Management Mistakes

Management Mistakes

Many professional service organizations are run by people who have worked their way up the professional ladder. They have considerable technical expertise, but little or no formal management training. Many managers may have been promoted one step beyond their level of confidence. Simon Turner of Upturn Associates explains how to identify the signs of the resulting divide between senior partners and their staff and suggests ways of improving communication to allow the business to grow.

The challenges faced by professional service organizations are numerous and varied. Each one affects a business in different ways, yet some managers are not aware that they have these challenges within their business, or how to identify them. However, by learning to look for the indications, the issues can be overcome.

Identifying the Issues

Management mistakes are issues of communication, control and co-operation. They can be expressed in sickness, absence and staff turnover, but these are easy symptoms to spot. Less clear is that parts of the organization may be failing to deliver their promises or what is expected of them. This is often because the expectations are not made clear. Many senior partners are self-managing professionals, but they need different skills to be able to state specifically what they require of their staff. Coming from a culture of self-management requires a big leap to move into directing, controlling and being specific. As senior partners, we often believe that what is required is obvious; what we do not realize is that it may not be obvious to our staff. Frequently, this is because it has not been made clear to them.

"Management mistakes are issues of communication, control and co-operation"

Another indicator of a problem with senior management is an increase in over-reactions. Senior partners may feel that they have to tell their staff exactly what to do, rather than ask; there is no discussion. But what happens when people cannot do the job, because managers have not clearly indicated what is required? When the work is not done, senior partners become frustrated because people are not doing their jobs. The partner's solution is to start issuing orders, rather than initiating discussion or looking into the problem.

Many senior partners are not skilled at setting targets. Their lack of direction and clarity causes staff to become anxious, which is not conducive to taking initiative; instead people just wait for instruction. This problem grows, as senior partners expect their staff to be self-managing, while people actually need more help. The gap widens and expectations are still not met. This gap can be seen particularly in businesses that are run as partnerships, including accountancies, law firms and surveyors.

Within the professions, senior partners have often achieved success through their own individual excellence, which brings with it an element of working individually, even alone. This is very different from the co-operation and team working which organizations require. High achievements at school, university and beyond are due to someone's own excellent individual brainpower. Then they are asked to work in teams. The result is that teams led by senior partners find it difficult to work together; communication breaks down, goals are not met and a culture of control develops.

Cost Effective Solutions

When communication, control and co-operation become issues within any business, that business will suffer. Productivity will be affected at all levels. However, the solutions to these issues are accessible to all professional service providers.

How do you make sure that people are clear what you are asking them to do? How do you ensure that you are clear what help they require? One of the simplest solutions is through some sort of review, often comprised of discussion and support. Whether a formal, annual meeting, or more informal time to sit and talk, this gives the opportunity to find out whether people understand what managers need from them and what they need in return. This can be consolidated into agreed objectives, so that future discussions can be centered on how both levels are progressing towards their objectives. People need clarity from their managers and senior partners - clear objectives rather than vague requirements or lists of detailed instruction.

"How do you make sure that people are clear what you are asking them to do? How do you ensure that you are clear what help they require?"

Overreactions can be prevented by attaining a balance between control and empowerment. Organizations need control but they must also empower their people. The reason is that control is a limited resource - senior managers only have so much time in which to control. Within large organizations, there is clearly a limit to how much time senior partners can spend checking every decision and every detail. Empowerment is required to free up an organization so that it becomes larger than the bottleneck represented by how many senior partners it has.

People need learning, training and development. All organizations need continuous improvement, which requires purposeful activity. This applies to all levels of the organization - from the most senior partner to the newest recruit. While following professional requirements is necessary in any profession, learning and development must be broader than that. This is what will help senior managers to set effective, realistic targets that their staff can actually meet.

While a senior partner's door may be always open, is there anyone in the office? Instead of becoming insular, partners need to work with their staff, learning to understand other people's needs. Focusing on the task to the exclusion of everything else can signal a lack of real concern for the people doing the work. Without it, praise cannot be given when it has been earned; more importantly, support cannot be offered when it is really needed. As senior partners, should we think about our team and go to them to ask what support they need, rather than waiting for problems to come to us?

On The Agenda

Managing people is a challenge. However, it needs to be on the agenda of every professional service organization. When it is, issues that arise from management mistakes can be identified and by applying a fresh set of skills and encouraging learning and development, the issues can be solved and the organization allowed to grow and prosper.

This article was written by Simon Turner

Simon Turner has many years of experience in training and developing people within professional service organizations. From recruiting self-motivated people to supporting managers through training and coaching, Simon focuses on helping clients to improve their people and their performance.