In recent years, under-management has become my principal focus and concern. It is the latest turn in the research I've conducted on the front lines of the workplace since 1993.

"Under-management" is not a household word, like its opposite, the dreaded "micro-management," but it should be because under-management is far more damaging than micro-management and far more common.

Under-management is the cause hiding behind so many problems. So many problems can be traced back to one or more leaders who are failing to take charge on a day to day basis; failing to tell people every step of the way what to do and how to do it; failing to monitor and measure performance constantly; failing to correct failure quickly and reward success even more quickly. Under-management is so widespread, it is epidemic. Its impact, especially in today's changing workplace, makes micro-management look like a molehill.

A shocking proportion of leaders and managers are unable or unwilling to manage their employees effectively on a day-to-day basis. In on our research, we've learned that leaders under-manage for seven reasons:

1. They don't want to micro-manage, so they fail to give enough direction and guidance.
2. They don't want to monitor and measure performance closely, so they let small problems fester and grow.
3. They don't want to single out individuals for special treatment because others might think it's unfair, so they are not as flexible and generous as they could be.
4. They think you have to be a jerk to be a strong manager, so they fall into "false nice guy" syndrome providing no direction and enforcing no standards.
5. They are afraid to confront the people they lead and transform their relationships with them, so they are unable to take charge.
6. They don't study and practice proven techniques, so they remain stuck in bad management habits.
7. They are confounded by all the factors beyond their control (red tape, corporate culture, uncooperative senior management, limited resources), so they never focus on what they can control, which is themselves and their guts and their skill and how they spend their time.

Under-management creates a downward spiral:

1. The manager is not informed about who is doing what, when, where, how, and why. That means employees find less connection between their efforts and the credit they receive.
2. The under-manager is unable to help employees identify and meet resource needs; anticipate and avoid problems; plan the achievement of goals step by step; utilize obvious short-cuts; and learn on the job. '
3. The under-manager is not in a position to decide how much responsibility to delegate to one employee as opposed to another; what expectations are reasonable for each employee; which employees are overworked and which ones have extra time.
4. Problems occur and resources are squandered; thus fixing and salvage attempts must be made.
5. Low performers hide out undiscovered, mediocre performers never improve, and high performers get frustrated and start planning their exits.

And the downward spiral continues. The irony is that under-managers spend lots of time managing, but they spend all of their management time putting out fires, chasing after problems, closing the barn door after the horses have run off. That's why I spend a lot of time convincing managers that, in fact, they don't have time NOT to hold every employee's hand every day.

I tell them: "You simply must take charge and start 'bossing people around.' Why? The confrontations will get easier and easier because management conversations won't be special occasions: That means you'll get good at having these conversations. Your employees will get good at it. Everybody will do a better job with your guidance. Fewer problems will occur and when they do, they'll be dealt with quickly and effectively. Everything will improve when management conversations become standard operating procedure, every day, and every step of the way. But THAT---making management conversations standard operating procedure---is the hard part."

Shouldn't managers be trying to empower their employees? If you want to empower people, especially nowadays, then you simply must define the terrain on which they have power. That terrain consists of effectively delegated goals, with clear guidelines, and concrete deadlines. Let people know exactly what is expected of them and exactly what they can expect in return. This is the most effective single thing that managers actually do. They are hands-on and they are transactional. I coined the acronym H.O.T. (Hands- On and Transactional) Management to describe this approach.

The real trick to being a HOT Manager is in figuring out, with each person and each instance of delegation, the following: How large should the goals be? How far out should the deadlines be? How many guidelines are necessary with each goal? Consistently articulating with every direct report the appropriate standards and expectations ---what to do and how to do it--- is the hard work of leading, managing, and supervising. Within clearly articulated parameters, a direct report has power. Limited power? Yes. But it also has the great virtue of being real power.

I know that managing people in the real world is very, very difficult and there are no easy solutions. I know that most managers are under a tremendous amount of pressure. There are so many factors out of their control. Managers have too much to do and too little time to manage. If you push employees nowadays, many of them will push right back. Employees are high maintenance. It's a whole lot easier to be hands-off and stay out of the way unless something goes wrong. I know there are lots of very good reasons why managers are too soft. That's precisely why I spend 100 plus days a year helping managers see soft, hands-off, under-management in themselves; persuading them to change, to embrace being strong, highly engaged leaders; and teaching them to focus once again on the hard part of managing, the basics. And then I ask them the key question: "Are you ready to get HOT?"

Bruce Tulgan is the founder of RainmakerThinking Inc., a research and consulting firm specializing in younger workers and the changing workplace. He is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings and the author of several books, including, most recently, HOT Management. Tulgan can be reached at brucet@rainmakerthinking.com.