Not everyone has the ability to be a manager or fill a leadership role. No matter what development or support some people receive, research shows that seven out of 10 people should not be placed in such roles.  Employees’ perception of their managers is vitally important; if they feel angst or frustration they may become disengaged at work. Productivity can decrease significantly as a result of poor manager/employee relations.

Gallup’s ongoing workplace studies in more than 140 countries have found that just 13% of employees are engaged globally. While this number is higher in Australia and New Zealand (24%) it is estimated that those 76% who are not engaged are costing Australian employers $54.8 billion a year.

Jim Clifton, CEO of global research company Gallup Consulting, says that one of the keys to building an engaged workforce is hiring the right managers – because how employees feel about their job begins and ends with their direct supervisor. “If employees feel, among other things, that their supervisor takes a real interest in their development, or offers frequent praise and recognition, they are very likely to be engaged,” he says.

One in 10 people have the innate ability to lead and manage other people. But, this ability only goes so far. It does assist those people to become good managers with the right development. Sometimes people without the ability are promoted to management positions with devastating effects. Proper managerial skills are often neglected in a bid to get by, and manipulation and politics are resorted to, ruining employee engagement.

One obvious mistake that many organisations continue to make is promoting employees to Management based on their performance in their current role.
“The one that we all do is when you have a great sales person you make them a sales manager. Engineering companies will make really gifted engineers that are super prima donnas [into managers]. We all do that. But the trick is, going forward, just start getting those [decisions] right.”

Employers should create alternative career paths for these “individual achievers” to avoid progressing them into management roles, says Clifton. Regardless of the development some employees have received, good managers are born – not made. To ensure engagement across all levels, organisations need to reach a point where individual achievers are as highly esteemed as managers, but Clifton advises against making too many changes at once.

A company might have a world-class business model in place, but the model is only as effective as the managers who implement it. Companies that want to increase productivity should invest in getting the right managers in place and support them in engaging their employees.

“If you have a system where the only way that [people] can move up the system is through management, you’ll never experience real high engagement.”

Sources:

hrdaily: “Only one in 10 have innate management talent”

Gallup Business Journal: “What Your Performance System Needs Most”

Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report 2013