Management

Managers Can’t Do It All

It’s time to reinvent their role for the new world of work.

by

Diane Gherson

and

Lynda Gratton

by

Diane Gherson

and

Lynda Gratton

From the Magazine (March–April 2022) · Long read

Stephen Lewis/Art + Commerce

Summary.

In recent decades sweeping reengineering, digitization, and agile initiatives—and lately the move to remote work—have dramatically transformed the job of managers. Change has come along three dimensions: power, skills, and structure. Managers now have to think about making their teams successful, rather than being served by them; coach performance, not oversee tasks; and lead in rapidly changing, more-fluid environments. These shifts have piled more responsibilities onto managers and required them to demonstrate new capabilities.

Research shows that most managers are struggling to keep up. A crisis is looming, say Gherson, a former corporate chief human resources officer, and Gratton, a London Business School professor. Some organizations, however, are heading it off by reimagining the role of managers. This article looks at three—Standard Chartered, IBM, and Telstra—that have helped managers develop new skills, rewired systems and processes to support their work better, and even radically redefined managerial responsibilities to meet the new priorities of the era.

Idea in Brief

The Problem

Managers are the lifeblood of organizations. In recent decades, as the workplace has changed, they’ve been asked to take on new responsibilities and demonstrate new skills—and are struggling to cope. This threatens productivity, employee well-being, and brand reputation.

The New Reality

Change has come along three dimensions: power (managers have to think about making teams successful, not being served by them); skills (they’re expected to coach performance, not oversee tasks); and structure (they have to lead in more-fluid environments).

The Way Forward

We need to do everything we can to help managers adapt. The three companies featured in this article have deliberately—and successfully—transformed the role of manager so that it better meets the demands of 21st-century work.

Jennifer stares at her upward-feedback report and wonders how she got to this point. How could a veteran like her, someone who was once celebrated as manager of the year, receive such negative ratings? She used to enjoy her role, but now everything feels out of control. Her job has been reshaped so constantly—by sweeping process reengineering, digitization, and agile initiatives, and most recently by remote work—that she always feels at least one step behind.

A version of this article appeared in the March–April 2022 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Diane Gherson is the former chief human resources officer of IBM, a director of Kraft Heinz, and a senior adviser at Boston Consulting Group.
Lynda Gratton is a professor of management practice at London Business School and the founder of HSM Advisory, a future-of-work research consultancy. Her most recent book is Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organization and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone (Penguin Business, 2022).

Managers Can’t Do It All

Idea in Brief

The Problem

The New Reality

The Way Forward

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