Only one in 10 have innate management talent

From HR Daily:

Good managers are born, not made, but when people without this ability are promoted into management roles they use manipulation and politics to get by, often with devastating effects on employee engagement, says the CEO of global research company Gallup Consulting.

Gallup's ongoing workplace studies in more than 140 countries have found that just 13 per cent of employees globally are engaged with their jobs. In Australia and New Zealand, the proportion of engaged employees is higher, at 24 per cent, however 60 per cent are still not engaged and 16 per cent are actively disengaged, which some estimate is costing Australian employers $54.8 billion each year.

One of the keys to building an engaged workforce is hiring the right managers, because how employees feel about their job begins and ends with their direct supervisor. If employees feel, among other things, that their supervisor takes a real interest in their development, or offers frequent praise and recognition, they are very likely to be engaged.

Research has found, however, that just one in 10 people have the innate ability to lead and manage others, which assists them to become good managers with the right development.

A small number of employees without an inborn ability can manage people if they have the right support, but seven in 10 people should not be placed in leadership or management roles - regardless of the development they've received.  Employers should create alternative career paths for these "individual achievers" to avoid progressing them into management roles.

To ensure engagement across all levels, organisations need to reach a point where individual achievers are as highly esteemed as managers. One obvious mistake that many organisations continue to make is promoting employees to management based on their performance in their current role. The classic example of this is  the great sales person who is promoted to sales manager and flounders.

How else can we create engagement?

Gallup Australia senior client service manager Allan Watkinson outlined three other areas HR professionals can focus on to improve engagement:

-Don't leave selection to chance - Employee selection at all levels is the most important element to get right in order to improve engagement, you can never invest too much in that recruitment process.

-Lead with clarity - One of the biggest demotivators is a lack of clarity about expectations. Every employee should be able to answer two important questions: what do I get paid to do and what does success look like.  If you can get every employee in your company to answer those two questions, people will be much clearer and much more motivated

- Focus on what's strong, not what's wrong - Gallup's research shows that employees are happier, more engaged, develop faster and perform better when managers focus on their strengths.


from the article  "Only one in 10 have innate management talent" at HR Daily