Tina works for a plastic manufacturing company outside of Dallas. She knew that eventually she would be promoted to a management-level job. It happens to everyone who’s been there long enough. It happened to her last Thursday. Tina has been with the organization for fifteen years. At her company, salary is based on productivity. Tina has been an outstanding employee in terms of her production and has always been handsomely rewarded for it. Now, as manager, she will no longer have her own work to do. She "just has to make sure that her team members meet their productivity levels" each week.
Tina could have refused the promotion, but the culture of the organization wouldn’t permit that. It is her turn and she has to accept it. She will probably even make less money now because she used to get paid double to work weekends or holidays. Managers at her company get a base salary no matter how many hours they work. She has absolutely no aspirations of moving up the management ladder (in fact, that is her biggest fear). Tina feels as if she is stuck for the next couple of years. She can retire early and lose much of her pension or she can wait it out for a few years, when the company will rotate someone else into the managerial role and she can go back to her former position. Meanwhile, Tina handles her situation by negating the importance of the management role.
Symptoms of the Management Knocker. A Management Knocker ridicules the management role by saying that anyone can be a manager and that managers’ jobs are not important. These individuals put themselves down for being in that role and tease those in higher-level positions by pointing out that they aren’t doing "real work." They don’t hide their feelings or thoughts about not wanting to be in their new managerial role.
Impact on Staff. As a result of this behavior, staff members don’t respect the management role, do not aspire to be in it, and get a skewed picture of what managing really means.
Impact on Department/Organization. In the vast majority of organizations, there is a direct correlation between effective management and bottom-line results. In this case, even though the organization seems to be doing fine, imagine how much better it could do with professional managers who were respected by their teams. Managers who practice "pass-through management" (i.e., blaming others, ridiculing the organization, belittling the managerial role) eventually impact the performance of their departments and companies. When managers practice pass-through management, it indirectly gives their staff permission to also criticize the department, company, senior managers, and customers. After all, if their managers are blaming and criticizing, they can do it as well. These pass-through behaviors eventually impact the morale and the quality of staff productivity. Managers, accidental or not, need to disavow the practice of pass-through management. They need to openly communicate their support for organizational procedures, policies, and practices, even if they may disagree with them.
For example, a manager supports the organization’s current computer system and feels that the new system the organization wants to purchase is not as good. Her team members know she favors the present system. The manager needs to tell her team that even though she prefers the current system, she will do everything to guarantee the success of the new system, and that she will expect everyone on the team to do the same.
Why Accidental Managers Become Management Knockers. They knock management and/or organizational policies because, in essence, they are denying that they are now having to do what they never wanted or expected to be doing in the first place— managing.
Hints for the Management Knocker. Communicate to your team that although managing was not your original career choice, you are going to be the best possible manager. Always speak about your department/organization in constructive terms. Once you start putting down the organization, you give license to your people to do the same. Also, talk about the job of managing—the challenges and the rewards that one can get from managing. It could influence your own attitude about managing.
Many accidental managers come to appreciate the job of managing. This occurs when they see their staff or their department accomplishing goals, meeting customer demands, or making a difference in the larger community. The greatest thrill managers can have is realizing the impact that they have had on their staff. When managers see how their staff has grown and developed and become indispensable to the department or organization, they truly feel successful and enjoy the management job.