Deanna Hartley
Much has been written about the detrimental effects of micromanagement, but there’s another less talked-about style of management that can be just as crippling to organizational efficiency: undermanagement.
"Based on workplace research we’ve been conducting since 1993, there is a widespread undermanagement epidemic, which hides in plain sight in most workplaces," said Bruce Tulgan, founder of RainmakerThinking Inc. and author of It’s Okay to Manage Your Boss.
For instance, research shows that 9 out of 10 employees fail to receive basic direction and support from their bosses, and 9 out of 10 leaders, managers and supervisors undermanage their employees.
"The vast majority of supervisory relationships between employees and their bosses lack the day-to-day engagement necessary to consistently maintain the very basics of management," Tulgan said.
This translates to inadequate time and effort spent on employees’ performance expectations, the resources required to fulfill expectations, regular performance feedback, and suitable rewards and recognition.
One noteworthy consequence of undermanagement is direct reports performing their tasks or responsibilities incorrectly for extended periods of time. Additionally, managers are more likely to spend their efforts putting out fires as opposed to providing strategic direction and support. Ultimately, undermanagement can lead to high performers becoming increasingly frustrated and seeking employment elsewhere.
Some of the underlying factors that lead to undermanagement, according to Tulgan, revolve around the fact that managers wish to be perceived in a certain light by their direct reports.
Tulgan identified seven reasons why managers undermanage:
1. They are afraid of micromanaging.
2. They’re afraid of being unfair by not treating all employees the same.
3. They are afraid of being perceived as a "jerk" and want to be seen as "nice."
4. They’re afraid of having difficult confrontations with employees.
5. They are afraid to break organizational rules and procedures and feel constrained by bureaucratic red tape.
6. They’re afraid they are not good at managing.
7. They feel like they don’t have enough time.
One of the first steps bosses can take to combat undermanagement, Tulgan explained, is to utilize the following verbiage to communicate how they are invested in employees’ success:
• I’m going to spell out expectations for you every step of the way.
• I’m going to work with you to clarify goals, guidelines and specifications.
• I’m going to help you break big deadlines into smaller time frames with concrete performance benchmarks.
• I’m going to go over standard operating procedures with you.
• I’m going to provide checklists and other tools.
• I’m going to help you keep track of what you are doing and how you are doing it every step of the way.
• I’m going to help you monitor and measure and document your success every step of the way.
Other measures managers can take to remedy or eliminate undermanagement include:
• Scheduling and conducting regular one-on-one meetings with every direct report.
• Learning to speak like a teacher or coach.
• Customizing dialogue to each individual, recognizing that one-size-fits-all speeches won’t suffice.
• Continually making expectations clear.
• Tracking employee performance in writing.
This can result in fewer conflicts and personnel problems and can enable talent managers to utilize their time more strategically. Ultimately, Tulgan explained, it can help weed out low performers, allow average performers to improve and retain more high performers.
Posted on November 28, 2010
0