DISCUSSION The UK’s productivity problem and the ‘accidental manager’

‘Accidental managers’ are certainly a common enough phenomenon. Most likely it’s a ‘high flyer’ who has performed extraordinary well in a particular role and so has a management position thrust upon them. They themselves might have doubts about the promotion.

If a person has proved a resounding success in one job then he or she is a natural for management – that’s the thinking. Yet it’s a train of thought that neglects fundamentals such as a provision of management training, not to mention simple employee experience. Research suggests that as many as four out of five managers in the UK are promoted in such a way, and if they are not performing as well as they might then the consequence in terms of productivity is obvious.

Here’s an article on the subject in the Financial Times, which contains a quote from Tomorrow’s Company CEO Norman Pickavance.