7 Fails of Poor Management

This month we are looking at some causes of “things going south in the workplace” and poorly positioned and under trained managers is a big one.  Employees perform for managers not companies, so managers are pivotal in the acquisition and retention of valuable talent and team productivity.  50% of employees leave a job because of poor management. Absenteeism rates spike, productivity is low, and incidence of workplace accidents rise under poor management. 

Let us look at 7 impacts of poor management. 

1. ‘A great trapeze artist does not a ringmaster make’.    If you promote an employee into management, do it because they have demonstrated great leadership qualities as well as being great performers.  If you promote them simply because they are a great performer you are highly likely setting them up to fail, compromising your business.  So, promote with full consideration and due caution. 

2. Understand the motivation of the would-be manager before you put them in the role.  Their key motivation should be to lead a team to success with integrity and professionalism.  If a manager is financially or egotistically motivated, they are less likely to be effective, courageous, innovative, and bold for fear of compromising their personal securities. 

3. A micromanaged manager is not empowered to bring their flavour to ‘the job’ making them an undercapitalised asset and a micromanager strangles a business’s growth, caps profits and market share ultimately leading to the decline of both. 

4. A leader lacking empathy and EQ is not getting the most out of their team.  Players feel undervalued and unsupported.  They are disengaged and have no sense of loyalty often resulting high staff turnover. 

5. A leader with poor communication is the captain of a rudderless boat achieving extraordinarily little and very probably losing productivity. Managers must be skilled in communication to invoke the same from their players. 

6. A narcissistic leader will kill any sense of teaming.  Their key focus is looking good in the eyes of all stake holders excluding their players.  Their best interests always come first even ahead of those of the business.  They will take all the credit and dish out all the blame, causing high levels of resentment. 

7. A great leader has a growth mindset and is a ‘forever student’, always open to change, growth, and development.  A manager who thinks they are great and knows everything there is to know is a poor manager and a liability to any business. 

Promote and hire your management team cautiously.  They should embody the values of your business with a deep desire to be great at what they do and a passion for realising the full potential of all their players ultimately to the betterment of the business.  Thank you for watching, bye for now and stay safe.