One-third of front-line managers are external hires, 11 per cent are developed internally
Most front-line managers are unhappy with leadership development programs available at their organization, according to a survey by Development Dimensions International.
Just 40 per cent of 1,130 front-line managers surveyed in the United States said they are satisfied with their organization’s leadership development offerings.
Part of this dissatisfaction might be explained by the fact that only 11 per cent of them were promoted through a formal development program, while 33 per cent were hired into the job from another organization, 20 per cent were promoted as a reward for strong technical skills and 11 per cent said they were given the job by default.
Without much internal grooming, it's not surprising 45 per cent of managers described their first year as “challenging,” and fifty-seven percent of managers say they learned their leadership skills through trial and error.
Only 56 per cent of managers in their first year have a good understanding of the job, while 30 per cent of all managers spend most of their time on administrative tasks.
Eighty-seven per cent of leaders rate their leadership skills highly but 89 per cent have at least one leadership “blind spot,” an area where they think they are better than they actually are, found the survey.
But not all the fault lies with organizations, as managers were more likely to take the promotion for self-serving reasons rather than for altruistic ones.
When asked to choose their top two reasons for taking the job, 50 per cent said they took the job for greater compensation, 33 per cent to advance their career and 21 per cent for the power and influence.
Just 33 per cent said they took the promotion to "make a greater contribution” to their company and 23 per cent said they did so because of a calling to lead others.
