If I had a magic wand, I would…..transform all the bad managers into good ones.
Why choose this?
- I’ve watched people suffer at the hands of a poor manager. Sadly, there isn’t always an immediate option to leave the situation.
- It’s not good for the company. Poor managers drive low engagement, high turnover and cause teams to underperform.
But wait, how will the magic wand know which are the bad managers?
While they aren’t hard to spot, here are a few characteristics that standout:
- They don’t invite or listen to feedback;
- They criticize in public;
- They don’t take the time to learn each team member’s strengths, weaknesses and potential;
- They don’t provide feedback;
- They practice “drive by management” (roll-up, hurl out instructions and disappear);
- They care more about their success than that of their team members; and
- When failure happens, they go straight to the ABCDs – accuse, blame, criticize and deny. Rather than actively encouraging learning from failure.
Sadly, the list could go on.
Managers have a disproportionate impact on employee and corporate success. While managing people isn’t easy, taking the time to learn how to do it better is a worthy investment.