Replacing a "Bad" Manager
What is a “bad” manager? Often, this is a judgment that exists in the eye of the beholder. After all, no one is perfect. But what employees perceive as good or bad in a manager is not necessarily the same as how executive management sees the situation.
There are also different levels of “bad” managing. For example, some managers feel such a need for their employees to like them that they gossip with them, even badmouthing the company or its leaders. While this may seem harmless on the surface, these actions end up costing managers from both sides. Employees soon begin to wonder what their managers say about them, and executives no longer trust gossiping managers to uphold the company's interests.
Now, gossiping is bad, but there are worse things. Consider the scenario in the following section; although the names have been altered to protect those who wish to remain unidentified, the circumstances are real.
A Truly Terrible Predecessor
Sometimes the former manager truly was bad, no matter whose standards form the measurement. Managers can be dictatorial, disorganized, selfish, unfair, lazy, and abusive. Neither employees nor executives appreciate these characteristics (although nearly everyone has had a boss somewhere along the line who has personified them). When you are replacing a manager who was bad by all accounts and standards, you have both a responsibility and an opportunity.
Jonathan joined Wonder Corporation with rave reviews from the upper-level executives who had hired him. Within weeks, however, his employees were singing a very different song. Jonathan seemed to call in sick every time he had accumulated enough leave time to cover a day out of the office. At least once a week he called to say he would be working from home, although no one answered the phone when employees called with questions.
When he was in the office, Jonathan was disorganized, volatile, and unpredictable. He flew off the handle for no apparent reason, cancelled or missed appointments, redefined assigned projects and tasks without consulting those doing the work, and often refused to make decisions about even the most mundane matters (like ordering toner for the copy machine).
Jonathan played favorites, promoting one person and squelching others. It was never safe to be in Jonathan's good graces because his fancy turned faster than a child's whimsy. Without warning, yesterday's favorite became today's scapegoat. Most of the people Jonathan promoted he soon fired. This was supposed to keep the person from showing him up, but it didn't work because everyone in the office was on to Jonathan's game. Fortunately, upper management was on to it as well, and Jonathan was fired. (Upon hearing the news, the employees had a party.)
The new manager, Joanne, started her first day on the job by meeting with everyone. She asked the group to talk about what worked and what didn't, from a process perspective. She explicitly said she did not want to hear names and personal stories. This freed the employees to focus on workflow, assignments, goals, priorities, and other issues related to productivity rather than personality.
Over the next two days, Joanne went around to talk privately with each employee, allowing people to express their personal feelings. On Friday of her first week, Joanne called another department meeting. She shared her improvement plan with the group, talking about what seemed to work well and what didn't. She gave everyone a few days to think about and respond to the plan, and then created a revised improvement plan that incorporated many employee suggestions.
Joanne continued talking with employees, both individually and in group meetings. Employees learned they could trust her, and grew to like as well as respect her. Within six months, the department was so far ahead of its goals that it was necessary to revise the plan again.
Cleaning Up Someone Else's Mess
Cleaning up after a bad manager is among the most difficult challenges you can face in your new role. Unless you handle the situation just right, you, too, will look incompetent. All managers, good and bad, have loyal followers. Always assume this to be true. It isn't necessary to treat these employees any differently (and in fact is probably better for you not to), but it is vital for you to know who they are, because your first mission is to get everybody on board, and the loyalists will be the most resistant. (Get out your pom-poms!) Here are the basic steps to follow:
Express clear and concise goals and objectives. Explain why these are important to each employee, to the department, and to the company.
Ask each employee for comments and thoughts. Respond to negative expressions without judgment or attempting to refute them. “Yes, that's an interesting point. We'll come back to that.”
Respond directly but non-confrontationally to efforts to undermine your authority and the process. If an employee persists, quietly and calmly request that he or she meet with you in your office after the meeting to discuss those concerns.
Continue to gather input and information from every employee. Meet with individuals and small work groups as well as the entire department.
Listen to what people are saying, and also to what they're not saying. Question, non-confrontationally, what doesn't make sense to you or seems out of context.
Integrate employee suggestions into improvement plans. If you can't use a suggestion directly, use it indirectly and credit the employee or employees with providing the impetus for the necessary change.
Be consistent. If you change direction, have a good reason and present it to your employees.
It's easy to turn the last manager into a bad guy, regardless of whether that was actually the case. You might be tempted to think that by making someone else look bad, you can at least look better — if not downright good. Resist! Although extremes in perception are common during times of transition, eventually the fog clears and balance returns to judgment.
When this happens, you're in a much stronger position if your attributes stand on their own merits. On the flip side, turning the last manager into a bad guy can backfire by instead turning him or her into a martyr. It's also human nature to put a halo on the last manager's head. People forget how bad things really were, and they begin to reminisce about the good old times. Before you know it, you become the bad guy.
