A question for you, managers: Do you want to do this job? Or are you an accidental manager?
In a recent survey, Gartner found that one in five managers “would prefer not being people managers, given a choice.”
Since I’m an executive coach and learning platform creator, you might expect me to declare that these unhappy managers just need more training and leadership development.
However, it’s not that simple.
Yes, additional development can help managers who don’t really want to be in that role. Some might even come to embrace being a manager. But others simply should not be managers.
So how did we get so many accidental managers? And what can your organization do to ensure that employees who move into management actually want to make the leap and are prepared for it?
Rise of the Accidental Manager
You might wonder how 20% of managers have ended up in roles they don’t want. Based on my work with companies across a variety of industries, I believe many of them are accidental managers: They were promoted based on organizational needs, not because of their own desire or readiness for management.
Other unhappy managers seek these roles but quickly realize they aren’t prepared. Then, once faced with the often overwhelming demands of the job, they find themselves treading water with no time to catch up on their development. Is it any surprise that people want to escape jobs like this?
Opting Out Is a Win, Too
As I thought about Gartner’s findings, I realized we already have a solution: opening up leadership development to more employees earlier in their careers. I’m already a big proponent of this strategy. But Gartner has given us more evidence that it’s an idea whose time has come.
Expanding access to development fills leadership pipelines and, over time, can even diversify your senior leadership. However, leadership development training can also help employees realize they don’t want to be managers before they end up leading a team. If an employee decides they don’t want to move “up the ladder,” that’s just as much of a win as an overlooked employee realizing they have leadership potential.
My thinking is in line with Gartner’s. They recommend that companies “encourage aspiring managers to self-discover if management is right for them by exposing them to the toughest parts of the role early.” When managers have the space to self-discover their fit for the role, they’re more than twice as likely to feel up to the demands of their job, Gartner reports.
Training Doesn’t Go to Waste
Some would argue that it’s useless to provide leadership development training to employees who don’t eventually become managers. But this investment does not go to waste.
That’s because power and influence are not necessarily tied to job title. I bet you can quickly name the “informal leaders” in your team or organization. They’re not officially managers, but they hold great credibility because they’ve been at your company a long time, or they’re phenomenally good at their jobs, or they seem to know everyone. Even if they didn’t want a managerial title, they’re still doing a lot of leading—whether they realize it or not. Investing in these employees can pay off just as much as investing in your managers with titles.
Also, consider the human and financial toll of an ineffective manager. When a manager is disengaged, so is their team. Retention suffers because employees feel less committed to the company. A bad boss can even affect employees’ mental health. If worse comes to worse and you need to replace the manager, that could cost your company from 1.25 to 4 times the manager’s salary.
Companies flourish when all employees are empowered to contribute to their full potential, whether that means being a manager or not. By offering leadership development opportunities earlier and more broadly, you can create a culture of self-awareness and intentional career growth throughout your organization.
This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.