It occurred to me one day while in New York's Chinatown that 'naturally progressing' into a managerial role was a lot like becoming an older brother.
In the beginning, I came aboard at the bottom of the organization. I did what I was told for a couple of years. When I required help, people were friendly and responsive. I screwed up a lot but was generally forgiven and allowed to grow.
As things progressed, it seemed like all was going well. I was getting new assignments, meeting new people, and generally less reliant on those above me in the hierarchy.
Then, one day, BOOM! Surprise, a new person shows up. This person looked a lot like me in some ways but lacked my polish in the environment. He often needed help, much like I once did, but despite knowing what to do I was often unable to be of use. Still, the decision-makers made it clear how I was expected to share my experiences and exemplify desired behavior. In return, I would get nothing - in fact, I might even get less since the bosses now had to divide their finite attention in order to take care of the new guy.
Clearly, I was now above the bottom rung. But this was no signal of new responsibility. Although I was now higher up than before, I was no closer to holding any actual decision making authority. When things went wrong, I was often blamed even though it was the new guy's fault. Sometimes, the new guy would blame me and I would have to take the fall thanks to my superior 'experience'. Did it matter if I pointed out that these problems never happened when it was just me? Of course not. I often found my own progress stunted by the limits imposed on me from the level below.
What's the key for a budding business (or older) bro in this situation? The answer is simple: see equally. The usual frustrations of managers and older siblings share a common link: an underlying sense of superiority.
A manager who feels superior will struggle to complete the essential tasks of training and delegating. The Superior Manager will think - how could these idiots with no experience do the very difficult tasks I always do successfully? When something goes wrong, The Superior Manager will not see fault with the training approach - instead, The Superior Manager will see that the failure he or she expected all along has finally come to pass.
A manager who cannot train and delegate without an ego getting in the way will never increase the organization's capacity to get good work done. And if the organization does not improve, the manager is not doing a good job. Thus, the mentality contributing to stunted organizational improvement must be discarded immediately.
A manager who feels superior to colleagues lower in the hierarchy is a lot like the older brother who is frustrated by a younger sibling. By determining worth based on external constructs, the capacity to recognize growth and change is diminished. In sibling relationships, such an attitude is harmful enough but we can at least look back and see how we grew out of it (editor's note: the younger brother can also become taller, better looking, make more money, etc, as may or may not have happened in this case). In an organization with a much shorter time horizon, it is the surest way to overlook potential and the fastest route to stagnation.
