Where Does Managerial Excellence Begin?

The article I just read triggered me. ?

It might trigger you too if you’ve ever walked into a meeting and were let go without any warning or an explanation of how or why or what you did to deserve to actually be fired.

It’s traumatic.?For those employees that aren’t breaking the law, aren’t breaking company policy, aren’t causing significant disruption, they often are in shock because their manager didn’t invest in their development or worse - didn’t manage performance.

"... the best gift you can ever give an under-performing employees is honest feedback about how they are performing?as well as the coaching they might need to elevate their performance." ~Jim Schleckser

The author wrote no truer words.?It is “your obligation as their manager” to invest, to coach, to develop, to share explicit goals for achievement.?Ambiguity, if the company has any strategic objectives at all, is not a productive place for employees to work from.?This is different than letting them figure out the “how” of their work.?Managers must give a framework for them to accomplish their tasks and get out of the way.?But if the employee doesn’t know the direction to point their arrow, how can we expect them to do what is needed to reach company goals?

In the example Joe writes in this Inc. article, the manager is eerily similar to managerial behavior I’ve witnessed and have been an unlucky participant. Upon reflection, these experiences lacked managerial excellence, any investment in the employee/manager relationship and lacked clarity from the beginning.

There is a common practice of “managing by review” meaning the only time there is feedback is during a performance review.?If that is the only time the manager is investing time in development for the employee, this is a ticking time bomb for the employee/manager relationship.?At some point the employee will do something wrong only to find out that the manager never told the employee what to be doing all along.

Now, imagine a manager who visits with their employee regularly, listens for challenges the employee is having, discovering that the employee knows they can do better and is eager to improve.?The manager has the opportunity in real time to find resources to help the employee perform better, whether that’s focus meetings to work on something specific, coaching to discover where the employee has strengths, or even reallocating the workload. ?Managerial excellence begins when managers take the time to develop their employees.

"Managerial excellence begins when managers take the time to develop their employees."

~Carrie Geyer

With continuous review and communication of explicit goals and benchmarks, the employee who underperforms will know fully that they aren’t meeting performance goals.?If the manager decides to term the employee, the employee won’t be surprised.?Employees are people with families and homes and financial obligations. Managers should treat them with such care. Offering outplacement resources shows care for the human being that once worked for your organization and ends the relationship in a better place.

Managers are obligated to invest in the relationship with their employees by seeking ways to support their best performance.?Employees join a role seeking to learn and be productive.?Humans are wired to be purposeful in the use of their brilliant energy.?Good managers understand their investment in developing each member of their team is key to trust and better performance. ?

Carrie Geyer is the CEO of Marea Organizational Consulting, a woman-owned consultancy specializing in Career, Employee Development, Executive and Personal coaching.