That’s a pretty harsh statement, I know. But hear me out…
Chris can’t seem to get along with Susan. Kevin always comes in late. Derrick, well, he’s just a poor performer. And, Donna, seems to make everything about race, harassment, or favoritism. Face it, you’ve got a dismal group of employees. They’re bad and many need to go. So, who is at fault here? I say it’s the manager’s fault. Here’s why.
Everything that goes wrong in a company or department is because of management. It’s their fault when employees come in late. It’s their fault when coworkers can’t get along or bicker with each other. It’s their fault when performance is poor. And it’s the manager’s fault if they’ve allowed a divisive culture to form where some believe race, or favoritism, is permitted.
No wonder why you can’t keep employees. No wonder why turnover is so high. And no wonder why your company gets such poor reviews on online job sites. You’ve allowed chaos to rule.
A bad manager can take a good staff and destroy it, causing the best employees to flee, and the remainder to lose all motivation.
You Can’t Have Bad Employees and Still Call Yourself a Good Manager
Now, I know what some readers may say. “Sure, managers need to step up and take control of their department. But some employees are just bad, uncaring, lazy, and rude and they cause all the problems. It’s their fault that their performance is poor. It’s their fault, morale is low. And it’s their fault customers are leaving in droves.”
My answer is, “Ok, so what are YOU, the manager going to do to fix it?
- What have you done to prevent this from happening?
- Why have you allowed the team to fall apart?
- Aren’t you paying attention?
Maybe you think that with a little more training, you can turn these people around. But training can’t fix poor employee morale. If you’d paid attention, you’d know this.
Maybe you deal with Derrick’s poor performance because you “can’t afford to lose him”. Not because he does a good job but because you don’t want to do his job yourself. You’re managing through fear – and laziness.
Maybe you’re simply a bad manager. Or at least, unprepared for your position.
Managers Are Evaluated On Their Performance
Think back on your past performance. How many times have you led a great team? How many times have you turned around a losing venture?
How many employees have followed you when you left for a new job because “you’re such a great boss to work for”?
Oh, none? Huh, I wonder why…
When executives do not represent a sure guide for the company because they are unable to address any critical issues of the apparatus and the resources used or because they are unprepared to find plausible solutions, the whole system is at the mercy of disorder and uncertainty.
Worse still when management does not recognize their own difficulties and identifies employees as the cause of their failures. In a similar context, the company’s future prospects can be seriously compromised.
Leadership management plays an important role in generating a positive or negative business climate.
The impact of leadership is one of the main factors to generate a working climate in line with the needs of people, as they are the ones that will ultimately guide the people who work in companies to generate group synergy behaviors, which a priori will lead to compliance with the organization’s objectives.