It’s a tale as old as time. Staff member is hired to do a job. Staff member does that job really well. Staff member is promoted to management and is given a team to supervise. Staff member does not want to supervise other people. Staff member is not given any training or support. Staff member no longer gets to spend most of their time doing what they do best. Staff member is unhappy. Staff member’s team is unhappy. Staff member’s management is unhappy. Everyone blames the staff member for something they did not want and were not adequately prepared for. Crazy, right? Crazy and common and inexcusable.
We know by now that being an effective supervisor requires a skillset and mindset all its own, yet we continue to promote people to the position based on their performance in an entirely different position and with little regard for their interest and potential. It is an ineffective system that has persisted for far too long, and since we didn’t plant that tree of change twenty years ago, the best time to plant it is now.
To cultivate and support leadership more effectively in the workplace, we must start to shift the way we identify and place people in managerial roles. This shift in how we choose our managers will require a shift in how we think about the way we choose our managers. This requires a shift from promoting people based solely on their performance in their current roles to identifying people with a sincere desire and propensity for supervision. Here are some ways to get started:
Find other ways to promote people– In many organizations today, the only way to get higher pay and responsibility is to supervise others. To better leverage your staff’s strengths, it is important to create other promotion paths that do not involve managing other people. This might include new job responsibilities, training other staff on what you do really well, becoming a member of a leadership team that includes other leaders that do not directly supervise other people. There are lots of ways to broaden and deepen someone’s responsibilities at work. Supervising other people should not be the only one.
Share leadership based on project– Instead of deeming someone a permanent supervisor of a team, you can assign different supervisors for different projects based on staff interests and strengths. This gives everyone a chance to lead in areas they excel at and provides an opportunity for people to experience what leading others entails. This would flatten a lot of the traditional hierarchy and will create a more equitable model of shared leadership. This approach has a number of benefits which include a better understanding of what it is like to supervise others. This helps create more empathy and allows staff to appreciate the joys and challenges or leading a team. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for staff to experience what it is like to lead others and can help them make a more informed decision regarding their future path in leadership.
Reevaluate the hierarchy– Currently, managerial positions are viewed and compensated on a higher level than non-managerial ones. This is the way it has traditionally been done, but this does not mean this is the way it needs to be done going forward. We have every ability to designate a managerial role as one of many responsibilities, no higher or lower than any other. Some people manage databases, some manage inventory and others manage people. One is not treated or compensated and better than the other. It is simply a different skillset and responsibility. This allows people to choose management because they truly want to be managers, not as collateral damage on their way to a higher title and paycheck.
Identify and support those most interested in management– To strengthen your organizational leadership, it is essential that you identify and support people who want to be effective leaders, who have the capacity to be effective leaders and who are willing to invest in themselves to become effective leaders. During the hiring process, you can begin to gauge what each candidate’s strengths and goals are. Once hired, you can continue to engage in honest, intentional conversations about your staff’s goals and strengths as well as your organizational needs. For staff who are interested, your organization can begin to invest in them and their managerial growth before they are made managers. You can provide opportunities for them to observe and shadow current leaders, match with managerial mentors, take leadership classes and get coached. Once staff takes on their managerial role, there should be periodic opportunities to reevaluate and gauge if they still want to supervise other people. If so, continue to invest in them and support them. As an organization, you should have a similar opportunity to evaluate how effective the manager is. If it turns out to not be a great fit for whatever reason, make the decision to restructure the staff’s responsibilities without making it a demotion.
Part of the reason so many organizations struggle with their leadership is that they choose leaders based on factors that do not necessarily correlate with effective leadership. Leading effectively is an entirely different mindset and skillset than performing well in a particular craft. Managerial positions should be filled by those who have a true desire and capacity to do it well. This shift is simple, practical and effective. It requires a focus on vetting aspiring leaders who are interested in supervising other people and providing them the support they need to do it well. If staff are not interested in managing others, it does not make sense to force them into a position they do not want and will not be successful in.
Managing is a responsibility and role that requires desire in order to be effective. It is time to focus on identifying those staff who possess such a desire and provide them with the resources and support they need to do it well.
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