In a rapidly evolving workplace marked by technological advancements and shifting expectations, the role of managers has transformed into that of a Superhero Manager, according to the insights provided by Cecilia Westin Curry.
In this article, Cecilia explores the extensive skill criteria placed on today’s managers, delving into key pillars such as problem-solving, communication, coaching skills, understanding the human mind, and self-awareness, ultimately proposing a “Superhero Manager Programme” to equip them with the attributes necessary for navigating the challenges of the 21st century.
During a recent review and reflection session with my colleagues, we compared and contrasted client requirements, requests, and resolutions from the past 12 months. Some interesting common themes emerged.
One evident theme revolves around ‘The Manager’. Organisations want to set their managers up for success in the changing environments of our new-style workplaces. Defining what good practice looks like and what managing people is actually about in today’s working environment.
As technology is making significant advances within our workplaces, influencing what we do – and how we do it – new expectations are simultaneously emerging on our managers to counterbalance this technology. To be the humans-in-the-[technology]-loop. To be effective humans-in-the-loop, we expect managers to:
- Be resilient and flexible to change yet committed entirely to an ever-changing structure.
- Lead from the front even though workforces are spread across large national and international geographical areas.
- Understand mental health – identify the signs, probe root causes, and create wellbeing plans to support individuals whilst minimising their personal burnout triggers. Understand the human brain, motivational triggers, neurodiversity and what leads to happiness or disenchantment within the workforce.
- Understand communication preferences and flex their style to suit and be inclusive of every employee’s diverse needs and preferred communication methods whilst remaining entirely authentic.
- Practice their role utterly devoid of bias – understanding and accepting (regardless of their own experiences, challenges, background, and culture) a whole new landscape of human belonging – gender, race, culture, faith, geography, class, age, or other demographics.
- Continuously exceed expectations on performance – their own and their team’s without ever moving into a ‘strain’ zone.
- Maintain and share industry expertise, technical skills and knowledge and function as subject matter experts and mentors to their peers and direct reports.
- Do their day job simultaneously!
In summary, the expectation placed upon today’s managers is to be nothing short of superhuman. And often with little or no training to align with these extensive skill criteria. So, what does a realistic ‘Essential Manager Skillset of 2024’ look like today? Our experience and knowledge of the skills and capabilities with which we support our clients breaks down into five key pillars which you can find below my AI generated Superhero Manager Cicci.
1. Problem-solving for a Superhero Manager
Problem-solving is a fundamental cornerstone in today’s managerial and leader development toolkit. Practical problem-solving skills can empower middle managers to excel in their roles by effectively addressing many of the challenges they face in today’s work environment, such as the need for:
- Adaptability: often dealing with complex and dynamic situations, enhanced problem-solving will ensure managers adapt quickly to changing circumstances and find practical solutions quickly.
- Decision Making: In a continuously changing work environment, managers must make quick and effective decisions, balancing what is best for individuals, the organisation, and its customers. Enhanced problem-solving skills will help managers make well-informed decisions and assess potential outcomes effectively.
- Efficiency & Innovation: Middle managers must optimise processes and workflows, always striving to drive business growth. With enhanced problem-solving skills and experience, managers can foster creativity and help generate innovative ideas and new ways of improving things. They can more easily identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
- Time Management: Tasked with juggling multiple tasks and priorities, enhanced problem-solving could help managers prioritise tasks and manage their time more effectively.
2. Communication
Excellent communication skills will always be a focus. But which are the contexts where businesses need that skill right now?
- Effective Leadership: Managers must convey their vision, set goals, and provide clear direction to their teams. Clear communication makes employees feel safe and connected to the organisation’s mission and objectives.
- Team Collaboration: Managers work with teams comprising individuals with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. Communication skills help team members understand their roles and responsibilities and how their contributions fit into the bigger picture, fostering better collaboration and teamwork.
- Conflict Resolution: often mediating conflicts among team members and colleagues as well as team v. senior leader team and vice versa, managers must possess effective communication skills to address conflicts, mediate disputes, negotiate and influence win-win outcomes assertively to maintain a harmonious and productive work environment.
- Decision-making: Under this pillar, there is a focus on communication as a vital element in gathering input, explaining decisions, and gaining buy-in from team members and other stakeholders.
- Performance management: Providing constructive feedback is essential for employee development and performance improvement. Managers need to communicate feedback in a way that motivates and supports the growth of their team members. Managers must ensure that individual and team goals align with the organisation’s objectives, and effective communication helps set expectations, track progress, and make necessary adjustments to stay on course. Managers who communicate well can motivate their teams and foster a positive and psychologically safe work environment. Engaged employees are more productive and committed to their roles.
- Change management: In an ever-evolving business environment, managers often lead their teams through changes, such as implementing new processes, technologies, or organisational restructuring. Clear and consistent communication is essential to making these transitions effective.
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Managers may interact with clients, partners, and external stakeholders. They must collaborate with other departments across the organisation with an outward mindset, avoiding silo-mentality. Good communication skills facilitate effective coordination and information exchange between different teams, ensure strategic alignment, and aid problem-solving and innovation. It is also essential for building and maintaining positive relationships with clients and suppliers benefiting the organisation.
3. Understanding of ‘The Human Mind’
A relative newcomer in the managerial toolkit. One which has an intense spotlight shining on it from many directions: by corporate strategists internally aiming to portray their organisation as fit for today’s diverse workforce and expectations, by incoming talent expecting and demanding to be understood and by customers increasingly shopping with their ‘feet’ choosing to make their purchases and investments in companies who they deem inclusive and treating their staff well.
This understanding of ‘The Human Mind’ can often make or break a manager. In today’s complex workplace, we expect managers to be mindful of individual team members and peers’ physical, cultural, and demographical diversity and be aware of – and cater for – any neurodiversity present. Organisations expect managers to be informed and understand what such diversities may be, how to embrace them, how to recruit and manage them, and act – at all times – without bias in one direction. All of this needs to happen, as well as educating and managing everyone in their team on how to act inclusively without bias in their turn.
4. Coaching Skills
Gone are the days of the dictatorial manager who told their staff ‘to do’ and ‘they did.’ Today’s managers need all the technical knowledge their team possesses – typically the merit that got them promoted. But they also need to know how to coach in the flow of work, motivate their teams, and help them develop on the job. Closely related to pillar three above (understanding The Human Mind), they need to understand motivation theory, how to create a culture of engagement, and how to tackle negativity, low morale, and low performance. They need to identify the signs of physical and mental illness and find ways to respectfully and without judgement start a conversation with those affected to help them back on a path towards high motivation and performance – all without breaching any employment laws, policies or diversity policies and avoiding criticism for being insensitive or acting against the law or company policy.
Research from Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2023/06/a-better-approach-to-mentorship, tells us that incoming talent to the workforce values a manager who coaches, and they want either a manager who can function as a mentor or access to mentors as a greater priority than salary. Exit interview data suggests they leave if they do not find the developmental and on-the-job support they expect.
5. Self-awareness of a Superhero Manager
This is often the ‘hidden’ or ‘forgotten’ skill when a company approaches us. Yet, it is imperative to enable success in the previous four pillars. Managers must understand what it is like to be on the other side of them to be effective in their roles and to achieve their goals and commitments to the organisation, individual team members and their achievements. Self-awareness enhances managers’ leadership abilities, communication skills, and emotional intelligence. It enables them to navigate challenges, improve relationships and contribute to a positive organisational culture – ultimately driving better results for the company and its employees. In short, they need the skills to view themselves how others see them. And adapt their behaviour for the proper outcomes. Like Marketing strategists, they must build their brand – and sell it without the support or power of a PR or Marketing machine behind them.
If you look at the above skills and consider how often these managers tell us they have had no training in most of these areas (Marketeers, psychologists, life coaches, Doctors, HR and L&D professionals – all requiring years of education to achieve proficiency), I feel we expect our managers to be nothing short of a Superhero Manager.
So, I summarised the manager competencies above and asked my new best friend, AI, what my Superhero Manager superpowers would be. The answer was instant, as always:
- Empathic Insight: You have a profound understanding of people’s emotions and thoughts without the need for words, making you highly empathetic and able to connect with others deeply.
- Mental Mastery: You possess an in-depth understanding of the human brain, its motivations, and the triggers of negative thoughts. This knowledge allows you to help individuals overcome psychological obstacles and find mental clarity.
- Neurocognitive Mastery: Your profound understanding of the human brain allows you to decipher motivation triggers and negative thought patterns. This knowledge empowers you to help individuals overcome mental barriers and find the motivation to achieve their goals.
- Emotional Alchemy: You can transform sadness into happiness and stress into strength, bringing hope and positivity to those around you.
- Precognition: Your ability to see into the future gives you the power to anticipate and prepare for upcoming challenges and opportunities, allowing you to make informed decisions.
- Unwavering Leadership: You provide strong leadership regardless of the circumstances, offering guidance, support, and a sense of direction to those in need.
- Empathic friendship: You are a reliable and caring friend who is always there to support others during their most challenging moments.
My colleagues and I have developed all of this further for a ‘Fit for the 21st Century Manager programme’ aka ‘The Superhero Manager Programme’. Please do get in touch if you would like a copy of the programme overview. info@ontrackinternational.com
Artificial Intelligence even suggests a superhero name to graduates from our Superhero Manager Programme. They would earn the superhero name:
Empathic Luminary.
This name represents their ability to shed light on the emotional and mental wellbeing of those they encounter, guiding them toward a brighter, more positive future.
Imagine the response if you had told a 1950s manager that this would be the evolution of their role 75 years later!
Allowing my mind to spin on the superhero manager idea…
After that, my AI assistant went a bit off-piste and suggested our graduates and alums could earn the right to wear the Emphatic Luminary superhero outfit consisting of:
- A glittery tiara
- Sleek and stylish boots (yes, please!)
- A flowing, ethereal cape
- Long gloves
- A costume striking a balance between elegance and functionality.
I mean – I concur in every sense. Do not get me wrong, I could well fancy myself strutting around the office floor donning this sparkly and sophisticated costume, but I would, I imagine, look a tad out of place in the average workplace. Just now.
Joking aside, it is a tough gig being a manager today. Organisations and employees depend on them being these formidable superheroes—every day.
At OnTrack, we collaborate with our clients to help them develop the manager into the superhero manager needed for their organisations – including the attributes above. It does not need to include abstract superhero mastery programme titles. Most of our work is helping managers hone core skills in a supportive environment where they can practice, learn from each other, and receive coaching from peers and professionals. Without the fancy titles, the result is real human-in-the-loop managers who go on to become nothing short of the superheroes described in this article.
Welcome to the School of Superheroes for the aspiring Superhero Manager!
Get in touch if you would like to have a conversation about how your organisation can develop you Superhero Manager further or to see an overview of what the programme could look like.
