The title of Manager comes with certain responsibilities – managing and supporting team members; ensuring employees are performing to the expected level; managing team member productivity and making sure people feel engaged. In addition to supporting others, managers are also required to perform their own work, which often takes second priority as they strive to manage and support those whom they lead.
What many people don’t realise is that managers are often expected to assume responsibility for other significant duties such as roll out and implementation of change management initiatives; dealing with serious complaints or issues; effectively manage budgetary constraints; ensure team members are being compliant to various laws and making sure customers are happy.
The responsibilities and expectations that come with the title of Manager are significant.
In providing psychological services to leaders and managers in organisations across various industries, one of the things I see a lot is that the manager is often assumed to take responsibility for things that are outside of their control or influence. For example, I recently worked with a highly capable manager on an issue where she was expected to crack down on team member productivity to ensure the business was more profitable. The issue is she had no oversight or no influence over company spend meaning that she was, to a degree, managing blindly.
In many ways the manager is often caught in the middle in trying to delicately balance the demands of meeting director or business owner expectations, whilst also trying to support team members at the same time. Sometimes the completing demands can become overwhelming and stressful.
Some would say that this is why managers are generally paid more for the role they are undertaking, as they are ultimately assuming more responsibility. This makes reasonable sense. However, in doing so, we need to ensure that managers have the appropriate skills and competencies to effectively manage the competing demands the role so often requires.
At Headway Psychology, we believe that managers need to be better supported by businesses. Often the way a manager leads a team will determine how successful the business will be. With this responsibility, managers need more support. This support should not only internal from directors or business owners, but also external as well.
Psychological support in the form of counselling or coaching can be extremely helpful for the manager. We have numerous managers utilise our services for issues such as problem solving, decision making, increasing self-awareness, resilience training and managing employees with mental health concerns.
If you or someone you know would like to know more about how we can support managers or leaders within organisations, feel free to give us a call on (08) 9226 4489 or contact us for more information.
