The Magnolia Manager

The role of a Manager plays an essential part in any organisation. They must be able to lead, direct and motivate their Team and staff to undertake many tasks, often within a stressful and changeable environment. Unfortunately for organisations today, the ability of a Manager to manage is severely compromised, as they:

• Fear of upsetting or offending people by saying the wrong thing.

• Do not want to be accused of micro-managing by directly asking staff to do things.

• Cause increased levels of stress by setting unachievable deadlines.

• Deal directly with staff issues for fear of being accused of bullying.

The inability of a significant number of Managers has led to the creation of what could be described as the "Magnolia" Manager. Like the colour Magnolia, a non-descript form of beige, the Magnolia Manager wants to avoid standing out and setting themselves apart from anyone as they strive to exist merely.

Demotivated Team Leaders

The Magnolia Manager arrives as an unmotivated team leader and staff manager. Their one ambition is to survive the day and achieve just enough to avoid being described as incompetent. The Magnolia Manager will, at all costs, avoid being the subject of a disciplinary process to prevent themselves from being dismissed for incompetence.

Typically, Magnolia Managers are unmotivated and unchallenged. They claim a salary that could be described as fraudulent, as they achieve very little in return for being paid. A Magnolia Manager does not drive growth, progression, increased efficiency, or profitability, nor do they motivate their Team to achieve anything other than the bare minimum.

Organisations that employ Magnolia Managers are usually low-performing organisations that need to adapt better to change. They let minor issues grow into significant problems. They rely on low-skilled employees whose sole purpose is to keep costs to a minimum and to drive sufficient profitability so that an organisation can stay in business.

Management Non-Commitment

Magnolia Managers become very non-committal if you ask them: "What have you achieved this week, this month or this year?" which leads to a variety of reactions, such as:

• Guilt that they haven’t achieved anything.

• Anger that they have been found out as not having achieved anything.

• Curiosity, as they did not know they had to achieve something.

• Insult that they have been asked, as they don’t know what they should have achieved.

• Insecurity, as their lack of achievements has been highlighted.

The Magnolia Manager is a significant part of the UK's business management structure. Issues occur due to a lack of knowledge, succession planning, and mentoring or coaching within organisations, as the typical UK business organisation needs to react better to change.

Some organisations see change as unnecessary, resulting in "Change Managers" being seen as the devil's scourge and pariah. Magnolia Managers exist at all levels within an organisation, from the Director who fails to "Direct" to the senior Manager who gained their position through nepotism or by knowing the right people.

Hiding Management Inabilities

Magnolia Managers will go to extreme lengths to hide their inabilities, to the extent that organisations fail to deal with them, either through a lack of political will or because organisations do not realise that they have an issue with them and the damage they cause to organisational staff and Teams. Magnolia Managers all have one thing in common: a lack of some or all of the following skills or abilities:

• Time Management: Magnolia Managers cannot manage their time well and are often ineffective. As time is a fixed commodity, it is essential to schedule tasks effectively. It is often difficult for them to differentiate between necessary and trivial activities. Magnolia Managers think they are considered dynamic if they work long hours. Yet, they waste their time on unimportant activities, failing to realise that people can see through such shenanigans.

• Training: Magnolia Managers are ineffective because they are poorly trained or lack fundamental skills. They need to realise that management is an art that takes time and education to perfect. They possess inadequate skills and tend to fare poorly in their role. Magnolia Managers wonder why highly educated Managers command respect among their peers, why their thoughts are held in high regard, and why they are better positioned to implement their goals.

• Communication Skills: Communication is only effective when it occurs and the listener clearly understands the intended message. A Magnolia Manager cannot communicate their vision or goals to their Team or staff due to a poor choice of communication channel, linguistic barriers, or their unintelligent or emotional state of mind.

• Motivation: Refers to the internal forces within an individual that push them to perform their duties or obligations without being coerced. Organisations must always hire the most effective managers to energise and motivate their staff to perform their tasks effectively. A Magnolia Manager manages their staff, so they become ineffective. The team loses the drive and energy to work, leading to an organisation’s performance slump.

• Stress Management: Magnolia Managers are continuously under stress due to lateness, their inability to meet deadlines, and countless complaints from other stakeholders who are dissatisfied with the Magnolia Manager’s work. High-stress levels divert managers from concentrating on their work, leading to poor absenteeism, health concerns, and poor job performance within their team and staff.

• Control Staff Turnover: Magnolia Managers cause highly skilled staff to leave an organisation as they search for more fulfilling jobs elsewhere, depriving an organisation of its experience and leading to a further decline in effectiveness, customer service and profitability.

Change is critically important to an organisation. The market in which an organisation operates ever evolves, and customer and stakeholder requirements advance and develop. A failure to adapt and to survive will eventually see an organisation fail, as it no longer meets the needs of its customers, and profitability turns negative.

It is essential to realise that Magnolia Managers exist at all levels of an organisation. Directors often need to realise that their role is to direct, lead and motivate an organisation, its Teams and its staff through change, development, and goal achievement. If they fail to do this, they will fail an organisation. The lack of skills amongst Directors generally within the UK is perhaps the UK’s most significant stumbling block to increased growth, prosperity, and wealth.

An effective Manager must possess a mix of competencies and skills. Due to the diversity of Teams and staff, Managers must also understand how staff thrive in an organisation that inspires them to achieve more with less. In other words, work smarter, not harder. A Magnolia Manager needs the intelligence and ability to bring out the best in staff. Otherwise, an organisation's teams and staff become low performers who achieve little success.

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