Managing the Managers

What we see:

• Employee has been given very little direction or expectation
• Meets with supervisor as little as once or twice a year
• Very little communication between manager and employee
• Very little corrective action training (fire rather then coach and retain)

In a world of rather young executives we have seen that there is no management training. Promotions are awarded to the “next in line.” We need to ask ourselves:

What is a good manager? Do I know the answer?

• Am I a good manager?
• Do I hire quality people?
• Do my managers hire quality people?
• Have my managers had any formal management training?
• Has our company properly trained our managers to manage?
• Do I lead by example?
• Can I give examples of solid leadership skills through achievement?

Tips for being a successful manager:

• Lead by example
• Nurture and grow your people
• Ask your people to help you better manage them, without sacrificing the common goal
• Find everyone’s strengths and play to their strengths

Remember, ordinary people can do extraordinary things if properly managed.

Comments

[Tom Schulte]

This article is so true! In my training company, Recalibrate Professional Development, we train leaders to lead, not to manage people. In every Leadership PowerLab we provide to corporations, non-profits, schools, or governmental agencies, we see and hear the exact same thing: when people quit their jobs, they are actually most often quitting their boss, not quitting the company or the position they held. We coined a word for these people and call theses bosses "Knucklehearted" (TM)

People who haven't been properly trained to lead other people tend to simply mimic their own recipe for success. They force their recipe on to others and it ususally doesn't work too well. We tell people that "what got you there isn't going to get you to the next level." You will need other people who have different skill sets who can be trained in their inadequate areas. And, that you need to honor those differences and learn to place them where they belong in your organization if you really want to be effective.

When we teach values-based leadership, we allow people to see how important authentic communication is and how to be equipped to provide that kind of culture to the employees who are producing the value for their firms. It centers on honest and open communication.

Take this article on "Managing the Managers" to heart and train your leaders how to deal with, and value their most important asset: Their Human Capital.

Tom Schulte | CEO
Recalibrate Professional Development
Atlanta, GA
770-490-5289