Out of date expectations?

Author: Kevan Hall

We have high expectations of our managers. Read any management book or attend a training program, you will see lists of criteria and skills that make managers look like superheroes.

At the same time, the time available to manage people has been squeezed. We are expected to do more and more personal tasks (like typing and filing emails). Our business environment has become more complicated. There are few pure people managers any more, many of us have demanding operational or technical tasks to perform. We have de-layered organizations and reduced the number of middle managers.

Over the same period, however our expectations of managers have, if anything, increased.

On our Remote & Virtual teams program we ask participants to come up with criteria for a successful remote manager. The lists typically include giving clear vision and direction, good communication skills, cultural sensitivity, motivational, clearing organizational barriers for us, responsiveness, accessibility etc…

My question to them is “If your manager does all this for you – what is left for you to do?

The people I meet in my client companies are generally smart, well motivated and skilled but they seem to expect their managers to hold their hands and solve all problems. At the same time, they say they want more autonomy and self-direction.

You cannot have it both ways – either you want to be closely managed and looked after, or you want autonomy and independence.

If you are a manager and want to increase the autonomy of your people, you need to challenge their expectations about what you will do for them. Push back, demand more and set high expectations.

Employees have many expectations about managers, based on what they have read, the best manager they ever had, your predecessor etc... Ask your people what they expect from you; how often do they expect to see you, how quickly do they expect a response to a question, how much time do they think is reasonable for personal development conversations?

Take some time to agree what is reasonable from both points of view – if you do not they will just measure you by the standard they have in their heads. You may fail to meet an expectation that you did not even know existed.

If you have a manager, think about your expectations of them. Are they realistic, given all the other things your manager has to do? Is there more autonomy you could and should be taking? Are you earning the right to take more autonomy?

Our expectations of managers evolved in simpler times when the norm was single site teams with lower levels of diversity and business complexity. The functions of management need to be shared more widely, one person cannot fulfil these expectations for a team, even less for a whole Company. The answer must be in more self management and autonomy – which people tell us they want.

Expect more from your people!

Last updated: 05/06/06 06:36pm