Great managers come out of
nowhere. For those of you who have
followed major league sports, you may have found it interesting that some of
the finest managers in baseball have a somewhat invisible playing history. The
6th ‘winningest’ manager of all time, Sparky Anderson, was in the
major leagues for only a year. Close behind him in the 9th position,
Walter Alston of the Dodgers also only played in the majors for a year. Two others on the list of leading managers,
Jim Leyland and John McNamara never played a single game in the major
league! Yet each of them managed their
teams to championships.
The list of great ball players who
failed miserably as managers is too lengthy to go into and would serve only to
tarnish their image. But how does this
happen? More importantly to most of us, do
we see the same pattern in the workplace? Whenever I pose that question to workers,
managers and owners everywhere; the response is universally in the affirmative!
Most managers have an 'up through the ranks' climb in their industry or within their company. They tend to have produced, sold or
distributed the product then moved on to the role of manager. An incredibly successful employee would seem
to hold promise as a manager. Indeed, many hard workers are rewarded with a promotion to a management position and they do quite well; at least sometimes. But according to the American Society for
Training and Development, about 30 percent of new managers and executives fail
at their new jobs and leave with 18 months.
Other studies place the figure as high as 40%. More narrowly at the executive level over the
past two decades, 30% of Fortune 500 CEO’s have lasted less than 3 years.
Good performance at one level in the organization does not necessarily predict success as an employee accepts another position. This may become exceedingly critical when the new assignment is a managerial position. Going from one industry to the next can be a challenge. Going up the corporate ladder can also present some obstacles; while transferring from one department to another may present its own unique challenges. As the leader of an organization, we don't want the headaches that can be generated by new managers who may be at lease temporarily, in over their head. The ramifications, can at a minimum, be fiscally disappointing. Worse yet, they can be terminally ugly. On a more compassionate level, what about the disastrous black mark that's left on the vitae of the failed employee?
It is essential that careful consideration be used in creating relevant and accurate job descriptions for any position. Subsequently, very close scrutiny must be made of the job finalists for the position. A review of a candidates performance in other capacities or other jobs can be very misleading. Even when duties would seem to match, there may be differences of technical tolerance, or organizational culture. I would also caution against relying too heavily on ones's abilities as a judge of character; or as someone who can drill down to the heart of an individual with their personal interviewing skills. Consider a University of Michigan study findings which showed that a typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. Why not toss a coin? Interview criteria and results must be independently validated as reliable to truly provide value.
The simple truth is that no one is the perfect employee for all positions. Instead the demands of the position must be understood completely before a capable candidate can be selected on their skill set, their critical job behaviors and their interest in specific duties. Indeed; there may in fact be a legendary former major league baseball player who is infinitely better prepared to lead a world-wide technology company than to manage a team to the World Series.
Good performance at one level in the organization does not necessarily predict success as an employee accepts another position. This may become exceedingly critical when the new assignment is a managerial position. Going from one industry to the next can be a challenge. Going up the corporate ladder can also present some obstacles; while transferring from one department to another may present its own unique challenges. As the leader of an organization, we don't want the headaches that can be generated by new managers who may be at lease temporarily, in over their head. The ramifications, can at a minimum, be fiscally disappointing. Worse yet, they can be terminally ugly. On a more compassionate level, what about the disastrous black mark that's left on the vitae of the failed employee?
It is essential that careful consideration be used in creating relevant and accurate job descriptions for any position. Subsequently, very close scrutiny must be made of the job finalists for the position. A review of a candidates performance in other capacities or other jobs can be very misleading. Even when duties would seem to match, there may be differences of technical tolerance, or organizational culture. I would also caution against relying too heavily on ones's abilities as a judge of character; or as someone who can drill down to the heart of an individual with their personal interviewing skills. Consider a University of Michigan study findings which showed that a typical interview increases your chances of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. Why not toss a coin? Interview criteria and results must be independently validated as reliable to truly provide value.
The simple truth is that no one is the perfect employee for all positions. Instead the demands of the position must be understood completely before a capable candidate can be selected on their skill set, their critical job behaviors and their interest in specific duties. Indeed; there may in fact be a legendary former major league baseball player who is infinitely better prepared to lead a world-wide technology company than to manage a team to the World Series.
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