7/29/2019 10 Habits of Incompetent Managers

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BY rv1RGARE HEFFERNAN FEATu RE[FI, C-O:_Z1.-PHOTOGRAPH:USSELLVONK/IVASTERFILE

A common butexpens iveway o putof f mak ing ec is ionss ohi re onsul tantshocan ecommendevera ll ternat ives,h i lethey ' re gur inghese ut ,managerson ' t aveo doanyth ing,h isis ustonehal lmarkf ncompetentanagers ,ead nandsoundthealarm f some ral lo f hese abi ts t r ike chord

hreeyearsago, oined he boardof acompanywhosemanagement, soonrecognised, as ncomp etent. saidsobut I wasa new boardmemberand hemanagement ad a lot of old friends

and allies n the board. was istenedorespectfully ut nothing much happened.

Three earson, he boardhas ecognisedhatthe management s nc ompetent. h econsequencesf leaving hem alone or threeyearsnow threatens o sink he company.We'vefired one manager nd hope o stayafloat ongenough o replacehe other.A few generousboardmemberswith good memories aveacknowledgedhat we would not be in thispicklehad been istenedo in the firstplace.But how did I know hesemanagers ereincompetent?'m not a seerand, rust me, 'mnot gloating.But knew hey were ncompetentbecause'vehiredand iredso many

entreoreneuras .Sowhat hallmarksfincompetence ave learnt o identify? rn |

ofncompetentanage> 8- < -'-L.

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7/29/2019 10 Habits of Incompetent Managers

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Biasagainst action. Therearealways lentyof reasons ot to takea decision, easonso wait or more nformation,moreoptions,moreopin ions.

But eal eaders isplay consistent ias or action. eople hodon't makemistakes enerally on't makeanything. egendarydman DavidOgilvyargued hat a good decision oday sworth farmore han a perfectdecision ex tmonth.Beware revaricators.

Secrecy.'We an't el l the staff is something hearmanagers ayrepeatedly.Theyefend hispositionwith the argument hat staffwillbe distracted, onfused r simplyunable o comprehendwhat ishappeningn he business.f yo u reatemployeesike hildren,he ywil l behave hat wa y - whichmeans rouble. f you treat he m likeadults, hey may us t respond ikewise. ery ew matters n businessmust remainconfidential nd good managers an dentify hose

Oversensitivity. l know she's lways ate,but if I raise he subject,she' ll e hurt. 'An nabili tyo be direct ndhonestwith staf f sacrit ical arning ign.Ca n ou rmanager ee problem, ddresstheadlongand move on? f not,problemswon't ge t resolved,hey'llgrow.When managers aystaffmembers re oo sensitive,hey areusual ly escr ib inghemselves. i l t ing io lets on'tmake reatleaders.Weed hem out. nterestingly,ecrecy nd oversensitivityalmostalways ravel ogether.Theyarea biasagainsthonesty.

Love of procedure. Managers ho cleave o the rule book, opointsof order,and who refer o colleagues y their itleshaveforgotten hat rulesand processesxist o expeditebusiness,not ritualiset. Loveof procedure ften masks atal nabilityto pr ior i t ise a endencyo pol ishhe si lverwhile he houseis burning.

Preference or weak candidates.We nterviewedhree obcandidatesor a newposit ion. newasclear lyoo unior, he otherrubbedeveryone p the wrong way and he third stood headandshoulders bove he rest .Wh odid ourmanager ant o hire? hejunior.She elt hreatened y h e super-competent anager nd

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hadn't he confidenceo know hat you mustalwayshirepeoplesmarter hanyourself.

Focuson small asks.Anothersenior alespersonhiredalwaysproduced he mostperfect harts,orecasts nd spreadsheets .hewasalways n time, herdatacompletelyup to date.Shewouldalways olunteer or projectsn which shehad no coreexpertisemarketingplans, inancial orecasts, eetingswith bank managers,the officemove. t wasall displacement ctivity o hide he fact ha tshe ouldnot do her ealob .

Allergy o deadlines. deadlinesa commitment. hemanagerwho cannot etand stick o deadlinesannothonour ommitments.A failure o setand meetdeadlines lsomeans hat no onecaneverfeela true sense f achievement. ou can'tcelebratemilestonesf

easily. he overof secrecy as therearen't ny.t rouble e ing onestandsafra idof lett ing peers have the Inabilityto hireformeri n fo rmat ionhey need o Bad managers work very Iong hours , " .p loy" " r . th i redaheadofcha l lenseh im.He 'dra therdefenohey th ink th is iS a b fand Of hefOism satesoncewi th(apparent ty )ah is os i t ionhan dvancehe bUt i t 'S a ha l lmaf k Of inCOm0etenCe luminousreputa t ion .But ,aswem ssion. ecrets ake ompanies staffedup, he neverattractedanypo l i t ica l ,anx iousand fu l l o f cand ida tesf romhiso ldcompany.distrust. He'dworked n sales or 20years

- hadn'the mentoredanyonewho'd want to work with him again?Every oo dmanager as lumni, ager o oi n he eamagain i ftheydon't, mella at.

Addiction to consultants.A common but expensive way o putoff makingdecisionss o hireconsultants ho can recommendseveral lternatives.

While hey're iguring heseout, managers on't have o doanything. ndwhen heconsultant'shoices represented,heensuingdebates anoften absorbhours, ays,months.Meanwhile,yourorganisationspoorer ut t isn'tan ysmarter.When heconsultant eaves, e akes our moneyand his ncreased xpertiseout hedoorwith him.Long hours. n my experience, ad managers ork very ong hours.They hink h is sa brandof heroism ut t sprobablyhe singlebiggesthallmark f incompetence. owork effectively,ou mustprioritise nd you mustpaceyourself. he managerwho boasts flatenights, ar lymornings nd no imeoff cannotmanage imself,soyou'dbetternot et him manage nyone lse.

Anyone of hese ehaviourshould ounda warning ell.Morethan wo - sound he alarm! ls l