Benel Lagua | July 1, 2022 | The Manila Times
A GOOD friend of mine recently asked if I was willing to unretire. A medium-sized firm needed guidance to recover from the ill effects of the pandemic, and he thought I could shepherd the company to a rebound into the next normal. I was enthused and, of course, flattered by my friend’s confidence but after short consideration declined. I am already occupied, after all (even if semi-retired), acting as independent director in progressive banks and institutions as well as pro bono director in some NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Add these to my academic teaching commitments, and I had to beg off.
But more than my other preoccupations, I thought I was not prepared to go back to a stressful 24/7 managerial job. In my past life, I enjoyed the challenge of management and the daily jousts. I loved dealing with my staff and the people around me, motivating them to hurdle KPIs and looking for ways to innovate and meet targets. But toward the end of my corporate life, I had a medical challenge and realized that the workload had taken a physical toll. I had to listen to my body to accept the need to slow down.
The June 23, 2022 Bartleby column in The Economist is interestingly entitled “Why managers deserve more understanding.” The blurb highlights how “the job is both necessary and demanding,” and the article starts by declaring “Management is not a heroic calling.” The expectation by many is that since they are paid more than the people they manage, they should be good. But in reality, they are generally unappreciated.
“Managers are needed, but they do not have it easy. The job is structurally difficult. Most managers have to meet the expectations, sometimes unreasonable, of people below them and above them. The blurring of work-life boundaries as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have made life tougher for them.
Gallup, a pollster, found that in 2021, managers suffered higher degrees of self-reported burnout than workers, and that the gap between these groups had widened considerably over the previous years.”
One of the things I liked about my previous job was the management of people. But the Bartleby column asserts that it is “handling the most baffling material on Earth: people.” At the same time, “managers are allegedly human, too, and also susceptible to bias.” It concludes by saying that “the job that managers do is almost always necessary, often unpopular, sometimes done reluctantly and pretty difficult to boot.”
The column highlights the push and pull on managers. They need to care for people, for example, but should be prepared to fire them. Managers are often exposed to conflicting expectations and are exposed to extreme pressure. Managers experience higher demands, higher levels of conflicts and lower degree of social support. This can lead to burnout and intense stress at work.
One of my AIM-MBM classmates posted this on social media with reference to people in their senior years: “We’re closer to the finish line than we think. Enjoy life. Forget about the country’s/company’s problems. It will still be here long after we’ve all gone.” My cohort probably posted this in levity but it strikes to the core. It may be rewarding to turn things around in organizations but there are consequences as the manager’s life is not as simple as people make it to be. We must find the roles that fit us even as we empathize with the manager’s job.
Know your ikigai, “the reason you get out of bed in the morning.” For people who have been in management most of their career, it is a rewarding but challenging profession. We can still contribute, grow and give to management but in altogether different capacities. I may not be ready to be a full-time manager for now but I realize it is necessary for organizations.
Organizations and teams need leaders as bosses. Even in flat organizations, a manager or leader needs to be installed, whether formally or voluntarily by the members. Studies show that having someone to make critical decisions, even if bad ones, is a lot better lest the organization ends up in analysis paralysis. Somebody must delegate and assign work effectively, monitor work performance, teach and mentor, and be ultimately accountable for job performance. We cannot live in a world without managers.
*** Benel de la Paz Lagua was previously EVP and chief development officer at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He is an active Finex member and an advocate of risk-based lending for SMEs. The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as Finex.