The Manager/Direct Report Disconnect

Here is a quick challenge for you:

1) Pick a specific role in your company, like "marketing assistant"

2) Go to the manager of the marketing assistant(s) and ask what top skills/talents are required for the marketing assistant role

3) Go directly to one of the marketing assistants and ask what top skills/talents are required for the marketing assistant role

4) Compare answers

From my experience, the answers you receive in step 2 and 3 are different, and sometimes completely opposite. This disparage means that the manager's perception of the position is different than the reality of the position...which is a big problem. High performance is impossible to achieve when the manager and direct report are not even on the same page about the demands of the job role.
 
(Though not always) the person IN the position usually has the most accurate understanding of what is required to perform the job well. Many managers, in contrast, have never actually performed the role that they are managing. Thus, the manager's understanding of the role and what it requires is, oftentimes, an inaccurate one. Yet it is that faulty perception that the manager uses to train, judge performance, and measure success. The result is a direct report who feels he must do one thing to get the job done and another thing simply to please the manager.
 
I have seen this problem persist for years within a company before being fixed -- or even identified! A particular role is notorious for a poor supervisor/direct-report relationship or plagued with high turnover, but no one knows how to get at the root of the problem...and therefore, nothing changes.

The good news is that identifying the in-congruence between the manager and job performer is actually quite simple. In our company, we use a 20-minute assessment* to quickly and reliably diagnose the problems and craft a tailored solution. Who knew that years of poor performance could be pinpointed in 20 minutes? Well worth the time, isn't it?

*If you would you like to read more about the assessment mentioned, visit: www.preparingforlaunch.com/BusinessSolutions.html