Article Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/why-are-so-many-managers-useless-as-leaders/article20864299/

Interestingly, before reading this article, I had a discussion with my friend at a restaurant about the topic of managers in a business, and the crucial role they have on the employee’s morale and working attitude. We also came to the conclusion that employees often think that their managers “suck” and are “useless”. However, after reading this article, I was provided with a better understanding of the manager’s role, and how their work differs from before they were promoted.

As mentioned, my friend and I had the initial belief that it is a common occurrence that employees think down of their managers. When this happens, their working attitude and morale drops, which would result in them trying to work around them, or avoid them as much as possible. However, one should take into consideration the idea that the reason for this is because of the drastic difference between their old position and their new role as manager. First of all, the method of defining a manager’s success is not the same. Instead of simply completing your task and receiving recognition for it, the manager has to supervise tasks being completed, and be the one who provides the recognition to employee’s with outstanding performances. Secondly, instead of using the internet and other forms of resources to do research, there are now people who do the research for you. These people are now your resources, and it is up to the manager to decide how to utilise them. Also, as the manager is responsible for supervising the workers, he/she now has to also deal with their personal issues, such as negative working attitudes, sickness, and under-performances. Lastly, the manager also has to experience different expectations, provided from the general staff as well as from upper level management. These are several of the key reasons why managers may often be criticised by other workers.