Who’s the ‘failure pile in a sadness bowl’ in this scenario?
My readers clearly know me well, as this appeared in my inbox yesterday. I’m just gonna present it without comment and marvel how eerily familiar this story is. …
Twelve Ways Leaders Fail New Managers
When you place a colleague or a new hire into a management position, you’d better not abandon the poor soulBy Jeff Schmitt
It’ll be the toughest conversation you’ll ever have. A year earlier (Goddess’ note: Or nine months), you introduced the new manager to the team, rattling off her credentials and virtues. You even joked that you’d report to her one day. Now, sitting across the table, you can barely look at her. You have so much to say, but all you can squeeze out is: “It’s not working out.”
You came ready for a brawl, expecting unflattering accusations to be flung back at you. Instead, it ended with awkward small talk and a flaccid hand shake. But you won’t be able to shake the guilt. There was always some issue that took precedence over your manager. You tolerated too much and turned up the heat too late. Deep inside you know the truth: She never had a chance.
You failed her.
When you elevate someone to management, you’re subtly telling your employees: This is the person you should aspire to be. Your employees regard this person as your voice, a direct reflection on you as a leader. Too often, leaders forget that management entails a major transition, requiring a new mentality and skill set. It proves particularly trying for stars, who frequently distinguish themselves through production and quality. Instead, they must step back and coax others to do the work, becoming advocates—if not referees and buffers—for their reports.
Read the rest of the article here. Yes, YOU.
For what it’s worth, this is more aimed at failing new managers, not experienced ones. But starting over again in a new company *is* like becoming a new manager.
Like I told one of my friends, when you hire someone in at an executive level, you should NEVER tell them, “I won’t trust you until X. And maybe THEN I will let you do what I basically hired you to do.” It was the first bucket of cold water on my passion to succeed. I looked past it. I looked past a lot of buckets that eventually contained Nickelodeon-esque green slime.
When you bring in someone at an executive level, let them make executive decisions. Let them fail or founder or, gasp, succeed. Don’t stop them before they do anything that uses the high-dollar skills you hired them for. Don’t yell at them for spending hours upon hours making your content better and editing out the shit that would otherwise GET YOU SUED. Don’t basically ignore the ideas and insights that they share in an attempt TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCEED.
And don’t fire them because you don’t like them. Because their staff will no doubt see all the good work that was done, the initiative that was shown (or attempted to be shown) and they will probably put their heads down and avoid the path of the tornado at all costs.
I’m not bitter. I’m really not. Walking out with my head held high (as I didn’t fight back either. Not my style. And, I was kind of grateful to be done with it), I worried most about my “kids.” What this would say to them. The ideas that will never see the light of day. The glimmers of hope and trust and excitement that they were starting to show me. I hope that didn’t end. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.
I hope my own business takes off. Because I’d hire at least two thirds of them, if I could. Yes, with my own money. THAT is how confident I was of their capabilities.
I think it says something when the only people a CEO wouldn’t fire would be the first ones on my list to wave bye-bye to. That when I was getting belittled for giving too many chances to my people, I was giving just as many to absolutely everyone else.
Chew on that. …