How to Tell If You Work for a Manager With No Leadership Skills
Marcel Schwantes
My keynotes, coaching, and courses solve challenging people and leadership problems.
This is an Inc. Magazine update from the best of my column, read by 1.5 million people monthly. To receive future editions directly, join today.
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Having monitored employee engagement data for 20 years, employees continue to suffer from burnout and job dissatisfaction, which are common responses to stressful environments. Historically, managers have been mainly responsible.
Jim Clifton, who served as the CEO of Gallup from 1988 until 2022,?summarized in a succinct sentence the bottom line of why your company's employee turnover may be high:
The single biggest decision you make in your job -- bigger than all the rest -- is whom you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits -- nothing.
In my work as a leadership coach, I'm constantly calling managers out of counterproductive behaviors that hold them back from performing at their leadership best. Here are six that stand out:
1. Only looking after No. 1
Often, individuals are promoted to higher positions without a commitment to advancing the company mission or aligning team goals with organizational objectives. Instead, their focus is primarily on their personal performance and earning an annual bonus. Managers with this mindset prioritize their individual achievements and how they are perceived by their superiors, rather than the success of the team or the organization.
2. Stealing?the spotlight
The team successfully delivers an excellent product, meeting the client's satisfaction on schedule. And then it happens: The manager takes all the credit for the work.?There is no praise for the team, no celebration of everyone's success, and no recognition of team members for their contributions. This type of manager will?hog the spotlight, and when that happens, team morale plummets.?
3. Having to be right all the time
Have you ever worked with a manager who's always right, and you're always wrong? It's someone who has a hard time taking blame or ownership for things and will never admit to having made a mistake. This person is more concerned with preserving his or her reputation and saving face.?
4. Decision paralysis
Such a?manager will say?one thing on Monday?and change?direction by Wednesday, often without telling the team.?Team members don't know where they stand, as communication is often cryptic. When a manager is unsure of direction, decisions may be delayed or avoided altogether. This can lead to missed opportunities, slow progress, and an inability to respond effectively to challenges.
5. Likes to control
Under a controlling manager, the work environment is stifling and overbearing due to a lack of trust in team members and an unwillingness to delegate according to their strengths. In such a scenario, there's hardly room for group discussion or input?because the management style is autocratic. Creativity or learning something new is absent and workers are left with nothing but taking?their?marching orders.
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6. Missing in action
I have observed this happening for various reasons, one of which is the fear of not having the necessary skills to lead effectively. These managers tend to isolate themselves behind closed doors in order to avoid personal interaction, particularly during challenging times. They often use the excuse of being "busy" when their input or direction is needed and tend to avoid dealing with any problems by redirecting them to someone else.
Bringing It Home
These characteristics should not be seen as personality flaws. Instead, they are leadership deficiencies that can be changed through learning and by adopting traits that motivate and inspire people to perform at their highest potential.
The primary focus for senior managers and execs is to identify and promote individuals who exhibit the necessary skills and competencies to thrive in leadership positions. This will address the ongoing issue raised by the classic Jim Clifton quote from earlier.
So, my question to you is: Who are you considering for your management positions? It may be the difference between your organization's success and failure.
Your turn: How has leadership ineffectiveness held back your managers or affected your organizational performance? Leave a comment and let's learn from each other.
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About Marcel Schwantes
Marcel Schwantes is a global speaker, executive leadership coach, author, podcast host , and syndicated columnist with a worldwide following. He teaches emerging leaders the skills to build great work cultures where people and businesses flourish. Follow him for Inc. updates, free leadership resources and more.
I help professionals in Tech and Consulting (Microsoft, Amazon, Google etc... EY, Deloitte etc...) | Financial Advisor | Director
3 周Your article on distinguishing between a manager and a leader provides crucial insights into effective leadership.
Helping anyone be a better leader or coach
2 个月Great list. If I were back in a leadership role I would use this list as a self awareness tool by challenging my team to call me out on these behaviours....then creating the culture that not only permits, but rewards that feedback. Thanks for this!!
Guiding Leaders from the Inside Out | Where Inner Clarity Meets Organizational Excellence | Founder, LeaderONE.org
3 个月Thank you for another great article that addresses major issues in the workplace, Marcel. Managers play a role in burnout and dissatisfaction, but employees play an equally important part. It’s not the fault of either. We are all acting out from our conditioning. By cultivating inner awareness, we can turn off autopilot and respond more consciously. By doing the inner work, we can work more purposefully and find satisfaction whatever the circumstances. We can isolate ourselves from the chaos. The issues and behaviors you list are all driven by ego and fear, creating environments where true leadership cannot flourish. We need to learn what it means to shift from a state of doing to a state of being, anchored in presence and awareness. This shift not only enhances the leader’s effectiveness but also elevates the entire workplace culture. Most leaders today lead from ego to one degree or another. Until this is recognized and addressed, not much will change. The late Dee Hock, founder and CEO emeritus of Visa, estimated it would take about 100 years to fix. An accurate estimate from my perspective. As Eckhart Tolle wisely said, “Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”
The need to be right all the time and build an organizational structure that only enables that (highly hierarchical, all key decisions pass through him/her) is one of the highest single point risks that exist and given a long enough time, failures happen. That's most often the type one sees - rather than MIA or manifested control
Director of Retirement Sales Execution
4 个月Great piece Marcel Schwantes. I read and saved it as well as sent it to many colleagues. Thanks for your wisdom.