Gartner finds that managers are overwhelmed by their responsibilities

Global research company, Gartner, spoke to 500 HR leaders from across 40 countries to gather data for its 'Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2024' report. Despite the distance between respondents, the study identified reoccurring themes.

The statistics give considerable cause for concern. Gartner reported that 75% of business managers are overwhelmed by the growth of their job responsibilities, and 73% aren’t equipped to lead organisational change. In addition, 82% of the HR leaders interviewed for the study said they didn’t feel that managers are currently equipped to lead change.

While these statistics may not be a surprise to weary business leaders, the impact of these issues is felt across the entirety of a business. 50% of the HR leaders surveyed reported that their current performance is unsustainable, and 50% mistrust the organisation they work for.

Gartner suggests a number of tips for leaders.

 Leaders need development too

Training and development are often directed at more junior members of staff, or mid-managers, but the study recommends that business leaders should be upskilling too.

New skills will not reduce the workload for overburdened bosses but can change how they are managed so that ultimately teams and leaders are more content and achieve better results.

Reset Role Expectations

Resetting what is expected of employees and managers can even out workloads and also give staff an opportunity to pursue professional development. Leaders who reset their own job expectations are 1.4 times more likely to find their jobs manageable.

Rebuild manager pipeline

By encouraging aspiring managers to take on responsibilities suitability for future roles can be found. In fact, managers who discover their ability in a role through challenges increase their likelihood of finding their jobs manageable by 2.3 times.

Rewire manager habits

Establish habits that help managers tackle issues. This can be done through external or internal training and improves the ability to do the job by 71%.

Remove process hurdles

Perhaps the most obvious tip is to remove hurdles that hinder the speed and productivity of projects. Managers and employees are more efficient when activities that don’t add value are removed.

These tips are easier said than done. Often acknowledging hurdles, and creating a pipeline for management roles is a secondary thought when the focus is on the day-to-day running of a business.

Developing the skills of the UK’s leaders is the primary focus of the Help to Grow: Management Course which is now entering its fourth year and has helped thousands of business leaders across the UK take time out to work on their business.

The Help to Grow: Management Course gives leaders the tools to make changes to their business and strategic approaches to change the structures they currently work in. A peer network and mentor can also help guide leaders through difficult decisions.

Bhupinder Sidhu, co-founder of the UK-wide support service, Find A Business Expert, discovered this was invaluable when he joined us on the Help to Grow: Management Course at Cardiff Business School. “It enabled me to take a step back and actually work on the business, rather than being caught up in the day-to-day.

“I got ideas from my peers and lecturers. With the regular meet-ups, I also had accountability and wanted to keep developing my ideas until they were ready instead of putting them on the back burner. This ultimately, led to our company rebrand which has helped us reach new customers.”

You can find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.