Do lazy managers promote lazy employees?

The last corporate job I had was more than ten years ago. Before that, I had worked for small businesses and didn't encounter much company politics. At this particular job, I definitely got a taste of it when I saw people who were less qualified given promotions and rewards over more qualified employees.

This was not immediately apparent, but when we found out that the director of our company, who had been there for more than a decade and who was one of the pioneers, was suddenly let go. Several months passed before a new director was hired. What surprised me and my colleagues was that there was a stark difference between this new person and our previous director in terms of qualifications and overall demeanor. While the previous director was pleasant, she also meant business when it came to meeting our goals and aligning them with the company's objectives. She came up through the ranks and knew the nuts and bolts of all our jobs. She meant business but also knew how to connect with us and show her human side.

The new director came from a completely different industry and didn't know much about healthcare management. To cover up her lack of knowledge she brought in a couple of people from her old company and put them in managerial roles. The three of them put impossible demands on our team and constantly questioned the way we had been trained. They asked us to code charts according to what they felt was right, instead of how the guidelines dictated. Most of my team members didn't outright complain but were unhappy with all the changes. They needed the job, so they put their heads down and did as asked. I was not the one to stand for what they were asking us to do and promptly turned in my resignation. Six months later, I found out from my former co-worker that this director was fired because the team was performing below average under her leadership and there was a high turnover in a very short period.

According to a Harvard Business Review article, lazy managers are often the reason to drive away top performers. Most managers lack good management skills; therefore become lazy. Lazy managers don't take responsibility for bad performance of their team and are quick to blame others. This leads to lack of trust in the team and they begin to look for other jobs. Lazy managers also tend to promote employees who are always in agreement with them and want to be in their good books. I have witnessed this on many occasions that person who flatters and strokes the manager's ego the most, tends to get the promotion or raise. Favoritism rather than merit becomes the guiding principle of who gets promoted and who stays where they are. I know many managers who feel threatened by top performing employees and deliberately ride them hard because they fear that a good, hardworking employee will someday take their job.

Here is one more example of a lazy manager I encountered in my career:

When I switched my career to healthcare, my first job was at the front desk of a doctor's office. Electronic Medical Records was emerging but most practices still had paper charts. I worked the front desk three days a week and another person worked the other two days. One day I saw that there were charts from previous days that were not filed so I went ahead and filed her charts when I was filing my own. The next time I came in, her charts were still sitting on cabinet so I filed them again. This continued for a few days and I was getting agitated because she was supposed to file her charts before she left for the day. It took me almost thirty extra minutes at the end of the day to file more than sixty charts and also pull thirty charts and prep them for next day's appointments. When I took the matter to the office manager, she listened to my concern and promised me that she will talk to the other person. The next time, some of the charts were filed but others were still there. Then I found out that the front desk person and office manager were best friends. In order to avoid conflict, the office manager moved me to the billing department (which was a blessing!) and hired someone else to replace me a the front. Lazy managers avoid confrontation and conflict and find a workaround instead of investigating the underlying issue.

In conclusion, organizations should consider whether lazy managers are costing them top performing employees. They must look at the retention rate of employees and conduct surveys about job satisfaction. In addition, organizations must look at who they are placing in management positions. Whether seniority and favoritism play a role or are positions truly being filled based on merit and job performance.

https://hbr.org/2018/11/dont-let-lazy-managers-drive-away-your-top-performers