Justin Grensing-Pophal Summary

Most Human Resources professionals are well-acquainted with the axiom, “Employees take a position because the company is good; they leave because their boss is bad”. This article by Lin Grensing-Pophal employs the substance of that truism to challenge HR professionals to take ownership of their responsibilities as it relates to managers within their organization. Specifically, she places responsibility on HR professionals to ensure that their companies hire managers who are well-equipped to do their job; to provide ample training and support to foster the acquisition of basic competencies in their role; and to develop managers into better bosses as they grow into their role. She also challenges HR staff to successfully analyze if managers
One tell-tale sign presented is higher than average turnover within departments as compared with the organization as a whole. Another sign which can help in spotting bad bosses is negative feedback from employees. (This tactic of course requires some system of eliciting feedback from disgruntled employees). Another identifier listed is inflexible and authoritarian behavior on the part of managers. Generally speaking, these traits often lead to low job satisfaction, and ultimately to employee
One of the best ways to reduce the number of “bad bosses” in an organization is to avoid hiring them in the first place. Kaye cites a common mistake organizations make in this regard when promoting into management is to hire based on technical skills that made the employee successful in their previous position, but which do not equate to success in a management role. The implication is that successful employees should not be marked for promotion into management simply because their previous performance “earned them a promotion”. Emphasis is placed on identifying traits of successful managers, and searching for a candidate who demonstrates those skills and experience.
Another consideration offered in reducing the number of “bad bosses” is to set clear expectations for management of what expectations are for the behavior of managers within the organization. The article contends that most managers do not intend to be jerk bosses”, but lack an understanding of the skills they need to be effective in their roles, and lack the support needed to acquire those skills. A program of training, development, coaching and counseling are proposed to affect this