No matter where you work or how much you love your work, there must be one thing that can always make you ‘dislike’ the job. Maybe you can still handle it when the thing that you don’t like comes from yourself. However, if it comes from your manager or leader, what can you do? Complaining will ‘probably’ make it worse, won’t it?
According to LinkedIn Learning survey conducted with over 2,968 professionals about frustrating things manager do in office, 36 percent employees have quit their jobs due to manager exhibited unclear and ‘unqualified’ duty. Another 15 percent are strongly considering it.
Likewise, if you are in a situation where your manager is frustrating, what would you put in the list? Among the research findings revealed 4 most frustrating things a manager can do to their employees. The first is unclear expectation, followed by micromanage, unavailability, and inability to foster employee development.
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Leadership experts Todd Dewett, Mike Figiuolo, Elizabeth McLeod, and Lisa Earle McLeod were not surprised about the data. Lisa said, “Unclear expectations is the root cause of poor performance. Leaders often think they are clear, but the data tells us a different story.”
Mike added, “Unclear or changing manager expectation are often due to the lack of a strategy or failure to understand the organization’s strategic plan.” Therefore, building a good strategic plan is a great way to solve that biggest issue in workforce.
The second and third on the list, being a micromanager and unavailable in office too often, are two opposite problems. Micromanaging bosses are usually those who have tough time trusting people or employees. They do not like to give up on work that got them to their position and they will work harder for that. Meanwhile, being too unavailable in the office is something that can be fixed as availability is about time management and priority. Therefore, managers should prioritise employee in office first before anything else, especially in a work time. As a result, managers can foster employee to be happier and more engaged with work.
The fourth point, not giving enough encouragement on professional development, usually comes from a manager’s mindset. Dewett said that managers should understand that it is important to foster the development of their employees. However, managers often think it is employee’s own responsibility to develop themselves. Thus, “managers often under-appreciate their role in developing others since they assume other are taking care of it,” said Dewett.
Nonetheless, managers are not the only ones to blame in this matter. While they might ‘seem’ lazy and incompetent, employees should also take responsibility and be proactive. For example, if your boss gives unclear goals or expectations, employees should ask clarifying questions. If manager constantly changes expectations, ask about priorities. Here, communication plays an important role. Also, managers should learn the skills of setting clear expectations, how to not micromanage, how to stay connected to employees, as well as how to encourage employee development.
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