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In a previous article ''Two Common Mistakes That Mark a Bad Manager,'' we had discussed two common mistakes that managers make unconsciously - allowing encouragement translate into favoritism, and leaving office early on a regular basis - and their consequences. In this article, we will be discussing another common mistake that employees view as mark of a bad manager, regardless of other achievements of the same person.
Monopolizing decision-making
A common mistake made by managers who are also subject-experts: monopolizing the decision-making process marks an expert who is used to work in isolation, but has been elevated to the position of leading a team. It is also the common mark of a manager with a massive ego and irreparable inferiority complex who suffers from lack of skill and subject knowledge vis-a-vis other members of the team. So, at the root of the urge to monopolize the decision making process is an assumption of the manager that he or she either knows much more, or too little, than the other team members. An assumption whose visible expressions will always be resented by others for it indicates other employees as unreliable or unworthy.
When employees in a team feel that their opinions are given proper consideration, and that they have been involved in the decision-making process of any particular task, it increases employee commitment, morale, productivity, and accountability. In managerial terms, employee involvement in decision-making processes creates the sense of task ownership and invariably yields better results.
On the other hand, if employees feel that their participation in the decision-making process is merely to pay lip service to protocol, while the actual decision-making is monopolized either by the manager or by a minor section of the team backed by the manager, then employees feel loss of esteem and dignity. Without any sense of ownership of a task, committed work becomes impossible and leads to loss of team spirit as well as poor productivity.
Bad managers are famous for trampling over the feelings of others to establish their own say in every matter. The situation in a physical workspace always needs to take into account human feelings and emotions, and for managers, ignoring the opinions of other employees tantamount to career suicide. The word always gets around. Boorish managers find their fame spreading far and wide, and sometimes so much so, that their present offices become their only refuge and their survival comes to rest upon the whims of their own superiors. Any person worthy of a managerial post should try to avoid such a situation at any cost, and rather establish his or her value in the market than in a single company. Your subordinates and colleagues are your greatest advertisers, and the habit of monopolizing the decision-making process will turn them against you. Remember, it is illogical and unthinkable for your employer to draw your attention to a better job in another company or voluntarily refer you there, but such actions are expected from colleagues from whom you have earned respect by giving respect.
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