Developing Good Managers Is Vital to the Next Generation of Talent
Chances are, if you are reading this, you are a leader responsible for managing managers in your organization. Before you scroll past, thinking to yourself – I know how to be a good manager…I learned that 20 years ago – please read on. Developing Good Managers is vital to the next generation of talent, and you learned your management skills in a different era and environment.
A Wake Up Call
Working with executives, senior leaders and work teams, I see what’s working well and what’s not inside organizations, but I don’t typically get a front-row view of what young, entry-level talent is encountering – until recently.
With two of my three children now in the workforce – and my friends’ children plus my adult children’s friends in their first “real” jobs out of college – I’ve spent time this summer listening to what they have been experiencing. As a collective, they span industries, geographies and departments. And what I’ve heard prompted me to send out a wake-up call message in my latest #thursdaythoughts on LinkedIn.
When I asked each of them about work, their reply was: “let me tell you about my manager.”
I assumed that what they would say next would be a mixed bag … but it wasn’t. It was quite a reality check on what it feels like to be young professional talent in the workplace in 2025.
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People Don’t Quit Jobs, They Quit Managers
This adage has been around forever, but it’s something we can’t forget. If we want to continue to attract … and KEEP … great talent in our organizations, leaders of managers must take action.
1) Invest in developing those who will manage our young professionals.
As a manager of managers today, you are likely:
- Responsible for deciding how to allocate training dollars in the next budget round.
- Responsible for rewarding and promoting what good management looks like.
How you handle this responsibility has a direct impact on the managers who report to you and their teams. Make their leadership development a priority.
2) Reward and promote GOOD management
Good people management matters. It affects not only productivity and team member engagement, but also their mental health.
A manager can make or break someone on their team, and this is especially true of those at the start of their careers. Young professionals don’t necessarily know what “good” looks like. Therefore, they may be more willing to accept unacceptable or unhealthy behavior … or emulate it further down the line.
It’s SO important for young professionals to see and be inspired by those who lead and manage them.
What does a good manager look like?
- A good manager will foster a supportive work environment, rather than a pressure cooker.
- A good manager welcomes and encourages feedback, rather than shutting people down.
- A good manager will model healthy work/life balance, rather than modeling or fostering burnout.
- A good manager will care about providing the right tools and environment for their team members to learn, grow, thrive and contribute … and a good leader will provide the same for those they manage.
3) Review your training and development programs
COVID changed how organizations deliver their training and development programs. In many ways, the changes have made training more accessible, flexible and affordable, which are all positive. In other ways, however, organizations may have lost something.
Check in on how your managers’ training and development programs are working:
- Look at training feedback, but go beyond the “smiley faces” or numbers you’re getting on the forms at the end
- Then look at your employee engagement survey results across the organization
- Analyze – Do those two match up?
- Adjust as needed
