HR Leaders shouldn't invest only in the Development of managers but in improving the Manageability of Work

??Manager development is still necessary and valuable, but it's not enough.

Most HR leaders have responded to managers’ growing burdens by increasing investments in manager development programs, but only one in four HR leaders feels confident these investments are paying off while 75% of managers say these programs are not fully effective. Improving job manageability is 5 times more effective at improving manager effectiveness than building skills proficiency alone. 58% of HR leaders say managers having more responsibilities than they can manage makes it difficult for them to lead high-performing teams and Connector managers - who diagnose employee needs and connect them with the best people - are seen to be dramatically more effective than others types of managers. Unfortunately, organizations have not been developing more Connector managers. Instead, over the past six years, there is a steady increase in the proportion of Always-On managers, according to a new interesting research published by Gartner using data from a survey of 3,186 managers and 6,356 employees.

?Responsibilities of managers: Greater pressure from Above and from Below

Researchers found that compared to individual contributors, managers are roughly twice as likely to report increased responsibilities since before the pandemic.

Researchers found that large majorities of HR leaders say their organization’s expectations of managers have increased in a wide variety of areas. Organizations expect managers to do more of the critical work they were already doing, such as managing change and disruption or attracting and hiring critical talent.

Managers also face new expectations as they learn to manage hybrid teams, provide flexibility, protect employee well-being and deliver a more human employee experience. Employees also rely more on their managers than before, with 77% saying it has become more important for them to receive support from their managers

?Job manageability more effective than skills Proficiency

Researchers found that job manageability is five times more effective than skills proficiency in improving manager effectiveness.

?? So instead of just giving managers the skills to manage the unmanageable, organizations need to make the job more manageable in the first place.

Gartner researchers found that HR leaders can increase job manageability in four main ways:

1?? Reset role expectations. Realign manager responsibilities to best-fit connections and tasks.

2?? Rebuild the manager pipeline. Equip employees to self-discover if management is right for them.

3?? Rewire manager habits. Build long-term habits, not just skills, to sustainably change manager behaviors.

4?? Remove process hurdles. Eliminate processes that get in the way of managers’ highest-value work.

?Resetting Managers role expectations

Managers have also seen their responsibilities increase in the past three years: They have to make more decisions, take on more tasks and more complex responsibilities, and manage greater numbers of direct reports.

Researchers found that managers whose organizations focus on resetting their role expectations are 1.4 times as likely to find their jobs manageable as those whose organizations don't.

Gartner researchers have identified two effective strategies for resetting role expectations for managers:

?? Empower managers to connect employees with others for coaching and development.

?? Rescope the manager role to focus on high-impact tasks that managers are uniquely positioned to execute.

?The 4 archetypal management styles

Researchers identified 4 archetypal management styles to empower manager after six years of research into what makes an effective manager.

1?? Always-On managers continuously coach their employees.

2?? Teacher managers coach their employees to work the same way they do.

3?? Cheerleader managers provide autonomy and empowerment to their team members.

4?? Connector managers diagnose employee needs and connect them with the best people on or off their team to help them meet those needs

Researchers noticed that being a Connector manager also has a positive impact on managers’ ability to prevent responsibility overload, maintain a healthy work-life balance and confidently lead their teams to future success but unfortunately, organizations have not been developing more Connector managers.

?? Instead, over the past six years researchers have seen a steady increase in the proportion of Always-On managers.

??Finally researchers suggested 3 ways for companies to get started on making managers’ jobs more manageable:

?? Review and reflect on your organization’s current approach to manager effectiveness. How does the organization make managers’ jobs more focused, sustainable and executable, and how can it do better?

?? Share these insights with other senior leaders to generate support for and gauge organizational readiness to reset role expectations, rebuild the manager pipeline, rewire manager habits and remove process hurdles.

?? Solicit manager feedback. Ask them about their most burdensome tasks as well as what responsibilities pull focus from their people management responsibilities and what process hurdles frustrate them. Ask new managers whether your current manager selection process adequately prepares them for these roles. Gather feedback on manager development programs and how effectively they drive behavioral change.

Thank you ?? Gartner researchers team for these insightful findings:?

Swagatam Basu Jonah Shepp Robin Kranich Val Sribar

Dave Ulrich?George Kemish LLM MCMI MIC MIoL

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