Next Stop…Manager
One of my greatest frustrations while working for various organizations, was the existence of the Management Mill. You know the Management Mill. It’s based on the concept that if you do your current job really well, you get to move into people management. For example, the remarkable salesperson who is great at working independently and imbuing a “take no prisoners” attitude. Or the extraordinary analyst who can find elegant patterns hidden in numbers and data. Because of their ability to do their current job so well, the theory goes, they will be fine managers of people.
Okay, I’m going to state this emphatically—that theory is seriously flawed. It’s the kind of business practice that could benefit from an honest re-examination and refresh.
The role of people management in many companies is simply a way station on the road to C Suite.
Whether a person is right for the job matters less than the next opportunity down the pike. This is, in my humble opinion, a mistake of echoing and expanding proportion.
Don’t get me wrong, aspiring to move into the C Suite is valiant and a fine ambition. My concern is in using the profoundly important role of people management primarily as a stepping-stone or instrument for personal ladder climbing. In many ways, that (not so) covert objective is almost anathema to the role of a good manager. When used primarily for personal gain it diminishes one’s ability to focus in and attend to “other.” It is simply too self-oriented. That type of mindset mostly compromises a person’s effectiveness as a manager of other people.
Being a good manager of people requires skill in working co-creatively with others and building relationships.
It also requires an “other” orientation—a desire to see other’s succeed and move into excellence. The management role can serve as both a profoundly important asset to the company and its people as well as a forward heading career move. Both are possible simultaneously. The mistake is in allowing the “career step” function to be its primary raison d’être. The success of the people being managed is its primary function. Period.
Managing people is part art, part science—part gift, part skill. Not everyone is naturally good at it and only a few are naturally great at it. But, like any skill, it can be learned and honed.
Training people to develop the important EQ skills necessary for the work is imperative.
In addition, placing people in the role for a minimum of four to five years allows for greater dedication to the work and role effectiveness. People’s performance is hinged in large part to the performance of their managers. Elevate one manager and you elevate everyone they serve.
Do your managers have the skills needed to build trust and inspire excellence in others? Download 8 Powerful Ways to Energize Your People to get started.