Stop promoting the wrong people into manager roles

By proactively identifying and addressing the presence of reluctant managers, HR leaders have a pivotal opportunity to significantly improve leaders’ confidence in joining management, as well as employee satisfaction and performance, writes Colleen Adler.

For the past couple of years, organisations in Australia have faced an increasing management problem.

Managers are in responsibility overload, leading to high levels of burnout. A recent Gartner survey found 26 per cent of managers regret taking on the role, citing relentless administrative burdens as a key reason – a trend that’s likely to continue alongside rapid technological transformation.

When managers don’t deliver, the costs can add up, often manifesting as a drag on productivity, performance and morale. It also puts the retention of valuable team members at risk – especially perilous in today’s environment of critical skills shortages and hiring freezes.

A recent Gartner survey found that poor manager quality, lack of respect, and ineffective people management are the top three reasons Australian employees are leaving their organisations.

The problem increasingly lies with managers who find themselves reluctantly filling the role. Many have found themselves in the role without knowing much about it beforehand, often without exposure to simulations, mentorship or opportunities to gauge whether they were suited to becoming a manager.

When a manager doesn’t actually want to be a manager, they lack authentic commitment to and engagement in the role. This can spell the difference between success and failure.

Gartner research found that highly engaged managers are nearly four times more likely to be high enterprise contributors, more than twice as likely to have high intent to stay, and three times more likely to exhibit high discretionary effort compared to their less engaged colleagues.

HR leaders know that their current approach isn’t working. Instead, they need to prevent both the installation of reluctant managers and mitigate the impact of those already in the role.

Preventing installation of reluctant managers

With many managers preferring not to be people managers, HR must identify this employee base before they’re selected for the job, so management is an active choice, not a passive experience.

One way to prevent reluctant managers is to show candidates the most challenging aspects of the management job before they enter it. This prepares them for the realities of the job, demystifying it and exposing the increased weight, complexity and intensity of work. It also helps potential managers make an informed decision on whether to continue with the selection process.

HR can create this exposure through simulations and experience with the more opaque and challenging activities of management, including workload prioritisation decisions, difficult performance and engagement conversations, and performance calibration sessions. This can be taken further by matching interested candidates with relatively new managers for candid conversations and mentorship throughout the selection process.

It’s also important to provide managerial candidates with non-punitive, non-permanent off-ramp opportunities during the selection process. This makes it possible for self-aware candidates to opt out of managerial roles and instead consider roles that are the right fit for their current aspirations, skills and preferences with less pressure. This decreases the odds that those who end up in management roles will become reluctant managers.

Mitigating effects of in-role reluctant managers

Not all forms of reluctance are equal. Once reluctant managers have been identified, HR leaders must determine the nature of that reluctance. Is it entrenched or addressable? Can the manager’s mind be changed, or is a change of manager needed?

Some forms of reluctance are more unyielding, while others can be dislodged through targeted behavioural exercises or interventions.

Observing where and how suspected reluctant managers are struggling helps establish whether their reluctance is caused by deep-rooted factors, such as a true dislike of the role or disinterest in the necessary work. Or whether it’s from more surmountable sources, such as a lack of confidence or a feeling of overwhelm in the role.

HR and management-selection teams should probe into the root cause of reluctance to assess whether it’s entrenched or addressable.

When reluctance is deeply rooted, interventions are less likely to have the intended impact ,and the focus should turn to the best ways to off-ramp reluctant managers. HR should connect managers who demonstrate entrenched reluctance to talent acquisition professionals to identify internal roles that might be a better fit. If unsuccessful, it may be necessary to consider separating the employee.

The main addressable sources of reluctance are a lack of confidence and feeling overwhelmed by the role. When lack of confidence is the driver, leaders should identify adjacent skills the reluctant manager uses in their personal lives that can be transferred to how they manage at work to build confidence for the job.

To address the mental load of management, habit-building practices can be taught to drive behaviour change and decrease the cognitive load of management and perceived difficulty of tasks. Practices that rely on habit loops develop one habit at a time while requiring a limited time commitment, making them appealing to and achievable for overwhelmed managers.

Habits that teach managers to use techniques like scheduled email blocks, the two-minute rule for completing quick tasks, or even turning off email notifications, can decrease interruptions and make the job feel more manageable.

Good managers make good teams. By proactively identifying and addressing the presence of reluctant managers, HR leaders have a pivotal opportunity to significantly improve leaders’ confidence in joining management, as well as employee satisfaction and performance.

Colleen Adler is a director of research in the Gartner HR Practice.