Hiring good managers is a difficult process. Managers are the key
link between executives and employees so they need to be versatile. They
must also be able to balance strategic planning skills with operational
skills. But finding the right manager is only part of your work. You
are also responsible for developing your managers. Good managers are
talented but they are not perfect. An organization grows and develops
over time and your managers must grow with it. Developing your managers is a necessity.
Developing managers is a unique task because it involves a
hybrid approach. Managers need sharp leadership skills and solid
communication skills for day-to-day interactions. Finding the best way
to develop your management team can seem overwhelming but a good
starting point can be summarized using a simple equation:
Leadership development + Engaging managers + Collaborative environment= Managerial development
Leadership skills are a critical part of managerial development. A survey
conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) named
developing leaders the second most pressing problem facing HR over the
next 10 years. Forbes contributor Meghan M. Biro said that the “best
employees are leaders,” in her article
covering the SHRM study. Managers should be your top employees and you
want to invest in developing and sharpening their leadership skills.
Biro advised executives and HR professionals in charge of leadership
development to avoid making leadership an “advanced training in
PowerPoint.” Leadership development should immerse your managers in in a
leadership environment. This can be accomplished through a leadership
development program.
Next, add in engagement. Developing managers involves empowering them
by engaging them. Starbucks offers a great model for this style of
empowerment (Read More: 4 Tips for Increasing Employee Engagement from Starbucks).
Starbucks sees each of its store managers as mini-CEO’s who run their
own businesses. The company allows store managers the freedom to give
each store its own vibe. This does not mean, however, that the stores
function as entities completely separate from the Starbucks mission. At
Starbucks Leadership Lab conference, Starbucks executives help store
managers understand how their work fits into the overall company
mission. The key takeaway from Starbucks is the company’s perfect
balance between micro-management and a completely hands-off approach.
The sweet spot in the middle is how you engage your managers through
empowering them. Managers must feel empowered enough to make decisions
without checking in every five minutes. They also need to understand how
their work fits into the bigger picture.
The last factor to add into the equation is a collaborative
environment. Collaboration does not come naturally. It is human nature
to want your idea to prevail. This human tendency leads to arguments if
managers do not know how to control it. Teach your managers how to
compromise and encourage openness instead of hostility when there are
disagreements. Collaboration is a natural outgrowth of compromise.
Charalambos A. Vlachoutsicos, a former manager and current economics
professor at Athens University in Greece, discovered
this method early in his career. He stopped trying to get a warehouse
manager to agree with him over stock out issues and used a bonus system
to get him to get on board with a plan to decrease the number of stock
outs. A “do what I say because I am in charge” management style is
ineffective. The key to collaboration is understanding. Help your
managers understand that they are not always right. Help them understand
that they will have to compromise.
Developing managers involves a wide range of training. The investment
is steep, but the payoff of a manager who leads, stays engaged and
collaborates is huge.
Posted on Workplace 101 Blog
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