Travis Bradberry* decries the seagull manager who swoops in only when a crisis threatens, often making bad situations worse.
Unfortunately, we’ve all been there. The boss finds his staff stumped by a problem and decides it’s time to step in.
However, instead of taking the time to get the facts straight and work alongside his team to realise a viable solution, he swoops in squawking.
He dumps orders riddled with formulaic advice, and then abruptly takes off, leaving them behind to clean up the mess.
Seagull managers mostly interact with their employees when there’s a fire to put out.
Even then, they move in and out so hastily — and put so little thought into their approach — that they make bad situations worse by frustrating those who need them the most.
The seagull manager is an increasingly common phenomenon hovering in today’s workplace.
As organisations flatten in response to the changes created by new technology, they gut management layers.
The remaining managers are left with more autonomy, responsibility, and more people to manage.
That means they have less time and less accountability for focusing on the primary purpose of their position — managing people.
It’s easy to spot a seagull manager when you’re on the receiving end, but the manager doing the squawking is often unaware of the negative impact of this behaviour.
In the vast majority of organisations, senior leadership is unschooled in the profound, negative impact the seagull managers are having.
The very individuals with the authority to alter the course of an organisation’s culture lack the facts that would impel them to do so.
Here are some hard truths we have to face every day at work.
Employees whose manager often uses seagull-type behaviour are 30 per cent more likely to develop coronary heart disease.
However, just 21 per cent of people would be willing to take their boss’ job.
When asked where they are supposed to focus, managers overwhelmingly say: “Bringing results”, yet they are most often fired for poor people skills.
The real question is not are you a seagull manager, but when are you a seagull manager?
It would be wonderfully simple — albeit frightening — if we could each be categorised as the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ kind of manager.
It’s just not that black and white.
My biggest fear in writing this post is that it will be used to target ‘problem’ managers, when the reality is we’re all the problem.
Every single one of us is a seagull manager sometimes, in some situations, and with some people.
The real challenge lies in understanding when your seagull tendencies get the better of you, so that you can fly higher and eradicate the negative influences.
Also, the title of seagull manager isn’t reserved solely for those who manage others in a formal capacity.
Whether you’re an engineer, a seasoned manager, or a novice climbing the corporate ladder, you must spot the situations where you engage in a seagull style of management of the problems you face.
The key to overcoming seagull management is to tackle challenges when they are big enough to see, yet still small enough to solve.
In our work at TalentSmart we’ve found that superior managers — those who lead their teams to the greatest levels of performance and job satisfaction — often share three critical habits.
Clear expectations
Managers who set clear expectations ensure that employee efforts are spent doing the right things the right way.
This means thoroughly exploring what will be required of the employee, how their performance will be evaluated in the future, and getting agreement and commitment to work towards established goals.
There is a big difference between telling someone what’s expected of them and making sure that what they’ll be doing is completely understood.
Consistent communication
This requires diligently observing what employees say and do, and speaking openly with them about their work.
A manager’s interaction with his or her employees delivers the resources, guidance, and recognition they need to succeed.
Communication is effective when it is frequent and in a language that everyone understands.
Powerful feedback
You pay careful attention to each employee’s performance, while offering praise as frequently and emphatically as you do constructive feedback.
Powerful feedback pushes your team to new heights by positively reinforcing successful endeavours and realigning efforts that become misdirected.
Whereas the seagull manager creates the need to swoop in and set his team straight, the superior manager gets everyone headed in the right direction from the very beginning.
Whereas the rare visit from the seagull manager results in a lot of squawking, the superior manager maintains a steady flow of communication.
Where the seagull manager manages his team’s performance by dumping on everybody, the superior manager keeps track of performance.
They ensure positive and negative feedback are delivered in small, digestible doses.
Few organisations recognise the degree to which managers are the vessels of a corporate culture.
Even fewer work diligently, through training and coaching programs, to ensure their vessels hold the knowledge and skills that motivate employees.
People may join organisations, but they will leave bosses.
No one influences an employee’s morale and productivity more than his or her supervisor.
It’s that simple.
Don’t let seagull management hold you back.
*Travis Bradberry is the \ co-author of the bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the co-founder of TalentSmart. He can be contacted at TalentSmart.com.
This article first appeared on the TalentSmart website.
