E. C. Davis & Associates LLC         

Over that last 15 years, we have developed an increasingly sophisticated research base for better understanding of first-line managers. As a starting point, we have evaluated the relative strengths and weaknesses of participants across our 12 competency areas:

Operational Competencies

Performance Standards

Coaching & Training

Priority-setting & Organization

Problem-solving & Decision-making
 

Interactive Competencies

Facilitation

Communication

Conflict Resolution

Delegation
 

Personal Competencies

Energy & Enthusiasm

Initiative

Flexibility & Adaptability

Situational Sensitivity

Strengths vs. Development Needs

Our research shows that first-level managers tend to be strong in Performance Standards, Communication, and Initiative. In contrast, Coaching, Facilitation, and Delegation have emerged as areas most in need of development. This pattern seems logical since most organizations promote employees into management or supervisory positions based on their productivity and reliability ─ not on their ability to delegate or coach others. This finding suggests that HR professionals may want to be particularly sensitive to these needs. View graph.

Does education matter?

We have investigated the impact of education on our participants' performance in the Team Manager Development Center. It has been clearly demonstrated that higher levels of education are consistently associated with better performance at our Center. Although we find that the younger employees consistently outperform older employees, it is important to emphasize that this appears to be solely a function of education. When education is taken into consideration, the relationship between age and performance disappears. View graph.

What about time on the job – or training?

Additional analyses reveal that there is no relationship between performance at the TMDC and one's managerial experience (both in terms of number of persons managed and years in management). Furthermore, there is no association between performance and the number of prior training programs that participants have attended. What do these findings suggest in terms of the development and effectiveness of first-line supervisors? Clearly, managers don't just get better as a function of time. These findings also suggest that training programs may not have the kind of impact that HR managers would wish, so thoughtful consideration should be given to the kinds of experiences which would be most effective in development.

What about personality factors?

Using data gathered from the NEO-PI-R personality instrument (administered to all TMDC participants since 1999), we have found that certain personality factors correlate to leadership success. These are (in order): Trust, Candor, Activity Level, and Intellectual Curiosity. Exploring the presence of these characteristics may be beneficial to you in selecting your company's leaders.

We are interested in your comments. Please email us.