Managers Lead by Example—Good or Bad

Leading and Managing: Nearly two-thirds of managers are rated as being effective in their jobs, according to a study of workers in six countries by Kenexa Research Institute, part of HR services firm Kenexa Corp. in Wayne, Pennsylvania. The research examined responses from workers in Brazil, China, Germany, India, France, the U.K and the United States.

What traits define an effective manager? According to employees, effective managers are those that demonstrate ethical behavior, provide useful feedback to employees, treat subordinates fairly and manage their own workloads capably. Nowhere are managers more highly rated than those in India, where 73 percent are ranked as “effective” by employees. Managers in Germany received the least favorable ratings, with 55 percent of employees saying they do a good job. About 15 percent of managers in the U.S. are ranked as ineffective, the highest unfavorable rating among the six nations. Poor managers are driving away good employees. According to the composite research, 54 percent of employees who work for poor managers will look for other jobs, compared with 18 percent who say their managers do a good job.