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Strengthening Managerial

Capability on the Ground

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As companies strive to survive and grow in a rapidly changing business environment, agility, cross-functional collaboration, and execution excellence have become critical for success. Organizations with a more agile, disciplined, and engaged frontline workforce are better positioned to thrive. This has put the spotlight on the managerial capabilities of first-level managers in functions like sales, manufacturing, and supply chain—areas with large, distributed teams.
Our work with hundreds of companies on assessing and developing first-level managers reveals multiple facets of this growing challenge.

51%

of FLMs score low on innovation and agility traits, as per Think Talent Personality Inventory data from over 10,000 participants.
Career Anchors: Top 3 Preferences for New People Managers Revealed in Bar Graph Analysis

Only 23% of FLMs have “Managerial” as one of their top three career anchors.

In Edgar Schein’s framework, “Managerial” career anchor indicates managing people & resources as key motivator and driver for the person.

A significant proportion of FLMs show low proficiency in key managerial competencies, including planning, execution, and people management.

Data based on ADC scores of 5,792 first-line managers across industries and functions.

How Organizations Are Responding

More Rigorous Promotion Process

  • Going beyond interviews to Structured ADCs
  • Involving senior leaders in the selection process
  • Focus on step-up competencies rather than past performance

Scaling up Development Initiatives for FLMs

  • Expanding reach and investment; adopting hybrid delivery for speed and accessibility
  • Placing stronger emphasis on team management, development, and team culture
  • Tracking impact using ongoing assessments, ESAT scores, and IDP progress

Creating Regular Feedback Mechanisms

  • Moving from annual feedback to quarterly feedback
  • Pulse surveys & 180 feedback to collect feedback from the ground-up
  • Embedding values and culture into development—not just competencies
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