Leadership, Management & Life in the Workplace
  • Blog
  • About John
  • Decoding the Workplace
  • Dr. Juran AIG Archival Project
  • Contact
  • Disclaimers

8 Characteristics of Ineffective Managers

1/31/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Google how to be an effective manager and the results will mostly be about leading people. Effective management is about achieving goals, getting things done. It is easy to say ineffective management is the opposite, that is, failing to achieve goals. But are there other behaviors that characterize ineffective managers?

Wickham Skinner and W. Earl Sasser thought so. Although their Harvard Business Review article is from over 40 years ago, their observations about behavioral characteristics of less effective managers still ring true:
  1. accepting conventional company wisdom without question; example, “we always promote from within”  
  2. acting too slowly when changes are needed now
  3. tolerating subordinates who are ineffective, hinting at improvements needed instead of taking decisive action
  4. not challenging the way things are done, “we have always done it this way”
  5. not handling priorities
  6. not taking calculated risks, lack of “boldness, nerve, and self-confidence”
  7. not asking for help or advice when needed
  8. not recognizing their own weaknesses 

My take-ways: 

1. Have you seen managers who exhibit these characteristics? I have many times, even managers who had good people skills and were liked by those with whom they worked. Sometimes they were just too busy putting out fires. Sometimes it just seemed that it would be too much trouble and take too much energy to challenge the status quo. Different reasons for different managers.

2. Often the complacency or lack of initiative is a function of organizational culture. What happens if you take risks and fail? The consequences become part of the culture. Challenge conventional wisdom and get shot down? The consequences become part of the culture. Ask for help or advice and then have this seen as a sign of weakness. Again, part of the culture. Culture is difficult to change but if the culture is not what you want it to be, then as leaders we should act to change it. 

3. I wrote in an earlier blog that these characteristics could be used to develop a good questionnaire or scale to measure effectiveness. Years later I realize these might also make good items to help assess culture. To be innovative, to compete, organizations need people who challenge the status quo, make change where change is needed, hold others accountable, and have enough self-confidence to ask for help when needed. To lead is to do more than just the job. 

Skinner, W. & Sasser, W.E. (1977). Managers with impact: Verstile and inconsistent. Harvard Business Review, 55(6), 140-8.

Image, "Multi-tasking-efficiency-manager", by mohamed_hassan. Image obtained from https://pixabay.com/en/multi-tasking-efficiency-manager-2840792/ Used in accordance with: https://pixabay.com/en/service/license/

© John Ballard, PhD,  2019. All rights reserved.
_______________________
Decoding the Workplace “deals with principles and practices that are timeless . . . Is this a must-have for managers and would-be managers? Yes.” Academy of Management Learning & Education, June, 2018. 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed