Micromanagement gets most of the attention, but under-management may be just as big a problem. It may even sound news to people who may have never heard of it. Under – Management is something people experience on a daily basis but may not have paid attention to it and its impact on the business.
Weak performance management, a tendency to avoid conflicts with employees, and generally lackluster accountability. As the name suggests, there’s just not quite enough management being done—and productivity often suffer as a result. But under-management can often fly under the radar because the managers who have these tendencies aren’t necessarily incompetent; on the contrary, they often know their business well, are good collaborators, and are well-liked.
Many HR practitioners estimates that a large number of managers are under-managing and this is a major factor affecting revenue. It is very frustrating when companies are saddled with managers who have the capacity to manage but yet do otherwise.
Take Jamie, a product development manager (he’s not a real person, but a composite of numerous people). He knew the technical details of his team’s products well and got along well with other departmental heads in his division. He was a good communicator—unlike several other product development managers in the division, who were stronger on the technical side than in dealing with human beings—and his team liked working for him. They reported above-average morale, unlike many teams in the company.
Attempting to be “a player’s manager” as used in baseball parlance will only mean that you will shield your direct reports from blame even if it’s obvious that there are weaker links. It may not be wrong to shield them but then you must put in mechanisms to close the gap affecting performance and team cohesion. A team in this scenario will struggle to deliver results. Diversity and inclusion should be meaningfully used in managing team members so maximum results can be achieved.
There are several intertwined causes behind this phenomenon. Too strong a desire to be liked can get in the way of fully productive management because it can make you reluctant to do the things you need to do. Conflict avoidance is a related element of the equation; conflict is inherently stressful and unpleasant, and it’s easy to think that if one can get by with less of it, so much the better!
Pushing your people and holding them accountable for strong performance won’t win you any popularity contests, and it requires some level of comfort with conflict. But while maintaining positive relationships with your own employees is a good thing, over the long run your priority is to deliver results.
If you think you might be under-managing, here are tangible steps to take. The good news is that it’s possible to improve one’s performance in these areas; though it takes practice, these are primarily issues of will, rather than ability: you need to commit to them first.
Don’t be a conflict-avoider. If you want to succeed in management, you need to become more effective in handling conflict. “Frankly, to be successful in management, this is a problem area that needs attention. Truth be told, managers don’t like dealing with conflict (most people don’t), but recognize that it is a vital part of the management role and over time you will become more comfortable with it and competent at it.
View goal-setting as mission-critical. If you’re not delivering the results you need to, which is the risk at the heart of under-management, first make sure the goals your employees need to achieve are well-conceived and clear. Most managers don’t spend nearly enough time on goal setting; too often managers approach it as a nettlesome bureaucratic exercise (why is Human Resources torturing me this way, making me fill out these endless forms?). But thoughtful goals that are agreed to by employees can be a manager’s best friend because you can manage them: they become a roadmap to guide your work with your team all year.
“Is this work the absolute best you can do?” Asking it when someone hands in an assignment will make your team aware that they’re being held accountable. It’s also a good question to ask yourself if you suspect you are under-managing as an exercise in self-accountability. Is this work the absolute best you can do? Are you doing all you can to set appropriate goals, hold people accountable to them, and deliver the results you need to?
Ultimately, rising above under-management is the proverbial win-win situation: better for your organization—and for your career. Build capacity over time and master the act of managing a team. It may not be easy in the initial stages but with time you will be able to handle all that matters in leading a successful team. HR must ensure that people in management positions are well equipped with the right skills and environment to competently manage their teams.
Source: Bright Ampadu Okyere/Victor Lipman |Tel. #: 0244204664 | Email Address: hrtoday@gmail.com
