In the days when I had more of a staff–even my own company–to manage, there were surely days when I wished I didn’t. Being a boss isn’t easy. Oftentimes it’s not fun. So, why on earth do people think that they want to be the boss?
I just read the results of an i4cp survey that asked current managers why they took their jobs. Surprise. The number-one answer wasn’t about higher compensation or promotion offers - though those play a role. The top-rated answer was that they want to make more of a difference in their organization. Nearly two-thirds of managers gave that answer, a figure that rises to 70% in large companies.
But plenty of non-managers in i4cp’s survey absolutely don’t want to take on the role of boss. Fully two-fifths of those surveyed said no way when asked if they wanted to become a manager. To quote the survey, the top reasons were that they think there’s no work/life balance, followed by the notion that there’s just “too much stress.” In write-in answers, one participant said, “It seems to change people for the worse,” and another summed up being a manager this way: “thankless job, stressful, between a rock and a hard place - conflicting interests.” Some were clearly speaking from experience: “Been there; done that,” one noted.
Just like we can’t have an organization of all Chiefs and no Indians, what are we to do if none of the Indians ever want to be called Chief? What will happen then?
Managers need to be seen within their organizations to indeed be that difference they seek. We need to make sure that they have the proper skills and enough room to do their jobs right–providing support, providing motivation to those around them.
That’s easy enough, right? Not so much. In the everyday world things are never that easy. The desire to empower teammembers is called indecisiveness, and the holding people accountable can be seen as micro-management. Go figure.
Management will always be a tough job, but knowing how to do it and given the latitude to do it well will make it more fulfilling.
Afterall, somebody’s gotta do it.
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