A new survey by Crucial Learning, a learning company with courses in communication, performance, and leadership, reveals most respondents believe they were promoted to leadership because they had strong technical skills – not because they had leadership abilities. Coupled with little to no leadership training, new managers are silently suffering as they attempt to navigate new responsibilities and relationships.
In a January 2023 poll of 1,100 people, more than 1 in 3 managers (38.1%) believe they were promoted to a leadership role for reasons other than their leadership qualities.Only 28.7% believe they were promoted because they came into the job with extensive leadership experience.
Compounded with their lack of experience, more than half (52.1%) of respondents said their organization provided little or no training to prepare them to become a leader. And when asked if leading people met their expectations, 63.3% of managers surveyed admitted leading people was more difficult than they expected, with only 4.5% saying it was easier than expected.
But while they are suffering, it seems they are doing so silently. According to leaders, while 63.3% say they are personally struggling, 68.5% of direct reports say their manager seems confident and 59.6% say their manager even seem to enjoy their responsibilities. These disparate results indicate that managers are faking it—they’re also making it hard to get the training and support they need.
Joseph Grenny, leading researcher and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Crucial Accountability, hypothesizes that this silent struggle is because new managers lack the interpersonal skills required of successful leaders.
“Before stepping into their new role, these employees excelled as individual contributors, focused on completing their to-do list of assignments,” says Grenny. “But as they move into people manager roles, their to-do lists change drastically. They are now tasked with solving complex interpersonal challenges. Without the proper skills and training, these new leaders not only struggle to help their teams, but they are also more likely to be frustrated and unhappy themselves.”
When asked which interpersonal situations managers found the most challenging, top answers included:
- Holding people accountable for bad behavior (19.4%)
- Addressing poor performance (18.4%)
- Resolving conflicts (12.3%)
And employees agree. When asked for the top interpersonal situations that are most challenging for their managers to respond to, respondents top three choices were the exact same: holding people accountable, addressing poor performance, and resolving conflicts.
“Holding people accountable is hard,” Grenny said. “Just because you’re given a leadership title doesn’t mean it’s any easier to tell someone they need to improve their performance or change their behavior. And yet leaders who know how to candidly and respectfully hold their peers accountable create trust, solve problems, and secure results. Leaders with the skills to hold their teams accountable and help people achieve their potential will gain confidence and find fulfillment in their roles.”
To help new and seasoned managers hold others accountable, address poor performance, and resolve conflicts, Grenny shares a few tips from Crucial Accountability and its companion course, Crucial Conversations® for Accountability:
- Confront the right problem. The biggest mistake people make is to confront the most painful or immediate issue and not the one that gets them the results they really need. Before speaking up, stop and ask yourself, “What do I really want here? What problem do I want to resolve?”
- Rein-in emotions. We often tell ourselves a story about others’ real intent. These stories determine our emotional response. Master communicators manage their emotions by examining, questioning, and rewriting their story before speaking.
- Master the first 30 seconds. Most people do everything wrong in the first “hazardous half-minute”—such as diving into the content and attacking the other person. Instead, show you care about the other person and his or her interests to disarm defensiveness and open up dialogue.
- Reveal natural consequences. The best way to get someone’s attention is to change their perspective. In a safe and non-threatening manner, give them a complete view of the consequences their behavior is creating.
- Involve them in the solution. Ask them for their ideas and take their concerns seriously. People are far more likely to act when they’ve had a role in developing the action plan.
About Crucial Learning
Crucial Learning improves the world by helping people improve themselves. We offer courses in communication, performance, and leadership, focusing on behaviors that have a disproportionate impact on outcomes, called crucial skills. Our award-winning courses and accompanying bestselling books include Crucial Conversations® for Mastering Dialogue, Crucial Conversations® for Accountability, Influencer, The Power of Habit™, and Getting Things Done®. CrucialLearning.com.
CONTACT: Jordan Christiansen +1-801-995-5458, jordan.christiansen@cruciallearning.com