For many ambitious employees the addition of the word manager to their job title is a proud moment. It conveys success, status and power. And rightly so. Line managers have more influence on employee productivity, engagement and retention than pay, work place conditions and even senior mangement.
Over 80% of managers are unsuitable
It’s therefore very concerning to discover that according to Gallup, 82% of those bearing the title aren’t up to the job!
Here are some of the main reasons why line managers under perform:
- Failure to make decisions or decisions based on political implications over benefits to the business
- Underperforming staff not held accountable for their actions
- Concealing the truth and lack of transparency within their team
- Shying away from conflict and not standing their ground
- Favouring individual team members over others
Gallup claim that just 10% of us possess the character traits to naturally engage team members, retain top performers and build a culture of high productivity. Managers from this 10% contribute about 48% higher profit to their employers than average managers. Yet the vast majority of managers suffer from one or more of the traits listed above.
So next time your number one sales person asks to be called a manager think carefully before handing them a title that could replace your best salesman with your worst manager.
