Are workers right or are they full of it?

Pete's Points
Here is a tidy little item

From Management Issues

Nearly a quarter of workers believe they would be able to do a better job of managing than their boss, with one in three desperate to swap their boss if they could, according to a new British poll.

Men (25 per cent), the Investors in People survey found, were more confident of their ability to outdo their current boss than women (18 per cent).

Poor communication by managers was the most common complaint among workers, with nearly one in three saying their manager was not good at communicating with them.

Honesty was ranked second, but, again, nearly a fifth of employees believed their manager had, at some stage, claimed credit for their work.

The most popular type of manager was someone who delegated, followed by someone who was firm but fair and someone who looked after their employees' careers.

Ruth Spellman, chief executive of Investors in People in the UK, said: "The fact that almost a third of employees would like a new manager should make bosses sit up and take notice.

"With good communication ranked the most important quality of a good boss, managers need to focus their efforts on setting clear tasks and targets for their staff, and linking an employees' role to the organisation's overall mission," she added.

"Managers should also take note of the messages around delegation, remaining firm but fair, and the importance of looking after their people's careers.

Confidence is one thing, competence is another.

In my view if you can DEMONSTRATE competence by getting the work done to a high standard, on time and within constraints then you can criticise others.

As for the 1/3 who are looking to change bosses, I would give quids to hear what percentage of that group are people who simply fail at every assignment or responsibility that is thrown their way and who do not appreciate being told by their 'incompetent' boss to do better after they have been given support, training, coaching and mentoring.