MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Six Signs of a Parent-Child Dynamic at the Office

For managers and teams, this is an unhealthy rapport. Here’s how to stop rolling your eyes and start treating each other like full-fledged adults.

To prepare for an upcoming program with a global chemicals company, I conducted a series of interviews with the top managers and the people who reported to them. I heard a familiar refrain: The people at the top felt like the people in the layers below just didn’t take the needed initiative. As a result, the managers felt an obligation and responsibility to tell the direct reports what to do and how to do it. As one manager put it, “They are just not ready to take on this level of responsibility, and they don’t have the overall oversight and understanding that we do.”

When I spoke to the direct reports, they complained that the top managers didn’t trust them enough and acted paternalistic. As a result, the direct reports feared that if they took the initiative and something didn’t work as planned, they’d be punished. One country-level director said, “When something doesn’t work, we’ve learned to push it under the rug. Otherwise, it gets too complicated and messy.”

About the Author

Jennifer Jordan is a professor of leadership and organizational behavior at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

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