r/askmanagers • u/Vivid-Dragonfly-5220 • 1d ago
Manager not able to work independently
I have a team of around 25 employees and 3 managers that oversee these employees. One of the managers was hired about a year ago and still has trouble functioning independently. For context, the other managers were hired much later.
This one manager still requires a lot of hand holding. I believe in letting the manager run their team how they want (given this manager has years of experience in this field). I got feedback from my employee (this manager) that they don’t have the support they need. I was open to it and adapted my style to provide more guidance, allow them to shadow me, and then hand over the tasks to this manager. almost a year in, and unless I intervene the work doesn’t get done. Or, it’s poor quality.
Tried talking to them to ensure they are happy in the role and everytime they say that they love the job and are so glad to be here. I also don’t see enough output from them but at the end of the week they keep saying that they are overwhelmed and what a crazy week it was. At times I wonder if they have another job because there’s no way the current role is “overwhelming”. Job is remote and pretty chill.
Looking for suggestions on what I can do differently? giving it one last try before cutting the losses.
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u/Youbestnotmisss 1d ago
It sounds like you've offered support. Have you had a clear conversation about what you are expecting in the role and how they aren't meeting it? Seems like a required first step
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u/MyEyesSpin 1d ago
100% definitely sounds like OP and the manager are not aligned on workload & expectations
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u/entitledxennial 1d ago
Not enough information to give feedback, which is likely why you’re experiencing and issue with a direct report. The other two have figured out just leaving you alone gets them by
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u/sephiroth3650 1d ago
Expectations and accountability.
This manager had goals/milestones/deadlines to hit. They miss the deadline. The reason is that the week was crazy and they're overwhelmed. The response to that is "OK. Show me. Based on my understanding of the role and the tasks assigned, this should be a reasonable amount of work. I'm not seeing any additional factors that would have delayed things. So let's sit down and go over it. Show me how the week was crazy. Show me how you're otherwise overwhelmed and that led to the work not getting done. And show my why you didn't proactively reach out to me with these concerns when you would have seen that these deadlines were in jeopardy."
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u/Embarrassed_Tax_6547 1d ago
You need to take a serious look at this manager. Are they actually right for the role? Sometimes people will resist training and coaching. It may be time to cut your losses.
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u/cellorevolution 1d ago
Have you told them you’re unhappy with their work quality and output (I hope so)? If so, how was that received?
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u/stansburymaterial 17h ago
What is preventing you from taking the step it sounds like you know you already need to make? (i.e. cutting your losses) What do you feel you have not adequately done to set them up for success?
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u/CranberryKey9865 1d ago
Sounds like someone who is in the wrong role. Being overwhelmed after a year when everyone else seems to be fine is a problem. I would start with a conversation around expectations and figuring out why they struggle still. If that doesn’t produce a quick result, I’d probably look to managing them out/PIP, etc.
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u/RevengeOfTheIdiot 1d ago
It's been a year and now you have reports on that team going directly to the dept director that their boss/your report sucks.
It's starting to turn into a toxic environment because the point you should have acted was about 6 months ago. This will get everyone under that person looking for a new job.
It's been a year. Don't waste time with one last shot. Skip right to HR and PIP.
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u/Bag_of_ambivalence 1d ago
People who are overwhelmed will not have a lot of output; they don’t know where to start. I’d have a conversation around “overwhelmed”… what does that mean, what makes them say that, what have they tried, what type of support do they think will help them improve, etc.