Are Managers Really Necessary?

In the organisational context, LEADERSHIP appears more glamorous than the word MANAGEMENT. When it comes to a team whether small or large, we need to realise that the first requirement is to be an effective manager and then a leader.

Why so?

First and foremost, Managers are responsible for making sure that things are done properly. And while leaders may bring us vision, inspiration and challenge, these things count for nothing without the efficient implementation brought about by good management.

To be a great manager, you must have an extensive set of skills, both hard and soft – from planning and delegation to communication and motivation.

The skill set is so wide, and hence, for your long-term success, it’s wise to analyse your skills in all areas of management – and then to challenge yourself to improve in all of these areas.

So, a fundamental question that is unasked, but lingers in the mind often is, Are managers really necessary?

Recently, during my travel in USA, I was talking to a senior personnel from Google and when this subject was broached upon, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Google undertook an internal study to find out more about this.

To challenge the conventional thinking, Google’s People Innovation Lab started Project Oxygen trying to prove that manager quality does not have an impact on performance. To prove this point, they hired a group of statisticians to evaluate the differences between the highest and lowest rated managers. Data was collected using past performance appraisals, employee surveys, interviews and other sources of employee feedback.

Much to their surprise, the findings proved that good management actually makes a difference. To better define what makes a good manager they came up with a list of 8 qualities based on the data received. The findings are:

1. Is a good coach
2. Empowers the team and does not micromanage
3. Expresses interest in and concern for team members’ success and personal well-being
4. Is productive and results-oriented
5. Is a good communicator—listens and shares information
6. Helps with career development
7. Has a clear vision and strategy for the team
8. Has key technical skills that help him or her advise the team

The findings revealed real basics and fundamentals and though this list seems obvious there were three reasons why it had such a big impact on management at Google.

1. It was based on people analytics. Google strongly believed that scientific evidence is key, therefore using people analytics gave the project greater credibility. The fact that it was based on internal employee feedback encouraged wider employee buy in and trust. Similarly, the hard data helped to convince managers why they needed to improve their management style.
2. The interesting thing is that technical skills came in last. While it’s important that managers have the needed technical level to guide employees, soft skills such as coaching and communication are absolutely essential. This proves that merely having technical skills doesn’t necessarily make you a great manager.
3. It provided an authentic checklist of management qualities. Irrespective of all the trainings received, having a checklist makes a big difference as it actually reminds managers to remember and implement these skills on a daily basis.

Armed with these findings, Google changed its feedback surveys to reflect these qualities. Instead of simply measuring how much output a manager achieves, the surveys now focus on how much time they spend coaching their team, whether or not they communicate a clear vision, etc. They also developed new management training programs focussed around these skills.

The whole organisational belief system revolved around, “Having a good manager is essential, like breathing. And if we make managers better it would be like a breath of fresh air.” 

How can this be applied to Indian Pharma?

Often, the pharma line managers receive lots of flak for what they don’t do, and are blamed for being less effective rather ineffective. However, hardly any organisation clarifies what is expected of their managers to be effective.

Let’s us put some things into perspective.

Great sales people don’t always make great managers

Time and again it has been proved that Great sales people don’t always make the best managers – many managers may prefer to focus on being a substitute (or supplement) for their team members while making a physician call. However, the need as a manager is to have patience, great communication skills, the ability to see the big picture and create long term goals.

Instead of putting people with past sales results in management positions, put people with great leadership skills into managerial positions.

Become a great coach

Everyone working in a team really want or yearn for is a manager who knows how to distinguish the line between coaching and micromanaging.

As a manager one of your most important responsibilities is to guide your team members towards goals that fall in line with your company’s objectives and long-term goals.

Feedback culture

“Feedback is the breakfast of the champions” according to Kenneth Blanchard the author of ‘One-minute manager.’

Rightly so, the manager’s ability to give feedback the right way is the strongest tool in the management tool kit. Do you have the necessary skill to utilise the tool effectively? According to a recent research data, two-thirds of millennials believe it’s their manager’s responsibility to provide them with development opportunities. Despite this many managers are often hesitant rather reluctant to give constructive feedback to their team members, fearing their reaction. If this is a major part of the development process, and if your team members don’t know what they need to do to improve, their professional development could become stagnant.

The current generation does not like to see hierarchal barriers that prevent their ideas from being heard. This means that managers also have to be good at not only receiving feedback, but acting upon it as well.

Get to know your team members

A study shows that managers who know their team members’ strengths are 71% more likely to have people who are engaged and energized. Showing them, you’re taking an interest in their career and professional goals will help you gain a loyal workforce.

From the organisation’s side…Give your managers the tools they need to lead the modern workforce

Regular learning & development interventions on key skills will keep managers engaged and motivated to improve their management strategies. A few topics that every management training program should include:

• How to give and receive feedback as a manager
• How to run effective 1-on-1s
• How to engage the team members
• Tackling unconscious bias

Whatever maybe approach or the tools one chooses to use, they will always need to provide development opportunities for their managers.