The Key to Creating Consistency in Your Organization

We’re entering a new age where managers are once again celebrated as catalysts for high-performing organizations.  

On the newest episode of the Good Leadership Podcast, Paul Batz and I discuss how “managers” have been overlooked in business vernacular for decades, lost in the shadow of the leadership movement. Today, with the shift toward highly collaborative hybrid workplaces, organizations are rediscovering the importance of manager consistency in building culture and creating healthy accountability. Listen to the full episode here. 

Learning Through Research

The theme of the Good Leadership Breakfast spring series was Celebrating the Magic of Managers. The featured speakers all echoed the same message about managers in just slightly different phrasing: Managers are the keepers of the culture. 

Through research and surveys, outside and inside the Breakfast, the results supported the idea that managers are overlooked and hold the most responsibility and accountability: 

• 82% said that managers are where the most responsibility and accountability lie within the organization 
• 71% of managers said that they don’t feel fully equipped to be effective as a manager  
• 76% of managers said they don’t feel supported by senior leadership 
• 70% of managers said they don’t feel adequately trained to be an effective manager 

Managers are the keepers of the culture – they are the direct conduit to keeping a spirit of healthy accountability, and they are telling us they are not equipped or trained to do it. 

Manager Consistency Playbooks

Manager consistency is about providing the right models and framework that managers can regularly use, so that employees are fully engaged in their work, know where they fit in the team, and know why they matter in the organization. Managers are the central part in many areas of the organization – and that’s a lot of weight to carry. It’s important that they are not overlooked, underappreciated, or underdeveloped. 

Research shows that these three playbooks deliver the highest return on investment in highly collaborative workplaces: 

Consistent Teaming Methodology: People are often working on multiple teams as organizations are shifting to a more collaborative culture. But there’s whiplash for people switching between teams that function differently. This playbook aims to dispel the inconsistency for people working on multiple teams or groups. 

Coaching Your Team: Managers often don’t know whether they are coaching for performance or growth. When coaching is insight driven and aspirational in nature, people can see what they are moving towards. And, when managers are skillful coaches, we see the best metrics go through the roof. 

Career Conversations: People want to know where they are going and how they will get there. This playbook allows managers to create that connection for employees, while also giving them ownership of their development.  

Managers are craving this type of consistency and framework. This isn’t another list of policies to adhere to – this is about giving managers the opportunity to decide to have consistent conversations around teaming, coaching, and careers. It’s about seeing them, so they aren’t overlooked, appreciating their contribution to the organization, and investing in their development. 

Reach out to info@goodleadership.com to start creating consistency in your organization.