Those at the top of organization will constantly say their managers matter.
They say they matter for the essential role they play in engagement, performance, and employee and organizational success.
In fact, over and over, we – in HR – also continue to say that managers matter and play a key role.
And yet we don’t act like they do.
I say it’s time we re-prioritize things, and show managers just how important they are instead of just saying it.
Reconsider manager support
Not every person who becomes a manager has the innate ability to coach high performance.
This can be problematic because it’s an essential part of their role.
Gartner finds that only 25% of organizations believe their manager development strategy is working. So it’s time to reevaluate what we’re doing.
However, we ‘can’ do more to empower managers to do good work.
Don’t fail your managers
Organizations are failing managers.
If you’re not giving your managers these four things, it’s going to be difficult to show managers that you support them:
1) Clarity of role
Managers don’t always understand how their performance is measured. They lack clarity about their responsibilities and expectations. If you want managers to coach high performance, you must be clear in what you expect of them. The most important role they can play is aligning their team’s performance and goals to the organization’s.
2) Training and tools to do the job
Managers don’t always get training when organizations promote them to people leaders. And many also don’t have training in leading remote and hybrid teams. They need training, but they also need tools like a well-designed performance management approach to do the things that you want them to do well. A walk-through of the performance management philosophy isn’t enough for managers to master performance. You need to help them understand the philosophy and how to apply it. The approach to performance management is just one example. They also need tools to help them be a more effective manager by aligning goals, evaluating performance, understanding their team engagement, and having meaningful one-on-one conversations.
3) Reducing administrative tasks
Preparing for an annual review can take a significant amount of time. Instead, help them have weekly one-on-ones and in-depth quarterly conversations with staff about performance and development. This ensures managers are aligned with their employees and the annual review becomes a summary of those conversations and not a massive undertaking. Decreasing the administrative burden also goes back to the above: having the tools to do the job, including technology to make managers more effective and efficient. Not only do managers need tools, they also need training on how to use them. When we can make managers more effective and efficient with technology this solves their problems, they can be better managers.
4) Recognition
Organizations don’t always recognize managers for their achievements as managers. It’s difficult for managers to feel engaged and recognize their teams if they themselves are not being recognized for their coaching. Managers want recognition for the good work that they do. This also connects back to role clarity. Sometimes managers feel like they’re asked to do a lot and they’re not getting recognition for it. But we need to recognize them for the few things they do really well.
How to help managers be better
Most managers aren’t equipped with the knowledge and tools it takes to inspire impact.
But as well as solving their needs, organizations can do more to support and empower managers to be the best leaders they can.
For example:
Redesign performance
There’s not a one-size-fits-all performance management strategy. Whether your performance management leans more traditional or more continuous, your managers should understand your approach and understand what great (and not so great) performance looks like so they can apply the right coaching and support at the right time.
There are a few things to analyze to make sure you’re getting the most out of your performance management strategy:
- Communicate the organization’s strategy and priorities: Managers need a clear understanding of what the organization’s goals are so they can align their team’s efforts with the organization’s strategic direction.
- Align team goals and performance expectations: Managers need to know the expectations for their teams so they can help them set realistic and challenging objectives and key results (OKRs), that ensure each employee connects their contributions to the team’s and organization’s success.
- Include managers in performance management approach conversations: Managers need to have buy-in into the process. Involving them in discussions not only makes sure they’re on the same page but it makes them feel valued for their perspectives.
- Set consistent coaching cadences: Research shows onsite, hybrid, and remote employees prefer weekly conversations with their managers. Set that expectation with managers at all levels and then encourage every people leader to adopt the practice.
- Transition to a coaching mindset: Nobody likes to be critiqued. But we all want to produce good work. Position managers as coaches who support and guide employees.
- Recognize great work. Recognition of great work can be a powerful motivator. Give managers tools and opportunities to celebrate their teams and recognize great performance.
Reinvigorate culture champions
Your managers are your culture champions, a critical part of not only performance but engagement as well.
As such, they drive employee engagement action, team communication, and two-way feedback.
So, organizations must rely on their managers as the leaders in these focus areas:
1) Acting on employee engagement insights
Surveying employees and surfacing insights aren’t the most important parts of engaging employees. Action is.
Managers should be responsible for those changes at the team level.
Employees are more likely to say that their companies are taking effective action if they’re about survey results and action from their managers.
Giving them team insights is great, but organizations need to do more to bridge the gap for managers between insights and action.
You can’t just tell managers to act on insights. They need guidance and coaching on how to best move the needle.
When managers understand and can have an in-depth conversation about employee survey results, they can help act on those insights to create meaningful change.
2) Communication and change management
Managers are integral to your communication strategy. We can all agree that transparent communication is crucial. So you need your managers to encourage and maintain open dialogue with employees.
They are in the best position to reinforce organization messages, initiate employee discussion, and create awareness for all communication from the organization.
Managers are also influential in change management, helping communicate changes in a way that engages employees.
Employees are more engaged when their managers are actively communicating organizational and team changes.
But how often does this happen? One consistent thing I hear from the organizations I coach is that they’re going through a lot of change. This is the new normal. When I hear this, I often ask how the organization is positioning managers to help with change communication. This means understanding how to communicate what is changing, what is staying the same, and why the change is happening.
3) Creating a culture of feedback
Adopting a culture of feedback starts with your managers.
Employees who would recommend others to work at their organization are 12.5 times more comfortable giving feedback to their manager.
Continuous improvement is a prominent value of high-performing teams and helps them stay innovative and provide honest feedback.
Empower managers to not only provide feedback to employees but also collect feedback for the good of the organization. Because when managers can create an environment of open and honest feedback with their employees, it also leads to higher engagement.
Your managers are a critical part of engagement, performance, and shaping your organizational culture.
Unfortunately, they’re often overlooked.
Organizations often act like managers have innate abilities to manage. But you can do more to empower them with knowledge and tools so they can do their best work.