When managers can’t manage

There are instances when someone very good at his job is very bad at managing people doing that job. What do you do when a valuable and skilled employee—a "doer"—is promoted to a management position and suddenly is ineffective?

Perhaps, he micromanages. He becomes a bottleneck, forcing every last decision through him. Whether this happens in a large corporation or in a five-person office, the results can paralyze a business.

If you confront the employee, you risk losing his expertise and skills; however, if you don’t, you hurt your business, or worse, risk losing those who work under him. Of course, the easiest solution is to avoid this problem in the first place. Don’t promote someone to a management position that he’s not equipped to handle, even as a reward for service or performance. Instead, make him understand how much value he brings to the organization with his skills and promote or reassign him accordingly.

If it’s too late to prevent someone from reaching a management position, take action. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away and probably will make the situation worse. Either assign him to a new position that "requires his special skills" or be blunt. Explain the problem to him and work together to either improve his managerial performance or find another position for which he is more suited.

Photo © 2001 PhotoDisc.

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