What guidelines does Fidelity give to its lower middle managers?
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There's actually lots of training available for managers at Fidelity. Whether or not people take advantage of it, or internalize it and implement it in their day to day, well, that's a different story.
You are going to find bad management everywhere, especially at the lower levels. I get the feeling that some of you complaining haven't worked at other places. Fidelity has it's fair share of problems, but horrible management isn't really one of them (individual experiences may vary).
Most people at the bottom rung of management get there by being good at their prior job, which may have little skill transferability to their new role.
Senior leadership is all but thinking about themselves only. VP levels are just taking orders from their seniors and asking the lower level to perform them and they call this strategizing. The group chapter leader, group squad leader is a way to keep folks happy and making them feel that they are rising in ranks while Sr. Manager and Directors will stuck for years. There is zero transparency of why certain people are getting promoted and others are not. These VP level chapter leaders afraid to have career development conversations with their team members to avoid hard questions.
It's also a factor of middle management not having any real power to change and the cultural dissonance between what is said to be important vs what is actually rewarded. They are expected to pass down the decree of senior management, are often penalized for bubbling up feedback (and sometimes suggestions or solutions), especially if in conflict with the company line, and spending time having hard conversations, coaching, etc. Is not valued or rewarded, and doing those things takes a lot of time, thought, and skill. Add to the fact that many middle manager roles are 'player/coach' roles where that balance is heavily skewed to them also producing or delivering work vs. the time it takes to do the above, andthey are set up for failure from the start. I'm not saying we should throw up our hands and say 'that's the way it is' and accept it but the sad fact is that many, being human and only in control of so much, take the easiest path themselves or see their lives become much harder with no real benefit or being able to positively impact change. I've watched middle managers who seem to be genuinely trying to help their teams, have those hard conversations, be perceived as the lowest performers by senior leaders. To me, it seems it all starts at the top. If the firm wanted middle managers to act the way we are hoping/deserve as associates, there would also be incentives, goaled against, and have mechanisms in place to support those middle managers and set them up for success so they can help their teams.
Fidelity doesn’t train their managers. The people they do promote are afraid to have the hard conversations they must and should have with their subordinates. They have bigger salaries and perform team lead roles because they don’t manage. MANAGEr