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| | THE
SET-UP-TO-FAIL SYNDROME | |
| | How
Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail | |
| | by
Jean-François Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux | |
| | | |
| | "That
is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your
life, but in a new way." | |
| | (Doris
Lessing) | |
| | | |
| | No
matter how hard some managers try, some of their performers never measure up.
Despite hours of coaching, intensive follow up, and even extra attention, the
performance of these employees fails to improve. Are they just poor hires? Not
according to management experts Jean-François Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux.
In their new book, The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause
Great People to Fail (HBS Press, October 7, 2002) the authors explain
how the blame often sits with the managers themselves who unwittingly sink an
employee’s chances for success by prematurely labeling him or her a "low
achiever." | |
| | | |
| | First
Impressions Count | |
| | | |
| | Based
on ten years of research the book outlines why managers label and how dangerous
these labels can be in creating employees who start to live down to expectations.
Erroneous first impressions can become ingrained by a specific event such as a
missed deadline, a lost client, or a bad presentation. Even an odd reaction to
advice passed on by the boss can sow the seeds that an employee’s performance
needs monitoring. Alarmingly, Manzoni and Barsoux highlight that performance labels
do not take years or even weeks to form but can be triggered within days. | |
| | | |
| | The
Downward Spiral | |
| | | |
| | Most
bosses faced with a seemingly poor performer begin to pay extra attention to the
employee’s work. Deprived of elbowroom the employee starts to feel frustrated
and under-appreciated, often responding by reducing unnecessary contact with the
boss. Thinking, mistakenly, that the subordinate’s withdrawal confirms that she
is indeed a weaker performer, the boss begins to increase her involvement in the
employee’s affairs. Progressively, the subordinate begins to doubt her own thinking
and ability. This ugly cycle continues until a perfectly capable employee gives
up any dream of making a meaningful contribution to the company. The employee
has been successfully set up to fail. | |
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| | Fighting
Back Often Backfires | |
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| | Most
subordinates don’t give up without a fight but the boss’s perceptual blinders
ensure that their efforts go unnoticed or else don’t get the recognition they
deserve. Also in their determination to prove the boss wrong, underrated subordinates
may have to ignore instructions or advice and avoid contact with the boss in order
to do things "their way" - and such behavior can end up confirming the
boss’s view of them as "difficult" or "untrustworthy". Ultimately,
frustrated subordinates stop fighting back constructively and start retaliating
in ways that subtly provoke "unfair" or "unreasonable" reactions
from the boss. The subordinate is essentially setting up the boss to fail. The
result is two strong interlocked dynamics, and there’s no way the situation will
self-correct. | |
| | | |
| | The
Ultimate Price | |
| | | |
| | Why
should a boss care about triggering the syndrome? Firstly because of the performance
forfeited from the employee and the time and energy squandered by the boss in
trying to "drag the employee to excellence". Yet the full cost of the
syndrome goes beyond the boss and the employee. The whole unit suffers, making
it impossible to establish a healthy work environment. The ultimate cost to the
unit can be long lasting and deep cutting as disaffected employees demoralize
their own subordinates, vent with their peers and erode any sense of group spirit.
In addition - and this affects the boss directly - Manzoni and Barsoux remind
us that most career derailments can be traced to poor working relationships with
peers and subordinates. | |
| | | |
| | From
Pain To Gain | |
| | | |
| | Managers
must learn how to enter situations with an open mind, how to approach difficult
conversations, and ultimately, how to stop the downward spiral in order to cure
this syndrome. The Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome outlines six concrete
steps that can act as a guiding framework to help stop the downward spiral. | |
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| |
- Agreeing
on the symptoms: both parties must identify the specific areas where they
agree the subordinate has struggled.
- Diagnosing
the causes: the boss and employee must jointly explore the causes of weak
performance including how the boss’s behavior has affected performance.
- Finding
the cure: both must agree on performance objectives and on specific actions
to improve the relationship.
- Preventing relapse:
the boss and the employee should pledge to address future problems earlier and
open the door to more open communication.
- Monitoring
the effectiveness of the treatment: beyond the initial discussions, both parties
must hold periodic progress reviews.
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While
it is up to the boss to initiate these steps, the employee needs to be an active
partner in the process. | |
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| | Prevention
Beats Cure | |
| | | |
| | The
ideal solution is of course to prevent the development of the vicious circle.
Managers whom Manzoni and Barsoux dub "syndrome busters" seem to work
on several fronts to get more from their perceived weaker performers. They invest
time and energy in the early stages of the relationship, to frame the contract
with subordinates and build and develop personal relationships. They monitor their
tendency to label subordinates or their actions hastily and incorrectly, and they
invite subordinates to act as joint owners of the relationship. And because they
have less preconceptions about weaker subordinates, they don’t have to devote
so much energy to monitoring and controlling their emotions. As a result, they
have more bandwidth for listening and reacting productively during the interactions.
Manzoni and Barsoux also discuss how managers can learn to develop these skills. | |
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| | In
an age where the responsibility of managers falls increasingly under scrutiny,
this book provides managers with guidance and support to help maximize the contribution
of all, while at the same time reducing the amount of pain in the workplace. The
Set-Up-To-Fail Syndrome provides critical insights and solutions for managers
and employees who are trapped in such a dynamic or want to avoid falling into
it. | |
