Why Do Newly Promoted Managers Fail?
Poor communication, unclear expectations lead list of reasons

Four out of 10 newly promoted managers and executives fail within the first 18 months in their new positions, according to research by Atlanta-based Manchester Consulting. The single biggest reason: personal chemistry. They do not successfully build partnerships and teamwork with their subordinates and peers, according to the survey of 826 human resources managers nationwide.

“The failure of newly promoted managers and executives to build a strong team and, at the same time, reach out to their colleagues and peers, is by far the biggest reason why 40 percent of them fail within the first 18 months,” said Jackie Greaner, Manchester Consulting’s president.
Confusion or being unclear about their bosses’ expectations was the second-biggest reason cited by the respondents.

Take preventive steps to help ease the transition by taking clues from the five ways that newly promoted managers and executives say can improve their chances for success:

• Confirm with bosses the results expected of them in their first year.
• Find out the specific timetable for achieving these results.
• Determine how bosses will measure their performance.
• Ascertain from bosses the roles they are to play.
• Find out bosses’ preferred ways of getting progress reports and feedback.

Adapted from The Motivational Manager, March 2004, Lawrence Regan Communications

Samaritan Health Service, Corvallis, Oregon, Offers Leadership Program Samaritan Health Services partnered with Linn Benton Community College and Oregon State University to provide current managers with opportunities for further growth and education. The professional leadership program consists of nine topics and hospital leadership is one topic offered several times a month. Managers receive certificates of course completion and can transfer credits towards a degree or certification in health care management. In an effort to accommodate working adults, the program has evolved into a weekend format and is now available on-line. More than 200 managers have participated in the professional leadership program. Contact: Nancy Bell, Director of Professional Development Telephone: (541) 768-5644 • Fax: (541) 768-6058 • nancyb@samhealth.org Source: American Hospital Association, Workforce Ideas in Action

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Staff Matters
Internal Promotions:
Losing a top performer to the Peter Principle
By Stephen O’Connor

You know how you just inherently know certain things to be true. Nobody has to tell you. Things like the severity of the itch is proportional to the difficulty of the reach. The hardness of the butter is inversely related to the softness of the bread. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks. We know these adages to be true.

In the work place, there are also things that you sometimes know are truly a bad idea but you see them happening anyway. One of them is promoting one of your top staff performers into a management position based solely on their history of being a top performer, without assessing their management skills. The ability to motivate staff, apply policies consistently, conduct strategic planning and manage a budget are not necessarily the qualities of your top performers.

The temptation to promote from within is compelling. It’s easier, faster and less costly than going out into the job market to acquire an accomplished manager with proven skills. To make the internal promotion decision based on the issues of cost and time is to miss the point. Can the person demonstrate the skills necessary to be an effective manager? Will this internal promotion into management cause more harm than good? Does the risk of promoting an unproven manager from within outweigh the considerations of the recruiting costs of time and money by going to the outside? These are more important questions than whether your top performer is entitled to the next management vacancy by virtue of their productivity or loyalty. Career ladders are good things but you don’t want to loose one of your top performers to the Peter Principle because you push them up a ladder that is missing a few skill rungs.

Shawn Kerachsky is a principal with the consulting firm 3C Associates Inc., and has written extensively on this subject. In the Fall 2001 issue of Employment Management magazine, Kerachsky has isolated eight questions whose answers will denote the management-ready candidate.

Can they:
1. act more like a coach than a player?
2. step out of the limelight and let their employees get the glory?
3. handle paperwork and details?
4. organize themselves and their employees?
5. motivate the employees?
6. spend most of their time planning and analyzing rather than being with people?
7. listen to complaints and resolve their employees’ problems?
8. handle personnel issues and possibly fire someone?

Further, he recommends a three-step approach to ensure success when hiring from within. Define the job, determine the required (management) skills, and assess the person’s qualities as they relate to those requirements. Kerachsky also advocates personality testing to see if your top performer has what it takes to be a manager. For more information, he can be reached via e-mail at skerachsky3C@usa.net.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2003 issue of Michigan Health & Hospitals magazine and is being used with permission.

The Five Basic “Musts” of Good Management 1. Communicate clear statements of what’s expected of each employee 2. Identify explicit and measurable goals and deadlines 3. Give detailed evaluation of each person’s work 4. Provide clear feedback 5. Ensure rewards are fairly meted out Source: Bruce Tulgan, President, Rainmaker Thinking Inc., New Haven, Conn.

 

 

 

 

 

Read This Before Making Your Next Promotion

Done right, promoting employees is more art than science. But the following strategies will help you color within the lines more often and maybe even paint a few masterstrokes.

Don’t ever promote people just because they’re personal friends, they’re lifers, they seem bored with their current positions, they’ve fallen on hard personal times and you want to cheer them up, you’ve got empty seats that need to be filled quickly, or you’re afraid they’ll jump to the competition if you don’t speed them up the ladder. (One caveat to that last reason: If you’re losing top workers, you should reexamine your entire promotion system to make sure it’s not holding good people back.)

Promotions should never come as a complete surprise. That means developing a list of skills and attributes employees must develop to earn promotions and then sharing that information. “It’s important to have an open dialogue on an ongoing basis so that everyone knows where he or she stands pretty much all the time,” says HR consultant Susan Kormis.

Take no for an answer, but find out why it’s given. If the reluctant employee cites personal reasons, such as family issues or an aversion to travel, don’t worry about it. But if you regularly hear people tell you they don’t have the skills for the new job, take a hard look at your evaluation and training process.

Look beyond competence. Be sure the necessary soft skills are in place before lifting star employees into the managerial ranks. “Technical competency is often a far second to people skills,” contends Marilyn Lustgarten of management consultancy the Star Makers Group. “Promoting someone into a higher position because they’re good at what they did in their prior position is often the wrong reason. Many of those technical skills can be learned later.”

Adapted from “Promoting Employees: How to Get it Right,” by Jeff Wuorio, on the Microsoft Small Business Center Web site