There is currently a lot of reading about so-called “absent managers”: major damage, Silent killer.
Interestingly enough, this topic has been relevant not just since Corona and working from home. As early as 2018, thought was given to the consequences of an absent manager for a company: Invisible damage
The consequences of absent managers and the effects on employees have therefore already been discussed several times. Today I would like to think about what the team can do to make a virtue out of necessity.
The lack of orientation is described as one of the main problems of absent leadership. But it is possible for the team to provide themselves with guidance. People have been talking about “self-managed teams” for ages. The agile way of working has further revived this concept. The team usually knows best who should best make the decision on which topic. As a result, a supervisor is often only needed to remove obstacles and develop his people. But what if the supervisor doesn't?
If the organization of a company is essentially hierarchical, the team has clear limits as to what they can do alone. Removing obstacles and developing employees are probably beyond the capabilities of a team here. Employees could discuss personnel development with the HR department, which should have at least some effect. The team could address the removal of hurdles by presenting various scenarios to senior managers and explaining the consequences of various options. This approach has the advantage that the higher supervisors know directly what the result could be without immediately discrediting the immediate supervisor.
In the medium term, a hierarchically organized company should of course address the issue of “absent manager.” If the team does the work alone, you can eventually save yourself that manager's salary. Looking further, it would be possible to consider whether this model could set a precedent: How far could the empowerment, the 'empowerment' of employees, be extended? How much can a team decide in a self-organized manner without going through various decision and approval stages?
Anyone who has absent managers in the company should see this as an opportunity for the company to engage with agile working methods. If the work is done excellently with a smaller number of supervisors, the structure can be streamlined.
Let's compare the three possible situations:
It would therefore be important for management to observe how a team achieves its successes and what role the respective managers play in this. If the role is either supportive or non-existent, the company is already much more agile than it might have thought possible.
Would you like to work with someone to check how agile you already are? I'm ready!
