportunity to take the lead and in some cases fail.
They Micromanage them:
This is closely linked to the previous subject – a primary reason manager’s micromanage is they do not trust their employees to do it right. Unfortunately, managers who micromanage will attract employees who like to be micromanaged – those are the employees who need close supervision and interaction to complete tasks. Some employees like this because they are told exactly what to do and when to do it and do not have to accept any responsibility. Successful managers train, coach and put systems in place so that employees learn how to do it right, and then trust their employees and let go.
Summary
If you are having problems with the employees you manage, you might want to see if your management style is attracting a certain type of employee. The flip side of this is looking at what type of employee you might be pushing away. I do a lot of exit interviews and a large percentage of employees cite their manager as their reason for leaving. I can often evaluate a company’s health by reviewing the caliber of employees that have left in the past six months. The good employees are the ones leaving – they have the skills, confidence, and résumé to find work elsewhere.
And so if you find you are attracting moths, don’t look at the moths, check out the light bulb.
Published By admin on Jan 15 - Comments (0)
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