An article published in “The Economist” on the 3rd of October 2024 titled Spot the boss discusses a big problem many companies face: how to choose excellent managers. Choosing excellent managers is crucial as they can significantly impact a company’s performance.
However, many organizations lack effective methods for selecting managers. The Study: Some researchers did an experiment to figure out what makes a successful manager. They put people in small teams, with one person as the manager. The manager was tasked with three main tasks:
1. Give people the right tasks.
2. Check how well they were doing.
3. Keep them motivated.
What They Found:
1. Good managers are super important. They help their team do much better work.
2. Surprisingly, not everyone who aspired to be a manager was the best at it.
3. Being successful at your job doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful manager. For example, excellent salespeople often become undesirable managers when promoted.
4. There are specific skills that make someone a competent manager.
One crucial skill is the ability to swiftly identify individuals’ strengths and assign them appropriate tasks.
A Special Test: Researchers discovered that individuals who excelled in a game known as the “assignment game” frequently became effective managers. This game tests how quickly you can match people to the right jobs based on how well they do different tasks. The Big Problem: Many companies promote people to be managers for the wrong reasons: They’re good at their current job (but managing is a different skill). – They have a strong desire to become a manager, but this desire alone does not necessarily translate into competence.
A Better Way: Instead of just promoting people who are good at their current jobs or who really want to be managers, companies should:
1. Figure out what skills make a good manager.
2. Test people for these specific skills (like the assignment game).
3. Choose managers based on these skills, not just on how well they do their current job.
The Big Takeaway: Being a competent manager is a specific skill. Companies need to test for this skill when choosing managers—not just look at how well someone does their current job or how much they want to be a manager. This could help companies have better managers and do much better overall.