Coaching-style management boosts subordinate initiative and reduces your own workload! — Insights from a survey of 2,000 managers —

Managers of the past were full of motivation

It was 20 years ago. When I was in charge of human resources at a business corporation, I conducted an organizational survey for all employees. At the time, the company had many young employees, was full of energy, and everyone was working with high motivation. As expected, the survey results showed that young employees had high 'job satisfaction.' What was slightly surprising was that the 'job satisfaction' scores increased as the position rose from section manager to department manager. I remember the consultant who requested the survey saying nonchalantly, 'The authority expands and the work becomes more interesting, right? That's how it is at every company.'

How 'Work Style Reform' changed managers

Currently, I have become a consultant and provide organizational surveys to various companies. Among them, there are few results where section managers have higher satisfaction than young employees, and in many companies, the 'job satisfaction' of section managers is the lowest among all positions.

What happened in these 20 years?
The wind probably changed with the 'Work Style Reform Related Laws' that were implemented sequentially starting in April 2019. With the introduction of upper limits on overtime work, section managers, who are supervisors, end up taking on the work of subordinates who cannot work overtime. Furthermore, since the working hours of the section managers themselves are also being tracked, they are often placed in situations where it is difficult for them to work overtime themselves. I believe that today's section managers are facing not only an increased workload but also greater mental burden than before.

In addition, the difficulty of management is increasing as they have to deal with various themes that companies are working on, such as compliance, sustainability, and diversity & inclusion, on the front lines. It may be inevitable that the job satisfaction of section managers is lower than it used to be.

It is the 'subordinates' who reduce the burden on managers

I think it is important for superiors and HR to provide appropriate support to reduce that burden, but the biggest key person is still the subordinate. If the relationship with subordinates is poor and communication cannot be handled well, the burden on the manager becomes even heavier. On the other hand, if the relationship with subordinates is good and there are many subordinates who act proactively, the burden can be significantly reduced, can't it?

In 2019, Persol Research and Consulting conducted a quantitative survey on work burden for 2,000 managers. In that report, an analysis result like the figure below is presented. What can be said from that is that what has a negative impact on the manager's sense of burden, in other words, what reduces the burden, is the 'proactive behavior' of subordinates. 'Proactive behavior' means actions such as 'understanding the requests and goals set by the supervisor and working hard,' 'willingly doing more work than assigned,' and 'actively demonstrating ability for the sake of the supervisor and the organization.' On the other hand, if there are many subordinates who take 'considerate behavior' of only worrying about the supervisor's face, or 'critical behavior' of criticizing the supervisor and trying to force their own opinions, the manager's sense of burden seems to increase.

How to increase proactive subordinates?

The survey also analyzes what kind of management style supervisors who have many highly proactive subordinates take (figure below). In conclusion, subordinates who take 'proactive behavior' are numerous under supervisors who take 'trust and approval management behavior.' On the other hand, the result was that there are many subordinates with 'considerate behavior' and 'critical behavior' under managers who take 'strict and rigorous management behavior.'

'Trust and approval management behavior' refers to actions such as:
• Trusting subordinates
• Recognizing the abilities of subordinates
• Recognizing when subordinates do excellent work
• Showing interest in what subordinates say
These can be called a coaching-style management style.

Although I think it depends on the situation the organization is in, in order for a manager to lighten the burden of their own work, it is first necessary to change their management style to a coaching one. By continuing that, the number of subordinates who act proactively without having to give specific instructions will increase, which is one of the things this survey result wants to say.

Coaching tips you can start right away

There are many books on coaching, but it might be difficult to put them into practice immediately even if you read them. Here, I will introduce some tips that serve as an entrance to coaching (figure below). As you can see, the foundation of all these tips is first to 'firmly acknowledge the existence of the other person.' While keeping that awareness as a base, why not start with the ones that are easy to try? Even simple things like 'calling them by name' should bring about changes in your relationship with your subordinates.

Finally

For managers who feel a sense of burden in their work, I think it is worth considering gradually changing their management style to a coaching type, using the tips mentioned earlier as a starting point. By doing so, if the proactive actions of subordinates increase, it will surely lead not only to a reduction in work load but also to the growth of subordinates and the revitalization of the organization. And if managers can concentrate on their original work and achieve results in larger-scale or higher-quality work, I think more people than ever will feel the appeal of the management positions that are currently being called 'a losing proposition.'

Reference Materials
Persol Research and Consulting 'Quantitative Survey on the Work Burden of Middle Managers'