The workplace is filled with all kind of people with various levels of competencies, exploited or otherwise. Managers in particular suffer from a kind of hero’s complex, thinking that they have achieved their positions by being the very cream of the workplace crop. And some managers are always striving not for the very best from their subordinates but rather looking up at the next level of promotion. These managers strive for the next rung of the corporate ladder instead of focusing on what is best for the company or colleagues.
You often find that these workplace “heroes” hold themselves in very high esteem, insisting that he is the perfect model for any situation.
A health sector employee told me once that he had one of these “I’m the hero” types. But when he was most needed his inefficient management style led to the delay in providing adequate care to a patient, which resulted in the health of the patient deteriorating. Still, the “workplace hero” that he was continued to believe he was infallible. He didn’t sober up until he was fired for his negligence. But then, my source told me, the man’s replacement ended up with the same attitude and the administration continued to falter and work inefficiently.
Some analysts in the field of management have noticed that a poor manager tends to be one who expresses his belief that his predecessor was a poor manager. He thinks that he has been called in to do the hero’s duty of cleaning house and saving everyone.
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman wrote the famous book “What the World’s Greatest Managers do Differently” in which the authors describe how good managers empower and encourage their subordinates, turning them into heroes of the workplace.
There was four basic duties to find, focus, and keep talented employees: planning, organization, direction and supervision. Defining goals and aims by drawing policies for the employees and having timetables are important tools for productive work environments. So is encouraging the workers to follow these effective procedures. And the manager should be aware of his role.
According to the book, the successful manager must ask himself: Do I know what is expected of me at work? Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? Does the mission of my company make me feel my job is important? My question to employees is this: Do you think that your manager is following these approaches, or is he suffering from the hero complex? I assure you that an honest answer to this question would reveal the sad reality of our collective management style.
A successful administrative workplace, regardless of the sector, is one where heroics is shared among managers and subordinates. A hero’s complex should be turned into a complex of heroes.
