Tech-minded digital natives need to embrace leadership once again

One of the biggest challenges in the implementation of business rescue is the reality that, in some cases, it is necessary to go into these companies with a massive broom to sweep out the leadership that mismanaged the company.

It then becomes the task of the new management to steer the company away from its financial distress. To do this, they will need a team that is up to this task. However, there is a global trend of young employees shying away from management positions.

Why management roles have grown less attractive

The Entrepreneur article points out that there was a time when the title manager meant prestige, respect, maybe even admiration — a chance to lead, a pathway to the top. But that dynamic has been shifting for decades and can now feel out-of-touch and out-of-date.

This management backlash has roots in several places. For one, trust in leadership has eroded sharply. Only 21% of workers strongly agree that they trust the leadership in their company, and the number has been on the decline since the pandemic.

The article adds that, at the same time, the “individual contributor” has enjoyed increasing status in many circles, especially in the tech community. A talented developer, for instance, can rise through the ranks of a company without managing people. Ultimately, their pay and perks may end up being comparable with senior people leaders, without ever having to wrestle with the challenges that go along with management.

Meanwhile, the pressures on managers are only growing. Familiar challenges with delivering results and bottom-line value have been augmented in recent decades with mounting HR responsibilities. For many, the stress and time commitment of management simply outweigh any added benefits.

The Entrepreneur article points out that, indeed, of all the insights gleaned from a survey, one stood out to me more than any other — people see managerial responsibilities as a non-starter for work-life balance. Among those we surveyed, 40% said their biggest worry with becoming a manager was increased stress, pressure and hours. When we asked people to identify their top ambition, 67% said spending more time with their friends and families and 64% said being more physically and mentally. The lowest priorities were becoming a C-suite executive (4%) and becoming a people manager (9%).

How to fill the ‘missing middle’

This management gap couldn’t come at a worse time. As companies struggle with disruptions from AI, increasing automation and a tight labor market, clear leadership is needed more than ever, but it’s getting hard to find.

So how can companies fill the “missing middle” — and make management aspirational again?

The article adds that one important step is to redefine the meaning of manager. Partly, this is about reconceptualizing the role. The tech industry, for instance, has popularized “player-coaches:” employees who continue to contribute as individuals, while also leading small teams of trusted colleagues. While this balance can be challenging to strike, the upside is sustained engagement with your field and growth of new management skills.

At the same time, companies are finding new ways to valorize management. When McKinsey asked middle managers what they wanted more of, the obvious answer was bonuses. In a competitive market, many companies are dishing out signing bonuses to attract talent into the pipeline. According to a 2021 survey, 43% of hiring managers were offering more paid time off and 40% were offering better job titles to win the war for talent. It’s not all about perks, however. Middle managers also said they wanted to be rewarded with increased autonomy and more responsibility.

The article points out that an equally critical step is to help managers handle those increased responsibilities with better technology — enabling them to extend spans of control while diminishing toil and grunt work. Take the challenge of handing out raises. Traditionally, this process required a manager to manually evaluate every employee and come up with a number and a rationale for each one. But new tools are taking the guesswork and paperwork out of the equation. We use a smart compensation tool to evaluate performance metrics and create a clear picture of what a person is paid relative to their peers, and relative to industry standards. This not only removes risk of bias but also cuts down on time. There are similar tools for goal-setting and skills-mapping, lessening the burden of regular performance reviews while making them more meaningful.

Problematic

This is a problem, considering that most companies are becoming financially distressed because they don’t have enough tech-minded digital natives in leadership positions.

We need to sit down and redefine the value proposition of becoming a manager and how to get young employees to become excited about increased responsibilities. This is an important task.