The number 2 reason (17%) managers gave for accepting the promotion to the manager level is that
“They disliked their current job.”
I’d be lying if I said I never had a job I disliked. I’ve had my fair share. An interesting thing I noticed when talking with dissatisfied leaders who had taken new promotions just to get away from a job they hated, was how similar their back stories were.
The common theme was:
They became dissatisfied with their job. They got a new job. They became dissatisfied with their new job… is this a trend?
People take jobs for a myriad of reasons. Economic changes within an industry, perhaps starting in a new direction because of major life changes or completion of educational classes that qualified them for the new challenges. Whatever the reason, the steps to getting a job go something like this:
- Identify the need for a job.
- Search for a job online or through their personal network.
- Find a job that looks good enough to apply for.
- Get a job interview.
- Impress the interviewer with skillsets and a winning attitude.
- Start the job.
Sometimes it doesn’t take long to become disenchanted with a job you’ve agreed to take. I’ve had many discussions with hiring managers who report that the person that showed up on Day One was not the same person they interviewed. Perhaps you can identify with that statement? I’m of the belief that in many of these cases a manager can head off many (not all) of these disasters ahead of time with effective interviewing skills. We can talk about that later. However, I can tell you that once an employee is hired a manager must link the job to the big picture. Explain why the job is important to the success of the company. When managers link these two elements together it gives employees a purpose. People with a purpose perform. Understanding this is one of the keys to successful leadership.
Most organizations are made up of many individual contributors without which a company cannot exist. Individual contributors have by design a clearly defined role, with clearly defined responsibilities. Do these tasks, get them done on time and without errors and all will be fine. Pretty simple really, just stay within the lines. Contribute when asked to, become proficient at what is required, and you’ll have a no issues with management. Sadly, many people grow weary of being an individual contributor and the dream job they were hired for becomes unfulfilling. They start complaining, become distracted and performance may begin to suffer. The employee begins focus on any avenue that will get them out of their current position and into the awesome job of managing people.
Once they are rewarded with the position of manager they start to realize that they had it pretty good in their former role. Clear roles and responsibilities look very attractive when you must deal with things like performance appraisals, scheduling, workplace conflict, late arrivals, sick days, vacation coverage, hiring and firing employees and managing both up and down the chain. The list goes on and on. It doesn’t take long before the new manager begins to start complaining again. Some people believe that complainers just complain. In some cases, I find it hard to disagree. So, what do we do? How do we uncover what a person’s true motive is when they desire a move to management? Ongoing conversations with employees will help. A recent Gallup survey purported that in today’s work environment 70% of employees have LESS than one meaningful conversation per month with their direct supervisor. Hard to make solid decisions if you don’t know your employees.
Here’s a good exercise to put your candidates through when you’re thinking of who should fill a role. I call it a “Management Essay”. It could/should include:
- Detailed assessment of the team’s current state of performance.
- Specifically, what, why and how (if at all) they would change the team.
- A list of skills a manager needs to be successful.
- A list of the skills they possess.
- A gap analysis of the two lists and a time frame to fill the gaps.
- Why they want to be a manager?
An essay that includes these elements will help identify the right person for the job by educating the candidate heading into the position. There can be little doubt about what it truly takes to be a leader and your expectations of them should they be rewarded with the position. Don’t be snookered, giving an employee a promotion because they don’t like their current job endangers not only themselves, but the many others for which they will be responsible.
Response to chapter 1 has been very good! If you haven’t read that one, start there. You’ll find it listed on our website www.transglobaldevelopment.com inside the BLOG tab.
If this sounds like someone on your team, call us, we can help. info@tda-mail.com or 917.930.0801