3 reasons why there are so many lousy managers

3 reasons why there are so many lousy managers

3 reasons why there are so many lousy managers

Did you know there are 896,808 books on “management” currently listed on Amazon? Seriously. I just checked. And that’s just books! That number doesn’t include the countless articles, blogs, podcasts, workshops, seminars, conference, or training events that are available.

So why are there STILL so many lousy managers out there?? Here are some reasons:

1. They never learned

“Managing” isn’t really taught in many undergraduate or even graduate schools. “Management” is, but if you take a look at some of the courses offered, you’ll see something like a semester of “Leadership, supervisory skills, and team development.” Can you really learn how to do all this in three hours a week during a 16-week semester?

Most academic courses are just that — academic. They’re filled with theory and possibly a case study or two, but there’s very little practical knowledge or skills transferred in an academic setting.

To make matters worse, with the exception of a relatively few exceptional organizations, most companies do not have well-developed management training programs. And “single-shot” training (like a one-day workshop) doesn’t work.

Some types of people seem genetically predisposed to being good managers, but most aren’t. It’s a skill that’s learned, not inherited. If you’re a new manager, you might fall into this category.

2. They think they’re great (when they’re not)

Organizational culture has a lot to do with the types of managers who rise to the top. If the organization is focused primarily on “results at any cost” with little regard for employees, managers will not only reflect that attitude, they’ll be rewarded for it. These types of organizations focus only on short-term profits at the expense of long-term health of the organization. (See McKinsey’s article at http://tinyurl.com/kcm3379 for a much more detailed discussion of this.)
