Bad Management - Fixing It Yourself (All the Time)
In your career, you will have your fair share of good and bad managers. I can tell you firsthand that being in a management position is tricky because the skills that get you to the manager promotion are not necessarily the same skills that you will need to actually manage people. Everyone will have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses, and management tends to be on more people's weaker side. Today, I'm going to highlight a common trap that managers fall into: fixing it themselves. Let's jump in!
What is Fixing It Yourself?
In this article, I'm going to refer to fixing it yourself as the process of taking a work paper or a deliverable that was prepared by a more junior employee and correcting major errors or mistakes without telling them.
Why Does It Happen?
Managers fixing work papers and deliverables is nothing new. In fact, it is effectively a part of their job description because more often than not, they are responsible for reviewing and approving the deliverables themselves. Here's a few reasons why a manager might fix a work paper themselves instead of sending back review comments:
It can save time - When deadlines are looming and there is too much work to do, taking the path of least resistance is often a great idea. There are times when I had to make the decision of fixing something myself immediately, or waiting for the preparer to read, review, and address my comments. There were many times where everyone was probably better off in the short term if I just completed the work myself, but the short term solution isn’t always the best solution!
Some corrections are hard to communicate - If the preparer just got something completely wrong or did not understand the necessary next step to complete the deliverable, it’s probably easier to just complete the task yourself.
The original preparer might be busy doing something else - Staff and senior accountants will always have a variety of tasks on their plate. Sometimes, it's necessary to have them prioritize one job or task over another to keep everything moving. I’ve been in scenarios where I chose to fix something myself just to not distract the person working on a more important task.
The manager might not want to communicate or deal with the original preparer - Some staff are just bad to work with. They may not understand everything that’s going on, they could take too long to do the work, or they could have a bad attitude that prevents them from taking feedback effectively. In cases like these, doing the work yourself can be a nice way to get a breath of fresh air.
Why Is It So Bad?
Like many things I've talked about before, the downside of fixing it yourself depends on the context. In some circumstances, there was close to no downside as some changes are simply cosmetic and do not represent a critical learning opportunity for the preparer. On the other hand, there are times where fixing it yourself leads to major changes for the deliverable and implementing those changes without telling the preparer can be thought of as robbing them of an important learning opportunity. As noted in the examples of why fixing it yourself happens above, there are circumstances where it is inevitable. In those cases, it’s important to communicate the changes made to the original preparer so they can learn for themselves and apply similar changes the next time. The real issue with fixing it yourself is that too many managers lean on it too often. If a manager always fixes everything themselves, the person who prepared the first version of the deliverable will never truly develop the skills necessary to progress their career since they would never be given the right feedback.
How Can I Avoid Fixing It Myself?
Like most issues in the workplace, this issue can be resolved in many circumstances with upfront and timely communication, as well as proper planning.
If you are the preparer, you can:
Ask your manager up front if you can go over the deliverable with them if you know they are short on time.
Get your work done early so there is ample time for them to review and leave comments.
Block time on a manager's calendar so they have the time to review and the expectation to give back comments
If you are the reviewer, you can:
Focus on training staff while reviewing workpapers. Remember, while you might be able to do something faster this time, training your juniors is how everything gets done quicker over time.
Give yourself enough time to review workpapers before the staff gets assigned somewhere else. No one likes ping-ponging review comments!
Ensure you are giving enough attention to the staff and make sure they are comfortable with coming to you for questions. Personally, I always tell my staff to check in after 15 minutes if something isn’t clicking. That way, they don’t spend too much of their limited time spinning their wheels.
While there are times where manager cleanup cannot be avoided, it’s critical that staff are given as many opportunities to learn as possible, so do your best to put your team in a position to give that feedback!
Regardless of what role you are, it's important to understand that the proper balance of deadlines, deliverables, and development is critical to the long-term success of your organization. If work isn't completed by the required deadline, then the organization could lose a client, or the manager could lose favor with upper management. If the deliverable isn't of quality, it reflects badly on the preparer, reviewer, and the organization as a whole. If personnel aren't properly developed, the organization will have a hard time growing. With all this in mind, you should think twice next time you feel the urge to fix it yourself!