Poor managerial behaviours negatively impact engagement, alignment, productivity, and retention.
Research has identified gaps between what people expect and their experience when working with their immediate manager.
Poor managers cost your company money when:
- They don’t set clear goals with their people.
- They don’t align goals to the team, departmental, and organizational objectives.
- They don’t check in on progress.
- They don’t provide feedback.
- They don’t adjust their style based on the needs of the employee.
- They don’t listen.
- They don’t change (without training and support).
How?
- They don’t set clear goals with their people.
About 70 percent of people want to have goal-setting conversations often or all the time, but only 36 percent do. When managers aren’t skilled in setting specific, trackable, relevant, attainable, and motivating goals, the result is multiple priorities, unclear action steps, and a poor line of sight on how work contributes to larger objectives.
“All good performance begins with a laser-like focus on goals,” so Identify 3 to 5 critical goals for each employee and make sure they are written down. Goals that are written down are 18 percent more likely to be achieved. Writing down the goal also makes it easier to review.
- They don’t align goals to the team, departmental, and organizational objectives.
Only 14 percent of organizations report that their employees understand their company’s strategy and direction.
When people don’t know where their company is going, they can work on projects that are out of step with organizational objectives.
Make sure all team members are working on the highest-priority tasks. Ask managers to check in and review priorities with their people. Ensure the work is meaningful, on target, and contributes to overall organizational goals.
- They don’t check in on progress.
More than 73 percent of people want to have goal-review conversations often or all the time, but only 47 percent do. And 26 percent say they rarely or never discuss current goals and tasks.
What gets measured gets managed.
Research conducted at Dominican University in California found that people who write down their goals, share them with someone else, and have regular weekly check-ins are 30 percent more likely to achieve those goals than people who do not.
- They don’t provide feedback.
Research shows that 67 percent of people want to have performance-feedback conversations often or all the time, but only 29 percent do. And 36 percent say they rarely or never receive performance feedback.
Without feedback, people don’t have a way to make course corrections or to know how they are doing until it’s late in the process. No one feels good when work must be redone because of a lack of feedback.
A few key attributes of good feedback are:
– Focus on observable behaviours, not personality traits. Feedback should be clear and directive and should focus on concrete actions.
– Keep a positive end goal in mind. Paint a positive picture of the desired outcome that gives people a vision to work toward.
– Offer to be an accountability partner. Change is hard. Offer to provide appropriate direction and support as needed.
- They don’t adjust their style based on the needs of the employee.
Nearly 54 percent of managers use the same leadership style for all people in all situations, regardless of whether a direct report is new to a task or already an expert. Half the time, this results in a manager either over-supervising or under-supervising.
The best managers tailor their management style to the needs of their employees. For example, if an employee is new to a task, a successful manager will use a highly directive style with clearly set goals and deadlines. If an employee struggles with a task, the manager will use equal measures of direction and support. If the employee is an expert at a task, a manager will use a delegating style on the current assignment and focus instead on coming up with new challenges and future growth projects.
- They don’t listen.
When I ask clients and audience members, “What is the biggest mistake leaders make when working with others?” Forty-one percent of the respondents identified inappropriate communication or poor listening.
Here’s a three-step model to help managers slow down and focus on what people share.
– Explore—ask open-ended questions such as, “Can you tell me more about that?” or “How do you think that will go?” or “What does that mean?”
– Acknowledge—respond with comments such as, “You must be feeling …” or “So, if I hear you correctly, what you’re saying is ….”
– Respond—now that you understand the direct report’s point of view, you can carefully move forward with a possible response.
- They don’t change (without training and support).
Most new managers—60 percent—underperform or fail in their first assignments. Worse yet, as Harvard researcher Linda Hill has found, managerial habits developed by new managers often continue to hobble them for the rest of their careers.
With two million people across North America stepping into their first managerial position each year, getting people the training they need is critical.
Unfortunately, research shows that most managers don’t receive formal training until ten years into their careers!
I suggest you rethink the traditional approach to who gets trained in the organization.
My suggestions?
- Don’t hold your best people back—in fact, don’t hold anyone back. Why not train everybody who desires it?
- Show everyone you value them and are willing to invest in their development.
- Adopt inclusive policies that identify and provide people with the training they need to build leadership bench strength, bring out the best in people, and create a strong work culture.
Better leadership practices have been positively associated with increased engagement, alignment, productivity, and performance.
Research has identified that better leadership practices—if fully employed—could be worth as much as a 7 percent increase in profits!
For leadership development professionals, these seven areas provide an opportunity to take a more targeted approach to improve manager performance in each region.
Here are five ways to get started.
- Take a look at the overall design of your performance management process.
Conduct a quick internal assessment. Are managers following best practices in setting specific, motivating, attainable, relevant, and trackable goals? What percentage of employees have current goals written down?
Individuals and organizations achieve more when goals are identified, written down, and reviewed consistently.
Read more about performance management
- Double-check on goal alignment at the team and department level.
Make sure that all team members are working on the highest-priority tasks. Ask managers to check in and review priorities with their people.
Ensure the work is meaningful, on target, and contributes to overall organizational goals. Efficiency improves when everyone is clear on goals and moving in the same direction.
Read more about goal alignment.
- Please look at how much time your managers spend with their people.
Everyone benefits from regular coaching and performance review.
Monitoring progress and providing feedback are two key ways for a manager to stay involved and partner with an employee to achieve goals. I suggest leaders meet with their direct reports at least twice a month to discuss progress toward goals and to address employee needs for direction and support.
Read more about time management.
- Identify what individuals need to succeed in their high-priority tasks.
Managers need to adjust their leadership style to meet each person’s needs, depending on their experience and confidence with the tasks they are assigned.
With proper levels of direction and support, people can move through stages of development and reach peak performance faster.
Surprisingly, without training, only 1 percent of managers are skilled at identifying and delivering all four styles when needed, whether directing, coaching, supporting, or delegating.
- Review your performance review process.
In many organizations, goals are set at the beginning of the year and not seen again until the review process at the end of the year.
I recommend that managers conduct a series of mini-reviews throughout the year—every 90 days is the recommended standard. This allows leaders to make mid-course corrections. It also eliminates surprises for direct reports and keeps the partnership between the manager and direct report solid and vibrant.
Read more about goals.
Final Thoughts
A renewed focus on leadership development can significantly affect an organization’s performance. Research shows that when managers meet the needs of their people, organizations benefit through higher levels of discretionary effort, work performance, and intention to remain and collaborate more effectively.
How are the managers in your organization impacting your bottom line?
Give your leadership development process a review.
Great managers aren’t born—they’re trained.
Get started today by emailing me at Steve@StevenArmstrong.ca.
