Much hype is centred around promotions. It does bring with it a warm glow of recognition. It also brings in better pay and perks. But the most underestimated aspect it brings along is the baggage of team handling. It’s not exactly a walk in the park.
Some employees are real rock stars in their work. They take half the time others do and put in qualitative work. You’d think they would make excellent managers and increase your team’s productivity. Put them in that position and all their work prowess goes out the window. Remember Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy days? A cricketer par excellence; but he couldn’t lead. His natural game suffered under the pressure of team handling. India lost some precious matches under his leadership.
One of the most cited reasons for employee attrition is problems related with their immediate supervisor. Not many would come right out and say it, but underlying frustrations on a regular basis are reason enough to quit. This knowledge puts added pressure on the recently appointed Manager. The fact that his actions and behaviour have a direct or indirect impact on the way things will proceed is not as simple as it is perceived. Three important facts come to mind-
Qualities and Skills of a Good Manager:
1.Employee retention:
Have the most inclusive core values, mission statements and company policies in place; and your best employee may still quit. Out of numerous factors involved in a resigning decision, dig deeper and some fissures with their reporting managers will surface.
Companies need to have a training program to teach what good leadership is all about. Just assuming that a good worker will make a good manager is absurd. You are elevating people to a position that newcomers or juniors will eventually need to look up to. These are people who can hold on to your best employees, and nurture future managers. In direct contrast, they can also be the fastest way to see a good employee run out the door.
2. Employee productivity:
A caring, encouraging boss can yield far better results from his team than a dominating, whip-cracking boss. A new Manager may feel the intense pressure of being squeezed in between the top and the bottom of his hierarchy. But steps ought to be taken to coach them on not letting the stress get to them in the form of rude, abrupt behaviour with his/ her reporting juniors.
Bottom line is that people want to work. And most would love to be extremely productive. The Manager has a lot of direct impact on the kind of output his/ her team shows.
3. Company output:
After being directly connected with employee retention and productivity, the larger picture quite obviously affects the company’s output. Each employee is a link in the larger organizational chain. A Manager of a team of 10, or 5 or even 1, plays a highly significant role in where the company is headed. Resentful employees cannot be driven as well as happy, passionate employees. Going from individually contributing to helping a team contribute is a fairly big leap.
It is about giving responsibility of another person’s hours and weeks of work directly in the hands of someone else. It would be worth it to spare some thoughts on how to promote, coach and nurture your future Managers.
