The Rise of the Modern Manager: Elevating People by Investing in Leadership and Management

THE RISE OF THE MODERN MANAGER

HR and organizational-development professionals are feeling the sting of a tighter economy in 2023, combined with “the worst productivity ratings on record since 1947,” according to national economists. Only about 32% of employees are actively engaged with their work,?according to a Gallup poll, with a particular decline among project managers.?

And what happens when management is lacking??Your HR teams spend “one-third of their time cleaning up managers’ messes,” said Jon Greenawalt , SVP of customer transformation at the performance-management platform?15Five.

WHY IS MANAGEMENT SO IMPORTANT?

Manager training, coaching, progressive HR technology, and people science will create the modern managers we need.

“Managers are the linchpin” and “middle managers are often left to their own devices, yet they have the most influence and impact on employees,” Jon said.

Middle managers can make the biggest difference in innovation, growth, and performance for organizations. In fact, 91% of quiet quitters say that they could be more motivated to work harder, and they would work harder if they had better managers.

When a company's purpose is executed through management, and is aligned with their employee's purpose, good things happen!

WHAT DO WORKERS WANT?

With a possible recession looming, Mary Daly, president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, said, “workers are going to stay put, ask for raises, and may go out of their way to let you know they’re satisfied.” They may only quit in their mind.

Employees want to feel valued and respected, have meaningful work and know their ideas are heard. They need acknowledgment and rewards, especially when it comes to taking on extra work.

Employees want “leaders and companies to actually care about them as a whole person. Forty percent want managers to have honest conversations about their work–and one in three say their manager?can’t even lead a team,” according to Greenawalt. Workers also want to be intrinsically motivated by a shared purpose and mission.?Everyone needs their “why.”

WHO IS THE "MODERN MANAGER?"

The best leaders are self-aware and self-reflective. Managers who don’t pretend or claim to have all the answers and are committed to their own growth earn the respect of their staff. They cultivate relationships and help people feel seen and supported. Modern managers create a team mindset of high performance by aligning values with the strategic goals of the organization for a powerful shared context (this "Organizational Health" concept appears again!).

On our webinar next week, Jon will outline key areas where the Modern Manager can put these concepts into practice, including:

1. Cultivate psychological safety.?Start all your meetings with a check-in that has nothing to do with work. Connect as humans.
2. Know and understand the strengths of your staff.? Managers should be initiating career-growth conversations, even if it means them leaving the company. People will leave anyways.
3. Project positivity.?In addition to positive feedback, you’ve got to give constructive feedback and share it as an observation and not a judgment.?
4. Create Intrinsic Motivation. Pour on the praise to bring out the best in people. Make sure staff are doing work more often that truly energizes them.?
5. Challenge employees to have a growth mindset.?Even those who seem very confident may never set a goal they think they can’t reach. Managers need to be great at helping staff come up with goals they’re passionate about.

THE RESULT OF AN ENGAGED WORKFORCE CAN BE SEEN EVERYWHERE; FROM MORALE TO YOUR BALANCE SHEET

Click here to register for our webinar with Jon and the team at 15Five!

As always please send feel free to ask any questions about the topics referenced in this article by email [email protected]. Have a great weekend!