The Accidental Manager

Gary S. Topchik

• Publisher: AMACOM
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9780814427651
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Personal Finance

Every day, people are promoted into the ranks of management... even if they never intended to become managers. They agree to their new responsibilities either to stay employed or to make more money. It is a universal phenomenon. But for these ""accidental managers, "" it makes more sense to manage well than to manage badly, and this book tells them how. Using examples and real-life case studies, The Accidental Manager gives readers the tools they need to make the most of their situation, showing them how to: * Develop their people by having them work on their own and with others * Actively listen in order to build trust and increase communication * Give positive and constructive feedback to keep employees on track * Motivate by providing the best possible environment for each team member The book reveals the ten worst types of managers (and how to avoid being one of them), and features a special Management Assessment tool. The Accidental Manager gives managers the skills they need to shine in their new -- accidental -- positions.

CHAPTER 1

You Are an Accidental Manager (That’s Okay)

Meet Andy Mercado

I would like to introduce you to Andy Mercado. Andy is a great guy, well liked by everyone, bright, energetic, hardworking, and respected by upper management. Andy graduated from the University of Michigan seven years ago with a degree in engineering. He has been steadily employed, at increasing salaries, at two different companies in the Seattle area.

Andy loves his job and especially enjoys his current project. He is working on a software development team that is designing new safety procedures for air traffic controllers. This software will allow the controllers to respond more quickly to potential emergencies. Andy likes the camaraderie of his team members. The team is given a great deal of autonomy on the project and the project manager most always agrees with the team’s recommendations.

Andy was married two years ago, and he and his wife Lisa just adopted twins. Lisa is a fashion magazine editor currently on leave from her job. Both Andy and Lisa are avid speed skaters. That’s how they met. Andy was number one on his college team and almost made the Olympic speed-skating team.

Andy rarely misses a day at the office. He feels that he is building his skills and developing his future potential while at work.

Six Months Later

I would like to reintroduce you to Andy Mercado. He is a changed man and tough to figure out. On some days he seems to get along with everyone and is very upbeat, much like the Andy of six months ago. Other days, however—and these times are increasing—he is moody and withdrawn and has occasional bursts of anger. His team members are beginning to avoid him because they never know what to expect from him. Only six months ago he was a top producer; now his work is marginal.

He has been working at the same manufacturing company for three years and has always received excellent performance appraisals. Last week he received a rating of “needs improvement” on his quarterly performance review. The areas where he was rated poorly include leadership abilities, organizational commitment, cooperativeness with staff, and willingness to develop staff.

Lisa has noticed some big changes in Andy at home as well in recent months. He seems lethargic about going to work in the mornings and often comes home for a couple of hours during the day to “escape,” as he says. Even though he is home more, he spends less time with the twins. He also passes up opportunities to go speed skating, something he has never done before. Lisa is quite concerned about these changes in Andy’s behavior and has tried to get him to talk about what is going on. She has imagined the worse. When she asks him what’s up, all he ever says is that it is “the change” at work that is making him miserable.

The Change

Two months earlier (in April) Janice Styles, the vice president of the division for which Andy works, asked Andy to come to see her. She said she had great news. When Andy arrived for the meeting, Janice greeted him enthusiastically. He immediately knew something was up because Janice is a serious person and rarely shows strong positive emotions. Janice told him that he was doing a fantastic job and was the most knowledgeable member on the team, that all his colleagues admired and liked him a lot. She also told him that Ben Cline, his immediate boss, had been offered a position with another company and was leaving at the end of next week. Then she shared the great news. “You are getting promoted to Ben’s job. You will be the new manager and will receive a 20 percent pay increase. Congratulations!”

Andy smiled and thanked Janice for the confidence that she had in him and said he welcomed the challenge. But when he walked out of her office, he felt quite distressed. He began to question what he had just agreed to. What did he know about managing? Did he want to be a manager? Didn’t managers put company goals first and their professional passion second? Didn’t the “guys” on the team goof on managers? In their view, people became managers to avoid the hard stuff. Was he old enough to be a manager? Most of the people he would be supervising were older than him. Did he know enough technically to manage all the diverse jobs of those who would now report to him?

What happened to Andy when he left Janice’s office was that he experienced many of the classic trepidations of accidental managers. Accidental managers are often in a state of dissonance. They feel they have to accept these managerial roles because they are next in line for the job and senior management expects it of them. However, they really don’t want to take on administrative or “people” responsibilities. Adding to their dissonant state of mind is the knowledge that they will get a nice pay raise and some special privileges.

Andy’s reaction was quite normal and represents the reactions of hundreds of thousands of others in similar situations. According to surveys conducted by the management department at UCLA, over 80 percent of individuals who get promoted would rather have not accepted the promotion, for many of the same reasons expressed by Andy. They wish they could grow and develop in their current job roles and get rewarded appropriately, without taking on any managerial responsibilities.

Where’s Andy Today?

Andy took the manager’s job last April. He felt the company was counting on him, and with the adoption of the twins, he could use the extra money. The promotion didn’t work out, however. He resented the new responsibilities and didn’t know how to manage and lead the team. He was inconsistent in his management approach. Sometimes he would micromanage his team, telling them exactly what to do. When that backfired, he would avoid contact with them. He missed his old job and the fun he had. He missed hanging out with the “guys” from his team. He missed being involved in the work on a day-to-day basis. The company gave him the management job but not the training, support, or guidance he required.

Andy resigned last month. He couldn’t take the pressures of managing. He was too embarrassed to ask for his old job back. Because of his technical background, proven skills, and determination, he obtained a nonmanagerial job at another organization. Andy is quite happy again!

Here’s the message I have for those of you who are accidental managers: You have every right to feel the way you do! It is admirable to recognize and admit that you are not comfortable or happy as a manager. Respect your feelings and thoughts. However, the worst thing to do is to remain ambivalent about taking on a managerial role without wanting it. It can be deadly.

You basically have three options when you find yourself in the position of being, or about to become, an accidental manager:

Option 1. Refuse the promotion or the move into a managerial role and stay where you are, if that is what you want to do. If “they” put a lot of pressure on you to accept, you may have to leave that department or your organization. Option 1 is definitely a viable choice. Far too few accidental managers select this choice.

Option 2. Take on the new title in name only and don’t be too concerned about managing. You can try not to let the managerial duties interfere with the work you are really interested in doing. And you can spend wasted time lamenting your fate. Option 2 is not recommended. It does your staff and company harm and, ultimately, you won’t feel good about yourself. You’ll become miserable, and in your mind, you will always be an accidental manager.

Option 3. Learn to succeed and become an excellent manager, even though you started out as an accidental one. You can do this by learning and practicing the key strategies and skills presented in this book. You can come to enjoy and be stimulated by this unexpected opportunity. Option 3 will be our focus.

Accidental Manager Myths

Let’s now explore, in more specific terms, how Option 3 works. We will start with the most prevalent beliefs or myths as to why individuals become accidental managers in the first place. If you believe these myths to be true, then you will always feel and act like an accidental manager. The stories that follow are real.

Myth 1: “I am more comfortable with my current work than I will ever be with managing.”

—Sheila W., manager at a pharmaceutical company, Piscataway, NJ

Of course you are, Sheila! Golfers are more comfortable with golf than with tennis. Managing, once you learn how to do it, is not that difficult and doesn’t have to be that time-consuming. You have to learn new skills and behaviors. Once you start managing, your comfort level will increase greatly.

Tarj Sullivan Case Study

Take the true story of Tarj Sullivan. Ten years ago he was promoted to assistant bank manager from a teller position at his local branch office. He panicked. He had incredible anxiety attacks. He convinced himself that he could never feel comfortable doing anything besides being a teller. Tarj is now the manager of his bank. When I spoke with him a few months ago he said, “I couldn’t believe how easy it was to manage, once I learned how.” Tarj learned, most important, that he had to get to know his people, build a trusting relationship with them, listen to their concerns, get their input, and develop their skills and talents. When Tarj made these efforts with his staff, they knew that he was really concerned about them.

Myth 2: “Managing my friends will be impossible to do.”

—Dennis S., manager for a credit card company, Monterrey, CA

Ridiculous. There are many managers who have friends—even their best friends—working for them. Not being able to successfully manage one’s friends is surely one of the most popular myths. In fact, most of the excellent managers I’ve interviewed say that their employee friends perform extremely well for them. It happens every day that someone is promoted out of their peer group where they have close friends or must take on a managerial job where existing friends work. Just keep the following in mind when managing friends: There can be no special deals, no access to information that others aren’t getting, no promises to provide them with better laptops, no biased performance appraisals, etc. Treat friends like everyone else during working hours by discussing and setting very clear boundaries.

Brandon Lester Case Study

Brandon proved that it is possible to manage employees who also happen to be friends. A few years ago Brandon was promoted to marketing manager. One of his newly inherited employees, Matt, was his best friend. Everyone in the company knew of their friendship. Brandon and Matt would always hang out together, both in the office and outside of work. When Brandon first took on his new role, he let the friendship get in the way of his managing. He would look the other way when Matt did not follow company procedures or standards. I remember Brandon telling me this story right after he became an accidental manager: One Tuesday morning after a three-day weekend, Matt showed up at the plant about two hours late. When Brandon asked Matt why he was late, Matt replied, “You know where we were last night. . .” Brandon laughed it off and walked away. He thought he was just being a good friend. A few hours later, though, he realized that to gain the respect he needed to be a successful manager he had to have the same standards for all of his staff. He had a long talk with Matt, discussing their friendship and how it was important to him. He also outlined how both he and Matt needed to work together as manager/employee. Ever since that talk, Brandon and Matt’s working relationship has been fine and no other staff member has ever had reason to complain that Matt was getting preferential treatment. They are still the best of friends.

Myth 3: “Managing people who know more than I do will be an impossible situation. I will not be able to control them.”

—Alida S., manager for a large oil company, Eagle Rock, TX

In most fields today, it is not realistic to believe that you can be the expert in everything. We have to rely on oth...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Ebook Instructions
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: You Are an Accidental Manager (That’s Okay)
• Chapter 2: The All-Time Worst Manager List
• Chapter 3: The Key to Success: “Doing Nothing”
• Chapter 4: The Platinum Skill of Developing Your Team Members
• Chapter 5: The Platinum Skill of Active Listening
• Chapter 6: The Platinum Skill of Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Chapter 7: The Platinum Skill of Creating a Motivational Climate
• Chapter 8: How Organizations Can Turn Accidental Managers Into Successful Ones
• Appendix A: Managerial Assessment
• Index