At Metis HR, we’re frequently approached for guidance on improving line managers’ effectiveness. According to the CIPD and Simplyhealth’s 2019 Health and Wellbeing at Work report, a significant contributor to stress-related absences is the management style in the workplace. Shockingly, 43 percent of employees identified their line managers’ lack of empathy and support as the primary source of stress.
Contact Metis HR today. We can help enhance your line managers’ performance and develop a healthier work environment.
Skills, Knowledge, Behaviour
The findings can show how detrimental to people’s health and wellbeing it is if managers aren’t equipped with the right level of skills, confidence and behaviour. There is much more to managing a team than just doing annual appraisals and approving holiday requests. A good manager is like a team leader, coach, trainer and psychiatrist all wrapped up into one.
If managers do not possess the delicate balance of empathy, communication and leadership skills required, it’s not necessarily their fault. There appears to be a growing gap between the expectations placed on line-managers and the amount invested in their development. Not only do companies need to train managers in people management skills, the organisation’s policies and processes, we need to look at their own behaviour and competencies too.
Investment in Development
Management is something you need to invest in and develop. When they’re effective, line managers play a key role in organisational success; providing the vital link between leaders and employees, and the huge impact they can have on employee behaviour.
However, part of the reason some line managers are ill-equipped for the role is that some methods of management training, as well as the way organisations implement them, are not fit for purpose. Learning to manage should be an ongoing project. The best managers are those who continually refresh their skill sets. Just like doctors need to update their skills as medical practice changes, so should managers.
Bridging The Gap
A long-term approach to manager training is perhaps to create an aspiring leaders’ programme. This aims to bridge the gap between being a front-line employee and becoming a manager. By creating a bespoke training programme for each trainee manager, you can take into account their level of experience and skills. This can include relationship building, performance management and having difficult conversations.
There is also a need for training in ‘softer’ skills. Such as, emotional intelligence, communication and critical thinking in line management capabilities. The importance of these softer competencies may be increasing. However, for managers who may lack natural empathy, it could take them longer to learn.
Alternative Management Styles
At times, people are promoted into management roles because they’re good at their day job, but they’re not given any support or training in how to manage. One company has put in place a radically different ‘lattice’ management structure, where employees’ technical competency and emotional needs are separated and looked after by two different managers.
It has been found in the past, if you have people skills, intelligence, curiosity and integrity then potentially you will be a good manager. But what exactly does having good people skills mean? It can be fostering psychological safety among your teams, so employees feel they can be themselves and are comfortable raising any issues and share any difficulties they are having.
Organisational Culture and Senior Management
It’s not all down to the individual manager to ensure they’re up to the job. The nature of the organisation’s culture and its senior leaders attitudes toward employee engagement depend on the support they offer and the examples they set which have a significant impact. Middle managers’ relationships with their own bosses have a direct association with happiness levels and turnover rates among their teams.
Therefore, line Managers require the same support from their senior manager as they would be expected to give the team they manage. Senior leaders need to be role-modelling the right behaviour with the same coaching and mentoring expected of line managers. Otherwise, the line manager training is likely to fail.
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