Whether you work in the private or public sector, top performers are often expected to excel in managerial roles, but it only sometimes works out that way. Instead, some high-achievers struggle in leadership positions, which can be surprising and frustrating for both the individual and their team. In this article, we’ll explore why this phenomenon occurs and offer tips for avoiding this issue.
Why do these top performers fail as managers?
Frequently, these individuals focus primarily on administrative tasks to provide weekly and monthly reports. This approach sets these top performers on a course of failure.
The reasons may vary from person to person and organization to organization; one can lack organizational succession preparedness and individual self-awareness, or a combination of multiple factors may apply.
Many organizations and managers promote their top performers without equipping them with new roles. Some organizations, by default, and based on the skills demonstrated in the previous position, assume that top performers have the competencies to manage and provide little management training. Frequently, these individuals focus primarily on administrative tasks to provide weekly and monthly reports. Unfortunately, this approach sets these top performers on a course of failure.
A couple of years ago, I spoke with a former colleague whose company enrolled him in a succession plan to shadow a top executive. His succession preparation took one-plus years of leadership and management training while performing his day-to-day functions/role. In addition, the company required him to develop the competencies and skills needed for the position. Recently, he was promoted to a senior leadership role.
An organization without a succession plan may suffer irreparable damage if it fails to foresee or adequately fill a gap left by emerging business needs and the departure of a key player. A well-crafted succession plan helps ensure your organization is prepared and ready to deploy the right leaders and managers. Leaders and HR organizations should anticipate and implement methodologies and tools to identify and assess internal competencies and employees’ potential to assume new leadership roles. Yet, we see many being more reactive than proactive.
Effective team development
Managers in all fields and levels must be agile in developing and acquiring the complementary competencies and skills needed to lead team members.
Managers in all fields and levels must be agile in developing and acquiring the complementary competencies and skills needed to lead team members.
Most new managers join teams and inherit skills available by the existing workforce. Some prefer to develop their team from the ground up, and others must assimilate into the current workforce and strengthen skills that are from their team. While the managerial toolkit includes problem-solving, decision-making, technical skills, functional expertise, interpersonal skills, and self-awareness, incoming managers must simultaneously and quickly identify, assess, develop, and incorporate these skills within their teams.
New managers self-awareness
Top performers who assume managerial functions should understand themselves and the immediate work environment, including external driving forces, as this will help them coach and efficiently and effectively lead their team.
Managers must be fully able to identify, interpret, and regulate their behavior and understand their impact on others. Therefore, self-awareness is a prerequisite for successful performance in a managerial role. For this reason, individuals who assume administrative functions should understand themselves and the immediate work environment, including external driving forces, as this will help them coach and efficiently and effectively lead their team.
Low productivity, a frustrated workforce, and a high turnover rate are some problems arising from poor management and leadership. Therefore, leaders and organizations must develop an environment conducive to self-awareness and invest in resources to help managers strengthen a growth mindset that pays forward to increase the pool of high performers.
Setting up your new manager for success
The below points are recommendations and not a prescription.
1. Encourage your organization’s leadership to cultivate principles, values, and competencies that maximize the productivity of its workforce in performed roles. Principles, values, and competencies should be a fundamental part of an organization’s culture to achieve greatness at the individual and byproduct at the organizational level.
2. Align candidates’ and employees’ innate talents to corresponding responsibilities. It is the simplest way to increase peak performance in any employee as friction with the role and individual inborn talents is minimal to nonexistent.
3. Motivate new managers to enhance their performance through self-awareness. People with a high level of self-awareness can seize opportunities to be more effective while being aware of their blind spots.
4. Emphasize the importance of specific soft and hard skills to succeed in the new role and provide training where gaps exist. Hard skills, such as technical knowledge to perform a particular task, are less effective in an environment where collaboration is paramount. The individual needing more soft skills such as communication, time management, and critical thinking, to mention a few, can create unnecessary conflict and reduce productivity. Conversely, soft solid, and hard skills increase their chances of success as managers.
5. Be aware of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), which could affect top performers. People with ADD display patterns such as losing track of time, inattention, and distractibility, and sometimes display difficulty regulating their emotions.
6. Encourage new managers to value two-way communication (i.e., listening vs. talking). While some people are inclined to interact with others and share their opinions, new managers should provide an environment where team members can express themselves and be heard.
7. Pay attention to the new manager’s administrative overload. It may be an indication of ineffective delegation.
