The consequences of bad management are dire. Not only does it hamper business strategy, but it also compels your best employees to leave. Nobody wants to work for a tyrant.
For that reason, tackling the issue of poor management practices should be a priority. As an executive or leader in your firm, you need to put strategies in place that ensure that interactions between managers and team members are harmonious. Purely focusing development efforts on rank-and-file employees is a mistake.
Here’s what you need to do to fix the situation:
Stop Ignoring The Problem
Ignoring bad management problems is easy. Senior leaders do it all the time. It’s awkward confronting peers about their terrible behavior or lack of tact.
The trick is to deal with issues head-on and quickly. Don’t let them fester in the background. If you fail to deal with problems head-on, they will become more challenging to deal with, and you’ll wind up letting your employees down.
Teach Management How To Communicate
Employees are extremely sensitive to managerial style. Those that can’t get their ideas across or who don’t understand the needs of team members can increase employee churn and cause mass disengagement.
Communication skills trainer Lindsay Tighe says that the key is to improve employee-manager interactions. People in senior positions need to talk to team members more sensitively and avoid cajoling them in ways that feel forced or artificial. The goal should be to follow the path of least resistance, while still getting the job done.
Listen To Team Members
Listening to team members is also critical for reducing employee turnover. If something is causing frustration but you sweep it under the rug, then people are more likely to leave your organisation.
In many cases, you don’t have to change anything. Just listening and allowing people to vent can be a great strategy. Once they let off steam, they are much more likely to accept whatever conditions you’re imposing on them.
Terminate Them
Terminating bad managers and explaining the reasons why is one of the best ways to get the rest of your team to up their game. Remember, bad management is perhaps the most harmful HR-related issue your organization can face. The cost of a single destructive leader in your organisation can be enormous.
Provide People With The Resources They Need To Thrive
Many managers can feel like they are labouring under a heavy weight. They have so many responsibilities and things they need to do during the day, they can’t always ensure the quality of their work.
For this reason, senior executives and leadership should provide whatever resources they deem necessary. For instance, they might offer skills training, automation tools, or assistant managers, depending on the situation.
Be Diplomatic
Lastly, you’ll want to be as diplomatic as possible. Bad management is a problem, but no management is often even worse.
Think carefully about how everyone feels about the situation and then approach the problem manager. Tell them what they’re doing wrong and the steps they need to take to improve.
