Tag: management

A 60% failure rate? Why the new manager failure rate is so insanely high

Laura K. BantzLeave a comment

A 40% success rate? Yikes (Tredway 2017). How many of you are ready to sign up for a career that has such claims? The truth is that everyday, there are people who are about to embark on this journey of becoming a new manager. However, due to so many reasons – several of which aren’t even on our radar – 6 out of 10 of us are going to flop on this career move. This includes those of us who have studied Business Administration at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, possessing that coveted M.B.A. degree. This also includes those who have become stars in their current roles and are being promoted into management as the natural next move in their careers. Take all of these new managers, whatever their background, and there will be four left standing at the end of the day. Why is this happening? Why are people failing at the role of becoming a new manager more than succeeding at it?

Art Petty and I have found ourselves discussing the why to this issue – why is it that so many well-meaning, eager professionals aren’t able to flourish in new managerial positions? We’ve come to so many conclusions that we created a course for tackling the gap that new managers don’t even know they have. That’s the crux; you can’t fix something if you don’t even know that it really is broken.

Ulrik Juul Christensen wrote in a special edition of Harvard Business Review (Winter 2019) about a concept called “unconscious incompetence”. This is basically the official term for “we don’t know what we don’t know”. Bringing this idea to the L&D and training world, knowledge gaps can be addressed with the purpose of growth rather than criticism.

Here are several reasons why new managers tend to fail:

  1. Many new managers are not truly aware of what a management role entails. This is especially true with new managers who become stars and are promoted through the ranks as recognition and reward for their success. These former individual contributors are often sidetracked when their days become more than just a bit of paperwork at the end of the day after doing their regular work; rather, it is a whole different set of expectations. All too often, a new manager finds herself missing the work that allowed her to rise to the star level and second guessing the move into management.
  2. The lack of soft communication skills in the current and emerging workforce presents a challenge for new manager success. So much of what a manager does is focused on people, and this requires a mature and deliberte communication style and approach. Whether being uplifted within the organization or starting a new role right out of business school, few of us have maximized our communication abilities. The issue tends to be that we are largely task-oriented in the focus of the managerial role rather than human-oriented, and we tend to be rather immature in our skills, with room to grow, of course.
  3. A lack of support and being left alone to figure things out tend to lead new managers to stress and difficulty with success. Whereas the “sink or swim” school of thought may have some applications where it makes sense, becoming a new manager is something that really doesn’t fit. Companies that hire new managers and then leave them to run the show often find themselves with rather high levels of entry-level management turnovers. New managers need a good deal of mentoring and coaching, and good feedback adds more fuel to the fire of motivation.
  4. Feeling like they have to “do it all”, new managers often get quickly overstressed and lose their drive. The truth is that a manager doesn’t have to shoulder every bit of work within the job process. Feeling like you have to take everything into your own hands and just do things right may seem like it’s the quickest way to get things done. But, what this fails to see is that the opportunity presents for a training moment. It just may be valuable enough to take the immediate hit in efficiency and build your team to be able to do things just like you can, too – by letting them do the work themselves.
  5. Not getting enough feedback and not frequently enough can cause new managers to constantly second guess themselves. It really does help to have someone rooting for you along the way to let you know when you’re doing a great job. Even if the feedback is constructive in nature, knowing that someone is taking an interest to guide your rights and wrongs can go a long way in improving a new manager’s outlook on the role.

We could honesty have a brainstorming session and come up with twice as many reasons that new managers fail. Another idea is to possibly tackle these very caveats that hinder new manager success.

WE HAVE A SOLUTION!

Great News! Art Petty and I have developed the First-Time Manager Academy Live-Online series (also available in an evergreen e-course format). The Live-Online sessions are six jam-packed webinars that are organized in small cohort format. Please see the main topics of our upcoming sessions by clicking the above link. The next session begins Thursday, September 10 at 11 a.m. CST! Early bird pricing will last through September 3, and there is special group pricing for 3 or more.

Can’t make this particular session but have some interest for the future? Drop me a line and let me know how we can best accomodate your team.

If you are interested in the course but unable to attend the live sessions, we do have a self-paced, online version of the First-Time Manager Academy packed with 15 lessons, all tackling the challenges of new managers, complete with Summary & Action Guides for each lesson as well as downloadable/printable templates along the way! Group pricing of 3 or more, please contact me for details!

HELPING OUR NEW MANAGERS BECOME EXPERIENCED, SUCCESSFUL MANAGERS IS WORTH EVERY OUNCE OF EFFORT THAT IT TAKES! Please let me know how my team and I can help 🙂 Drop me a line and say hello.

Sources:

Christensen, U.J. (Winter 2019) “How to teach employees skills they don’t know they lack”, pp 76-77. Harvard Business Review Special Issue.

Petty, Art (August 19, 2020) “I know something about your new managers that you don’t” at http://www.artpetty.com. Retrieved on August 20, 2020 from https://artpetty.com/2020/08/19/first-time-manager-development/.

Tredway, Ginny (February 13, 2017) “The top 3 reasons why most new managers fail” at http://www.pradco.com. Retreived on August 20, 2020 from https://www.pradco.com/top-3-reasons-new-managers-fail/#:~:text=Research%20conducted%20by%20CEB%20shows,never%20properly%20trained%20to%20manage.

My goal is to help first-time managers figure out what they didn’t know that they didn’t know that was actually holding them back. #firsttimemanager #artpettygroup #deepthoughts

#newmanagers #newmanagerfailure #professionaldevelopment #training

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Ode to the Maestro

Laura K. BantzLeave a comment

As a cellist and owner of an MBA in Leadership, this marquee message, located on the side of the highway between Island Lake and Wauconda, IL, speaks directly to me.

A person who leads the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The leader of the orchestra – the conductor, the maestro – has a focus on the musicians in front of him. Although the music is made for the crowd, the conductor does quite literally have his back to them, except for the walking in and out part and perhaps a short greeting before the performance.

The musicians face the crowd and each have a role in the whole of the beautiful sounds that envelope the entire space. Orchestral playing – believe it or not – is highly intense and certainly causes me to sweat and catch my breath at times. A musician gives her whole self in public performace; it really seeps out of your soul and transitions to the instrument on which you have practiced and trained for this very moment.

An orchestra may consist of 60 – 70 musicians, and yet the star of any orchestra performance really is the conductor, the leader of the orchestra, who maintains his back to the crowd.

A leader isn’t an individual performer; he may not even know how to play all of the instruments that he conducts. But, it is the act of bringing all of these different instruments together, all operated by different people, all producing vastly differing sounds, to create a whole that makes sense and moreover reaches the human senses on a deeper level than usually expected from such peformances. (Shamelsss plug for the Harper Symphony Orchestra to follow.)

The best of maestros make it appear easy, like most experts do in their trade. They swing the baton around and everyone keeps time. It is such an amazing feeling to be a part of the group, to feel the music all around you, to be in cadence with everyone, the music literally flowing through your entire self. But the main rule is all eyes on the conductor. Abrupt changes in tempo or transitions between movements require a cue from the conductor. Things can quickly fall apart if the individual musicians don’t pay attention to the conductor, and the pressure is on the maestro to keep it all together, communicating to all in the orchestra what is next.

I appreciate the efforts of our local business to share this with our community. Profound thought belongs everywhere. Although I was unable to determine who owns this marquee sign, I hope to discover that and will post a link to their business when I figure it out.

Here we go – shameless plug –

I am a cellist in the Harper Symphony Orchestra in Palatine, IL, and invite you to like our Facebook page and jot down the dates for our upcomimg.2018 – 2019 season.

https://www.facebook.com/HarperSymphonyOrchestra

2018 – 2019 Season Concerts:

October 7, 2018

December 9, 2018

April 7, 2019

May 12, 2019 (Mother’s Day)

All concerts are on a Sunday and begin at 3 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Harper College in Palatine, IL. Hope to see you there!

Shout out to the Maestros who have been a part of my life – from Mark Bettcher back at Golfview Elementary and CMS who guided my transition from violin to cello, to Brian Groner here at Harper Symphony who gave me a chance after a 19-year hiatus ( I know that was a risk!), to my current Maestro and cello instructor, Tony Porter who continues to guide me in my growth and progression as a cellist. Guys – this blog post is for you!

The Value of Perception

Laura K. BantzLeave a comment

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day!

However you choose to state the sentiment, I hope you enjoyed a lovely holiday with your family.

This post is inspired by a conversation I had yesterday regarding the choice of words. Is the use of “Happy 4th of July” offensive to someone who chooses the “Independence Day” vocab? At first, I was quick to dismiss it as silly, but after some consideration, I supposed there could be a reason for offensiveness, though I am not at all in this situation.

It is possible that someone may be so patriotic and proud to be an American that saying the “4th of July” just downplays what the day really is.

In addition, I’ve seen some posts circulating stating the July 2 is the actual day. So, in a world where the date is in dispute, the “4th of July” may just be another day. In this scenario, “Independence Day” covers all bases.

So, although the difference is immaterial to me, I summarize that this discussion brought me to the conclusion that I’ll stick with “Independence Day”, to err on the side of caution.

There are lessons to be learned from this scenario:

  • Everyone has a unique perspective, their own way of seeing the world. Taking time to understand others’ viewpoints is critical in developing empathy for them.
  • Having a different perspective doesn’t (always) mean that someone is right and someone is wrong. Unless we’re talking about a crime, there can be two right parties in a conflict of views. Using the varying perspectives actually brings diversity of opinion into problem solving which can bring ideas to life that never before had a chance.
  • Don’t assume anything! Without inquiry, we never know what the purpose of another’s actions or words may be. This goes for managing others in a workplace as well as in your personal relationships. When we ask sincere questions to understand someone’s desired message rather than act with our own understanding or perception, we may just get it all wrong.

What are your thoughts on this situation?

Leadership 101 = Parenting 101

Laura K. Bantz7 Comments

I’m a newbie in the world of leadership and parenting, and the correlations are just too strong to ignore.

 

Leadership largely as a study is an exploration of self. During formal study, you explore what it takes to be a leader and many determine, in fact, that they don’t really want to be in a leadership position. Much in the same manner as some friends in the past who determined that they may not aspire to parenthood after spending an afternoon at a friend’s little kid’s birthday party. So, what is it about leadership that so relates to parenthood?

 

First and foremost, being a good leader and a good parent is about the development of those around you, whether they are called your employees or your children. Being a parent is about guiding your child through the walks of life, even when it’s a matter of being the bad guy, aka the disciplinarian (my least favorite role in this position). Being a leader means guiding those around you to grow professionally under your wing. The adjective of “good” often stems from the “why”, which just so happens to be my three-year-olds favorite word at the moment.  Do you do it because you have to as a part of your role, or do you do it because you love to watch others develop and grow? I believe the root of our motivation correlates with our success. Whether it’s a matter of parenting or leadership, if you’re hearts not in it, it becomes quite obvious to others.

 

Another correlation of leadership and parenthood is the simplicity of success. Many times, we tend to overcomplicate things; at least I can speak for myself! Sometimes when everything hits the ceiling and my toddler is ranting and raving and tearing up the house, the solution is as simple as to turn off the television or perhaps to just put her in her bed. Moments like these hit me hard, especially in the wake of actually attempting to talk to her to calm her down or some other adult type of rationalization in the moment. Leadership is often similar. Leaders don’t necessarily have the singular role of motivating, leading, and developing their employees; they often have that dual role while upholding the business operations as well. So, life at work gets complicated. There are orders to be met, customers to keep happy, employees to manage, and bosses to answer to. Often, the simple reality of humanity underneath every function and operation of the business can be overlooked. That’s why I tell my management students probably 40 times in a semester class, “No matter how complicated your affairs may become, never forget that you are working with people, people who have lives outside of here and who have feelings dominating their beings and blood running through their veins.” I personally believe that much of what makes dissatisfied employees is that disconnect of humanity with management.

 

Finally, I’m not sure there is one right or one wrong way to be a parent or a leader, nor is there a textbook that will teach us what experience will. Different situations call for different styles in both situations. Nine months of pregnancy and endless books, blogs, websites, and chatting with other mothers could not have prepared me for what happened once my child was put into my arms. The moment dictates my actions. Sure, if I have a moment to ponder (rare), I can recall information about the situation that I had read in the past, but instincts kick in. The first look into those eyes and the promises start rolling – safety, happiness, vacations, strength, courage, manners, life’s lessons. I think a leader should take a similar approach with a new employee or team. The leader should promise to them what she brings to the table and what she hopes to help the team or individual create and become. In essence, this would be equivalent to the “Leader’s Charter”, a wonderful mission statement for any leadership position written by Art Petty and Rich Petro in Practical Lessons in Leadership. Start out simply knowing where you want to go, how you want to treat your people, take advice and lessons from life and books, and stay focused in the tough moments.

I have a little secret to confess: when I was a high school teacher, I used to secretly thank my students’ parents for the practice in becoming a parent. Human beings are sometimes tough to manage, especially in those difficult, hormonal years of self-exploration, and I got a crash course in teenagers! Again, the several adolescent psychology courses that I had to take certainly became a foundation of my knowledge but rarely could I ever recall a particular theory when in the moment of chaos in the classroom. Leading a classroom of teenagers or a team of adults or a child through the walks of life all have much in common, and I think the key to it all is to try to have an empathetic approach to everything. I say it and know in the same breath how challenging this can often be. But, the attempt to put yourself in another’s shoes itself, even if unsuccessful, proves the heart in you as a parent and a leader and the presence of the answer “because I care and want to help you” to the never-ending question of why.