COACHING: DEPARTMENT HEADS NEW BALLGAME

Supporting and developing the staff in a company has undergone a complete

transformation. In an article written by Letian Zhang, companies have adopted the sports strategy
of developing their teams through coaching and making them more capable in the workplace.
The reasons will be explained in detail.

Coaching is now the new ballgame that organizations want to play. The organizations are
now instructing their middle managers to facilitate learning and skills development through
coaching and less of a control-your-army style like a military commander does. Sports strategy is
being adopted because companies want their department heads to act more as basketball or other
sports coaches.

The bottom-up approach is now the strategy for developing employees and is no longer
the top-down approach and the tell them what to do style. It is now about coaching, inspiring
employees, and empowering them to take part in making decisions that affect their work
environment. Empowering the workers motivates them towards a higher level of work
performance and they discover a sense of purpose in their work.

Collaboration and coordinating with subordinates across functions is now the mantra in
getting things done and no longer the command-and-control method according to the study
published in the American Journal of Sociology. Middle Managers or Department Heads will still
play a key role despite the threats of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in disrupting the workforce
because they are often aware and are equipped to deal with groups with different skill sets.

EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF JOB OPENINGS

Zhang based his conclusions on a unique analysis of more than 34 million online job
postings for managerial openings in the United States between 2007 and 2021. He also gathered
and analyzed 1 million newspaper job postings, 6 million manager resumes and job reviews, and
430,000 Indeed.com job reviews.

The data shows that managerial job postings that require collaborative skills and
experience increased by three times between 2007 and 2021. By contrast, job postings that
included supervisory capabilities decreased by 23 percent1.

The use of collaborative phrases in newspaper job postings grew 15 percent between
1980 and 2000. Before 1980, references to collaboration were scarce2.

The number of managerial resumes listing supervisory experience decreased by 8 percent

between 1985 and 2015, while those highlighting collaboration increased by 37 percent.

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Paragraph 1, Part 2, The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding, Rand, B. (2024)
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Paragraph 1, Part 2, The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding, Rand, B. (2024)

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 Finally, when it comes to references to supervisory duties on Indeed.com, reviews
decreased by 22 percent, while mentions of collaborative/teamwork skills grew by 28 percent 3.

CHALLENGING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ON MIDDLE MANAGEMENT

The intermediate-in-rank managers never declined despite being a target of large-scale

downsizing during the 1980s and 1990s. Managers are also growing by 13 percent (13%) of the
US labor force in 2022, up from 9.2 percent (9.2%) in 1983, as per the study’s results. The trend
has been growing in recent years, jumping 23 percent between 2005 and 2020. Wages for
managers also increased during the same period compared to those of non-managers4.

The writer believes that the growth of managers was caused by the changes in the
economy rather than by firms allowing more bloated managers in their ranks. The managers’
ability to handle complex tasks, especially in technology requires substantial skill in directing
processes and employee empowerment. Zhang identifies a correlation between collaborative job
postings and innovation in firms.

One key note to consider here as well is the potential for large differences based on
industry as well as collaboration. Another thing of importance here is that companies are
spending more on Research and Development. Spending more on Research and Development is
vital as technology becomes more advanced and due to the incoming threat presented by
Artificial Intelligence or AI. However, the writer also noted that the potential for large
differences is dependent on the industry. “Software companies may have a greater need for a
collaborative type of manager to give workers a lot of autonomy and empowerment. It will be
different for hardware companies because there is a possibility that there’s going to be a lot less
collaboration5.

CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER

The change in the company dynamics in which there is collaboration can complicate life
for managers.

The department heads or middle managers still maintain traditional supervisory

responsibilities and at the same time, they are accountable for meeting departmental and
organizational goals and objectives. It puts the middle manager in the literal middle.

They may have lesser authority over the workers from the bottom up, and at the same
time face the performance targets and other pressures from the top management.

Career advancement is now ripe for reassessment on the part of the collaborative
manager because even though the career ladder is still there, the way to play the game is
changing. As a result, managers may have to look for new positions more externally than
internally.

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Paragraph 1, Part 2, The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding, Rand, B. (2024)
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Paragraphs 1 and 2, Part 3, The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding, Rand, B. (2024)
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Paragraph 5, Part 3, The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding, Rand, B. (2024)

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 ADAPTING YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE

Zhang says that the development of a new set of skills is important in this day of age, as
well as the employees need to remain flexible and agile. It is hard to say how management will
look in 10 to 20 years when today’s younger employees become managers. Of course, technical
skills are vital to any company’s advancement but interpersonal skills are also important to aid
the manager to better understand the people he or she is managing.

Social skills, cognitive skills, the ability to learn things, and the ability to adapt are going
to be the game plan from now on. It is now about learning how to learn Python and not just
learning about Python itself.

Zhang says that interpersonal skills will become even more important in a collaborative
environment since the manager can't know everything. The key for the manager is to understand
the people he or she is managing-hence the need for good social skills.

Finally, Zhang concluded that social skills can have varied definitions, particularly in a
global economy.

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 THE STRATEGY IN HIRING FOR ATTITUDE

Organizations that hire based on skills instead of attitude are now paying the price. In an
article written by James Heskett, he is asking “What questions can you ask to determine if a job
candidate aligns with your company’s mission and culture? Mr. Heskett recently discovered that
companies are trying to change the same and are now hiring based on attitude and no longer
based on skills. He was even asked repeatedly how to hire for attitude. The writer in response
stated the job candidate’s identification with the mission and values of the organization. It may
even include assessing comfort with the leadership, the team with which the candidate will be
working, the job, and the way work gets done around the place. It is now about fit with the
organization that matters.

The writer also discovered that two other gauges are being put into practice during a case
writing trip to a well-known gourmet restaurant where the tab for a lengthy tasting menu for one
person can approach $ 1,000. Mr. Heskett was able to learn that the team members describe the
experience as a food-tasting journey and speak of the magic they create. The said team members,
who are in their 20s with a few years of experience said that they are now attracted to a spirit of
knowledge-sharing and cross-training as opposed to the fiefdoms and management by fear
typical of other fine dining establishments on the job. All of them mentioned not only about
learning but teaching as well.

The said experience reminded the writer of the motto that he printed up and posted
throughout Harvard Business School when he was the faculty chair of Harvard’s MBA: We All
Learn-We All Teach-For Life. Perhaps, the questions that should be asked in deciding to hire a
candidate for attitude are: What have you been learning? What do you want to learn on this job?
And finally, What do you feel you can teach others on this job?

In the end, the writer mentioned that every organization is different and that hiring
practices must be customized accordingly. He closed his analysis by saying “Teaching and
learning have to be a part of an organization’s culture for this to have any relevance.

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