Managers are frequently promoted for their skills, but don’t always get the preparation they need to deal with the variety of issues that management throws up. How do we support a generation of ‘accidental managers’, or avoid creating them in the first place, asks Agata Nowakowska?
As the saying goes, people don’t leave organisations, they leave managers. Recent research undertaken by the CMI breathes life into this claim. It reveals how ‘accidental managers’ contribute to almost one-third of UK workers deciding to leave their jobs.
According to the CMI, the appointment of accidental managers is on an upward trajectory, and the impact of this phenomenon is creating lasting challenges for organisations in the UK.
Often promoted into a management role because they were good at their job, high-performing employees who become accidental managers are all too often unleashed onto their new teams with little or no formal leadership training. And the consequences for UK organisations and their staff can prove highly detrimental.
The rise of the accidental manager
The findings of the CMI research report starkly illustrate the scale of the current accidental manager trend. More than eight out of ten (82%) of newly recruited managers are accidental managers who took up their positions with no formal management or leadership training.
Unsurprisingly, 18% of these say they lack confidence in their own leadership abilities, with a further 60% saying they need further development to be fully effective in their role.
Accidental managers
The problem is that these untrained managers find themselves responsible for the productivity, wellbeing, career development, job satisfaction and motivation of the individual team members they now lead.
Yet, they often lack the essential skills and competencies needed to perform their role effectively or support the individuals they manage. All of which have significant consequences for their teams and the overall productivity and performance of the organisation.
Why is this a problem?
People get appointed to management positions for a variety of reasons. Restructures, downsizing, or mergers can result in someone taking on additional management responsibilities.
Similarly, in fast-paced environments like startups, it is not unusual for people who excel in their functional roles to be catapulted into a leadership position.
The problem is that the best performers are not always the best managers. Without the proper preparation and mentorship, accidental managers will struggle to cope with their responsibilities. Worse still, their lack of people management skills can negatively impact staff wellbeing, retention and performance.
In 2018, the CMI highlighted how the UK was experiencing a leadership crisis due to selecting people for management roles based on their functional expertise or task-based skills.
Fast forward to today’s post-Covid economic landscape and the ongoing skills crisis combined with remote working practices, budget constraints, and the continuing issue of workforce burnout, which all appear to further undermine how UK organisations select and deploy talent.
Setting up for success
Preparing people to take their first step into a management role should be viewed as a mission-critical task that will boost organisational performance, reduce employee turnover, and create a working culture that elevates trust and staff engagement.
Expanding leadership development opportunities and competencies acquisition to encompass first-time managers is just the start.
Organisations also need to ensure that first-time leaders get exposure to skills training that will equip them to manage in a business world that is now smarter, faster and more democratic.
That means ensuring new managers are equipped with appropriate people management and delegation skills to build and lead truly self-organising teams that can quickly respond to and address new challenges.
Understanding what attributes make a successful leader is also important. Successful leaders know that their words, actions and behaviours impact others and regularly seek feedback from team members to ensure they understand team needs and priorities and can reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses.
Good managers encourage the application of original and creative thinking to improve existing processes, products and business models.”
In a world where change is the order of the day, they demonstrate a flexible and agile outlook essential for working with and guiding the teams and individuals they lead to navigate change and new challenges.
Good managers encourage the application of original and creative thinking to improve existing processes, products and business models while coaching and motivating individual team members to achieve their full potential.
Democratising leadership training
Rather than waiting for employees to become managers before developing them as leaders, organisations should prioritise developing and mentoring people in readiness for stepping into their future front-line managerial responsibilities.
By utilising digital resources, multi-modal learning resources and scenario-based learning options that are accessible to all, forward-thinking organisations will be able to cascade access to leadership training to all – ensuring that everyone can constantly update their skills and capabilities in preparation for the future.
As part of this process, organisations must broaden their leadership skills menu to ensure that future managers are exposed to development opportunities that encompass emotional intelligence, self-awareness and empathy training.
Learnings that can be applied to elevate everyday interactions with personnel.
Organisations can now take advantage of AI-powered simulations and training models that enable new managers to practise their critical communication skills and receive real-time personalised feedback that improves their interpersonal skills.
The good news is that with the right tools and coaching under their belt, first-time managers can and do succeed.
Those organisations that commit to developing employees in readiness for future responsibilities will succeed in building a bench of highly competent and effective managers who can hit the ground running.
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