Meet Andy Mercado
I would like to introduce you to Andy Mercado. Andy is a great guy, well liked by everyone, bright, energetic, hardworking, and respected by upper management. Andy graduated from the University of Michigan seven years ago with a degree in engineering. He has been steadily employed, at increasing salaries, at two different companies in the Seattle area.
Andy loves his job and especially enjoys his current project. He is working on a software development team that is designing new safety procedures for air traffic controllers. This software will allow the controllers to respond more quickly to potential emergencies. Andy likes the camaraderie of his team members. The team is given a great deal of autonomy on the project and the project manager most always agrees with the team’s recommendations.
Andy was married two years ago, and he and his wife Lisa just adopted twins. Lisa is a fashion magazine editor currently on leave from her job. Both Andy and Lisa are avid speed skaters. That’s how they met. Andy was number one on his college team and almost made the Olympic speed-skating team.
Andy rarely misses a day at the office. He feels that he is building his skills and developing his future potential while at work.
Six Months Later
I would like to reintroduce you to Andy Mercado. He is a changed man and tough to figure out. On some days he seems to get along with everyone and is very upbeat, much like the Andy of six months ago. Other days, however—and these times are increasing—he is moody and withdrawn and has occasional bursts of anger. His team members are beginning to avoid him because they never know what to expect from him. Only six months ago he was a top producer; now his work is marginal.
He has been working at the same manufacturing company for three years and has always received excellent performance appraisals. Last week he received a rating of "needs improvement" on his quarterly performance review. The areas where he was rated poorly include leadership abilities, organizational commitment, cooperativeness with staff, and willingness to develop staff.
Lisa has noticed some big changes in Andy at home as well in recent months. He seems lethargic about going to work in the mornings and often comes home for a couple of hours during the day to "escape," as he says. Even though he is home more, he spends less time with the twins. He also passes up opportunities to go speed skating, something he has never done before. Lisa is quite concerned about these changes in Andy’s behavior and has tried to get him to talk about what is going on. She has imagined the worse. When she asks him what’s up, all he ever says is that it is "the change" at work that is making him miserable.
The Change
Two months earlier (in April) Janice Styles, the vice president of the division for which Andy works, asked Andy to come to see her. She said she had great news. When Andy arrived for the meeting, Janice greeted him enthusiastically. He immediately knew something was up because Janice is a serious person and rarely shows strong positive emotions. Janice told him that he was doing a fantastic job and was the most knowledgeable member on the team, that all his colleagues admired and liked him a lot. She also told him that Ben Cline, his immediate boss, had been offered a position with another company and was leaving at the end of next week. Then she shared the great news. "You are getting promoted to Ben’s job. You will be the new manager and will receive a 20 percent pay increase. Congratulations!"
Andy smiled and thanked Janice for the confidence that she had in him and said he welcomed the challenge. But when he walked out of her office, he felt quite distressed. He began to question what he had just agreed to. What did he know about managing? Did he want to be a manager? Didn’t managers put company goals first and their professional passion second? Didn’t the "guys" on the team goof on managers? In their view, people became managers to avoid the hard stuff. Was he old enough to be a manager? Most of the people he would be supervising were older than him. Did he know enough technically to manage all the diverse jobs of those who would now report to him?
What happened to Andy when he left Janice’s office was that he experienced many of the classic trepidations of accidental managers. Accidental managers are often in a state of dissonance. They feel they have to accept these managerial roles because they are next in line for the job and senior management expects it of them. However, they really don’t want to take on administrative or "people" responsibilities. Adding to their dissonant state of mind is the knowledge that they will get a nice pay raise and some special privileges.
Andy’s reaction was quite normal and represents the reactions of hundreds of thousands of others in similar situations. According to surveys conducted by the management department at UCLA, over 80 percent of individuals who get promoted would rather have not accepted the promotion, for many of the same reasons expressed by Andy. They wish they could grow and develop in their current job roles and get rewarded appropriately, without taking on any managerial responsibilities.
Where’s Andy Today?
Andy took the manager’s job last April. He felt the company was counting on him, and with the adoption of the twins, he could use the extra money. The promotion didn’t work out, however. He resented the new responsibilities and didn’t know how to manage and lead the team. He was inconsistent in his management approach. Sometimes he would micromanage his team, telling them exactly what to do. When that backfired, he would avoid contact with them. He missed his old job and the fun he had. He missed hanging out with the "guys" from his team. He missed being involved in the work on a day-to-day basis. The company gave him the management job but not the training, support, or guidance he required.
Andy resigned last month. He couldn’t take the pressures of managing. He was too embarrassed to ask for his old job back. Because of his technical background, proven skills, and determination, he obtained a nonmanagerial job at another organization. Andy is quite happy again!
Here’s the message I have for those of you who are accidental managers: You have every right to feel the way you do! It is admirable to recognize and admit that you are not comfortable or happy as a manager. Respect your feelings and thoughts. However, the worst thing to do is to remain ambivalent about taking on a managerial role without wanting it. It can be deadly.
You basically have three options when you find yourself in the position of being, or about to become, an accidental manager:
Option 1. Refuse the promotion or the move into a managerial role and stay where you are, if that is what you want to do. If "they" put a lot of pressure on you to accept, you may have to leave that department or your organization. Option 1 is definitely a viable choice. Far too few accidental managers select this choice.
Option 2. Take on the new title in name only and don’t be too concerned about managing. You can try not to let the managerial duties interfere with the work you are really interested in doing. And you can spend wasted time lamenting your fate. Option 2 is not recommended. It does your staff and company harm and, ultimately, you won’t feel good about yourself. You’ll become miserable, and in your mind, you will always be an accidental manager.
Option 3. Learn to succeed and become an excellent manager, even though you started out as an accidental one. You can do this by learning and practicing the key strategies and skills presented in this article. You can come to enjoy and be stimulated by this unexpected opportunity. Option 3 will be our focus.