What sets truly effective managers apart, and how do we build them?

Managers are, in essence, the lifeblood of any business.

For HR, managers are the individuals on the front-line, breathing life into policies and following through on the concepts laid out by the function. For example, a DE&I policy, something so fundamentally essential for any firm, can be made or broken by gaining the investment of managers, who are then tasked with ensuring that their teams are abiding by the policy.

So fundamental are managers to overall business outcomes that per research from Gallup, managers are actually responsible for an astonishing 70% of the variance in employee engagement. Employees are eight times more likely to stay with their organization if they feel they’re gaining actual assistance from their manager, according to Qualtrics.

Here’s the kicker. Six out of ten employees don’t quit their job because of the job itself, but because of their manager. This oft-quoted statistics from SHRM evidences just how vital the relationship between those leading teams, and the teams themselves, are.

Most just aren’t equipped to lead

Yet of course, herein lies the biggest issue facing managers; most aren’t naturally suited to the role. The age-old process of sourcing managers is simply picking from the best-performing individuals in a team. This is enacted with no regard for the unique and nuanced skillset that managers need to be able to succeed in their new role.

Patrick Zvara Executive Director, Talent Management & Organization Development at Cedars-Sinai, says that often, the wrong attributes, such as confidence, can often be misinterpreted as competence.

“Confidence can often overshadow the actual ability to do the job,” he says. “You do want some level of confidence from your leaders; the confidence can help calm others during stressful projects, yet this shouldn’t be mistaken for competence. Matching their leadership to the needs of each team member are really the keys to success.”

A March 2023 survey of HR leaders by Gartner found only 25% feel confident their investments in manager development are working. This is perhaps because companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the job 82% of the time.

The same study found that about one in ten people actually possess the talent to manage. Though many people are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the unique combination of talent needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company's performance.

It’s also a job that’s getting harder by the day. Managers have 51% more responsibilities than they can effectively manage, 35% of managers say they have more direct reports and 49% report that the complexity of their responsibilities has increased, according to 2022 Gartner research from more than 6,000 managers.

So, what does make a good manager?

With the above data, we can see that there’s clearly a huge dearth of those golden few with the skills and capabilities to truly excel within a management position within most companies. Finding an individual with the correct attributes to lead is like finding a needle in a haystack.

The logical conclusion, then, is to build managers from the ground up. To find individuals that present promise and nurture their development into fully-fledged people leaders. Creating proper talent pipelines within your business to ensure that the next generation of leaders adhere to stringent quality controls is fundamental.

Without these processes, you’ll find yourself perpetuating the same tired and outdated processes of sourcing those who will define your business success in the future.

This isn’t to say that those who would naturally rise to manager should be left to stagnate. The first step in fundamentally breaking the cycle of poor management promotions is to identify other routes to development and success for those who may be expecting this advancement.

Management is far from the only route to success and the sooner your people understand this the better.

But what do these core skills that truly make a manager exemplary look like? What sets apart a truly fantastic manager from someone who should likely stay in their lane, and thrive at the job they currently have?

Zvara says that one key is finding those who can analyse capability and therefore utilize people’s strategic skills, as well as finding the places where development is paramount, is fundamental.

“Managers know which people can tackle each part of the work, which people need coaching and which need teaching. Being a manager who is confident in their assessment of the team, who then applies the right people to the right job, is the best confidence you can seek,” he says.

Rewire manager habits

Significantly, despite growing investment in manager development, Gartner analysis found that focusing on manager skills proficiency only boosts manager effectiveness by four per cent.

What does this mean for the investment we make in our managers? Well, rather than building skills, organizations instead need to help their managers build long-term habits, which will ultimately drive more effective managerial behaviors.

For example, whilst competency on internal systems is paramount, what’s more important are habits such as giving your team transparency and honesty, therefore fostering trust and investment. Working on building a culture in which individuals aren’t scared to fail, but instead interested in learning and development opportunities is another prime example.

Building habits, instead of skills, saves managers time and energy, which they can then redirect toward making other critical decisions. Managers are also uniquely positioned to help their direct reports and other managers adopt the same desired habits and behaviors.

Remove process hurdles

The presence of process hurdles – things like dated onboarding processes and complex budget approvals processes – increases levels of manager fatigue by up to 42%. These elements are easily solvable by businesses, and can remove significant barriers to good, strong and effective leadership.

Managers are also 1.4 times more likely to find their jobs manageable when their organizations take steps to minimize process hurdles that take managers’ attention away from their core people management responsibilities.

Of course, taking into account the need to build habits instead of simply piling investment onto a limited skillset, building manager capability is a nuanced process. It’s important to note that people don’t become great managers overnight. It’s a long process that often involves rewiring some untruths about the world of work.

However, for those willing to make the investment, who see the value in truly marrying effective teams with managers who can support and nurture their people, the benefits are huge. Building effective managers is a journey, and the best time to take the bold first step was yesterday.