You wouldn’t ask a plumber to fix a major water leak without being qualified. You wouldn’t trust a pilot who had only ever been a passenger to land a plane. Yet, every day in the corporate world, we hand over the keys to entire departments to individuals who have no qualifications and often no formal training on how to lead, manage, motivate and enable their direct reports.
We take our “top performers” – the best coders, the sharpest analysts, the most prolific salespeople – and reward them with a promotion. Then, we leave them to figure out the “people stuff” on their own. It’s the classic “sink or swim” mentality, and frankly, it’s a strategy that is currently sinking your bottom line.
The High Cost of the Accidental Manager
HR professionals are usually the ones left cleaning up the mess when this strategy fails. When a new manager struggles, it doesn’t just affect their confidence; it creates a ripple effect across the organisation:
- HR Headaches: Grievances and conflict cases often stem from a manager who simply didn’t know how to have a difficult conversation early on.
- The Talent Drain: People don’t quit jobs; they quit managers. A “sink or swim” culture is a fast track to losing your best talent.
- Productivity Paralysis: New managers often default to “micro-management” or “doing the work themselves” because they haven’t been taught how to empower and enable.
Support should start at the beginning of the management journey, not three years into it when bad habits have already calcified.
From Telling to Enabling: The Shift to Operational Coaching®
Most new managers fall into the trap of being the “Chief Problem Solver.” They believe their value lies in having all the answers. This command and control style is exhausting for the manager and stifling for the team.
To break this cycle, we need to move toward Operational Coaching®. This isn’t about sitting in a room for an hour-long therapy session; it’s about the in-the-moment interactions that happen on the shop floor or in the heat of a project.
Operational Coaching® shifts the manager’s mindset:
- Old Way: “Here is how you fix that.” (Telling)
- New Way: “What have you tried so far, and what do you think the next step is?” (Enabling)
By asking rather than telling, managers build the capability of their team members, freeing themselves up to actually manage rather than just put out fires.
Future-Proofing with STAR®
If we want to stop the “sink or swim” cycle, we need a proven framework to equip new leaders. This is where the Certified STAR® Manager programme sets the new global management standard.
By implementing the STAR® Manager programme, HR can ensure that new leaders are equipped with the exact skills required to develop their teams from Day 1. This certification provides a consistent language for leadership, delivering:
- Productivity: Engaging employees through growth, not just oversight.
- Retention: Halting the exodus to get away from a poor line manager
- Agility: Creating teams that can solve problems without constant escalation.
- Consistency: Ensuring every employee, regardless of department, receives a high standard of leadership.
Conclusion
The “Sink or Swim” era is over. In a competitive talent market, your managers are either your greatest retention tool or your biggest liability. It’s time to stop hoping they’ll figure it out and start giving them the tools to succeed.
Is your organisation ready to end the line manager lottery?
If yes – turn your “accidental managers” into certified STAR® Managers?
Next Steps
About STAR® Manager and Operational Coaching®
Operational Coaching® is the only scientifically proven advance to coaching and management in the workplace that is guaranteed to increase engagement, productivity, retention and performance.
The STAR® Manager programme is the only certified programme on embedding an Operational Coaching® style of management and leadership.
We’d love to talk to you about how to upskill your leaders and managers in as little as 6-months. Schedule a no-obligation 15-minute chat today: