“Joe will be leaving us soon and we want you to fill his role for a while. You will, of course, maintain your present responsibilities as well.”
Directives like this are becoming increasingly common, as organizations embark on acquisitions, mergers and downsizing to meet competition. Salaries are often the first costs to be cut, and middle managers are asked to double up on responsibilities, assuming the dual roles of first- and second-line manager.
What are some of the prime difficulties of maintaining these two responsibilities simultaneously? Among them are:
1. Balancing conflicting roles. A first-line manager is typically dealing with a homogenous, single function, and directing its day-to-day operations. In contrast, a second-line manager carries more heterogeneous responsibilities covering a larger scope, and must integrate diverse functions and resolve conflicting priorities.
The two jobs require different skills and outlooks. To switch hats several times in a given day, therefore, can be extremely time-consuming and energy-draining, and sometimes confusing.
The first-line job requires so much attention to detail that it is easy to get mired in minutiae, and difficult to extricate yourself, notes a manager who’s had to fill both roles. “When you must suddenly switch to your second-line role, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees.”
This is especially true for a manager who has not held a first- line position in several years, or who has skipped over that particular position altogether.
2. Compensating for staffing deficits. When a first-line manager is terminated, other positions are usually eliminated as well. This can seriously overload the system’s capacity. Remaining workers must handle more tasks. Consequently, stress mounts, efficiency suffers, and morale plummets. The manager is then faced with lower productivity and larger employee relations problems—a potentially lethal combination.
3. Information loading. When you hold two jobs simultaneously, more pieces of paper cross your desk. As the piles build, it’s easy to get frantic and feel guilty for letting things slide. Tension inevitably mounts and affects every area of the manager’s job.
4. Adjusting self-image. Second-line managers see themselves as people who orchestrate and/or supervise the overall picture, but delegate the everyday details to lower-level people. Managers who feel uncomfortable about filling a role that they think is beneath them tend to communicate the following message to employees: “Don’t get the wrong idea. This is not really me. My job is much more important.”
This sort of attitude lowers the value of the first-line position in employees‘ minds, as well as their respect for it. Eventually, it can also lead them to perceive the manager as arrogant, self- involved and uncaring, and undermine their respect for him or her.
In addition, managers face the ego blow of being “demoted.” The step down may even threaten their personal identity. This can generate a good deal of resentment and stress. The stress tends to be contagious to employees, and to have a counterproductive effect on the entire operation.
- Start by analyzing the overall system. The Hay (consulting) Group has found that it is possible to downsize by 20% with little difficulty when managers begin with good planning. “As soon as you are informed of the downsizing, take a few days to study the management systems in each area to determine where you can increase efficiency,” its consultants advise. Right at the start, look for ways to simplify procedures and cut waste. This will solve several problems: It will reduce information loading and thereby cut drains on your time and energy; diminish the stress of role loading for employees and thereby ease employee relations; and allow the opportunity to plan ways to avoid favoritism.
- Don’t fight the system. Managers create problems for themselves by resisting the order to assume dual roles. Those who make peace with the situation are better able to adjust their self-image. It helps to accept the situation as temporary and to approach it with a sense of humor. And don’t forget: The manager who resists will then be remembered as a detractor, while the one who accepts gracefully soon earns a name as a willing contributor.
- Do not overexplain to employees. Do your job well and avoid explaining the obvious. Employees understand what is going on and will follow your lead if you make the transition gracefully.
Observation: Your temporary step down can actually be a valuable learning experience. When you return to your single role as second-line manager, you will probably take along increased understanding and empathy for your first-line position from a new perspective, and become aware of adjustments that could help you perform better. This will prove to be worthwhile when you move ahead at a later date.
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