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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

FORCED INTO
MANAGEMENT

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1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Have you ever received a promotion? If so, why did you get it?
2. How was the job you got after the promotion different to the previous one?
3. How do people generally get a promotion in your company?

2 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the vocabulary to the definitions.

1. steamroller (v) a. no longer progress or develop

2. stagnate (v) b. having little hope and being quite depressed

3. competent (adj.) c. able to do a job to a good standard

4. good-natured (adj.) d. easily annoyed or angered

5. committed (adj.) e. willing to put a lot of work into a particular job or task

6. irritable (adj.) f. make someone do something through strong persuasion

or force
7. step down (phr. v) g. resign from an important job or position

8. downbeat (adj.) h. pleasant and kind with people

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Part B: Now put the vocabulary from Part A in to the correct gaps in the following sentences. You
may have to change the form of the word.

1. Following the police investigation, he from his role as CEO.

2. Apparently, they didn’t really want to sell the company, but they were into it by
their legal team.

3. I’ve been doing this same job for seven years, now. I’m starting to and need to
look for new opportunities.

4. I’d maybe talk to her after the meeting privately. She recently stopped smoking so she’s been quite
lately.

5. I feel sorry for him. He’s been quite since he didn’t get the promotion.

6. She’s only been doing the job for a few weeks, but she’s clearly very and I think
she will do well.

7. I’m sure he won’t mind helping you, he’s incredibly and he’d do anything for anyone.

8. Management have asked me to give a presentation at the conference. I feel to

doing it well, as they told me it is an important task.

Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Have you ever felt steamrollered into a decision? What was it? What happened?
2. What skills do you need to have to be competent at your job?
3. What situations at work make you feel irritable? Why?
4. What reasons would you have for stepping down from a job?

3 Listening for gist

Listen to three people talking about promotion. Underline the correct ending for each sentence.

1. Speaker 1 is Patricia/Jason/Cynthia/Peter.

2. Speaker 2 is Patricia/Jason/Cynthia/Peter.

3. Speaker 3 is Patricia/Jason/Cynthia/Peter.

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4 Listening for comprehension

Listen again and decide if the following information is given (G) or not given (NG).

1. The reason Patricia accepted the promotion.

2. The reason Patricia was angry with Peter.

3. What Patricia thought may happen if she did not accept the offer of promotion.

4. What Patricia’s job was before the promotion.

5. The reason Cynthia offered Patricia the promotion.

6. What Jason’s job is.

7. What Patricia’s plans are now.

8. Why Jason thought Patricia had difficulty as a manager.

5 Reading for gist

Read the following sentences and decide which gap (a – d) they should fill in the article on page four.
There are more sentences than gaps.

1. There are companies that offer training for managers that are extremely popular and extremely
profitable.

2. The abilities that enabled your promotion don’t necessarily transfer to the new role.

3. For companies, the challenge will be to ensure that employees can progress without going into
management.

4. But what about those who want to progress, but without managing?

5. A bad manager can make the workplace a living hell, even if they are friendly and mean well.

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Not management material

Career progression without being a manager
1. In 1970, Dr Laurance J Peter and Raymond Hill published a management book named ‘The Peter Principle’. They
intended it to be a tongue-in-cheek guide to corporate structure and hierarchies, but it gained a great deal of
popularity due to the truth of its central theme: ‘every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence’. They
observed that workers join companies at a certain level. If they are successful at this level, they get promoted.
However, being a skilled software engineer, doesn’t mean that you will be skilled at running a department of
software engineers. a)__________ Once employees reach a level where they are no longer effective, they remain
there as they will not continue to be promoted. Over time, this results in companies being populated by people
who are not particularly gifted at their specific job.
2. While this is an interesting observation, it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that in companies throughout the
world, the path to promotion through the ranks invariably means stepping into a management role. However, there
are plenty of people who are extremely talented individuals who have no capacity or desire to manage others. As
we know, and most of us have experienced, not everyone is cut out for it. Management requires people skills
mixed with a knowledge of the specific industry and an understanding of how to motivate others and build a
team. A good manager can inspire confidence and bring out the talents of those who report to them. b)__________
3. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK found that a mere 40% of managers has received
training specific to a leadership role. This means that the majority of people in management are essentially set
up to fail, and when they do, it can affect large numbers of people throughout the organisation. Managers are
the lynchpin of any corporate structure and if they lack confidence and experience, they can reflect negativity
back onto their direct reports which can undermine an entire department and potentially have a knock-on effect
throughout the whole company.
4. Of course, training is only suitable for people who want to enter into management, but don’t have the knowledge.
c)__________ It’s important that companies have career pathways for these people too as without them, they risk
losing that talent, or from the standpoint of the Peter Principle, giving them an incentive to remain at a level of
competence. The tech industry has developed roles known as ‘Individual Contributors’, where employees can gain
raises and promotions, but still remain grounded in the hands-on role that they are most comfortable and talented
in. Salary increases are also linked to achievements rather than a promotion, giving the incentive for workers to
excel without the need to move into a managerial role. The wider business community still has to make much
progress in this area, though.
5. If you are an employee who doesn’t have any interest in management, but would like to advance, it’s a good idea
to discuss this with your manager when the opportunity arises. Make it clear that you are interested in working
for the company and show your enthusiasm, but have no interest in developing your career in that direction.
d)__________ It’s also important for employees to see that these positions require real skills and aren’t just a dead
end.
Sources: BBC, CIPD, Wikipedia

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6 Scanning for vocabulary

Scan the article on page four and find words which mean the same as the following.

1. (adj., para. 1): not serious

2. (n, para. 1): a system organised by people in different levels of seniority

3. (adv., para. 2): very often

4. (phr. v, para. 2): have the qualities required to do a particular job

5. (n, para. 3): a vital part of an organisation/structure because it holds

everything together
6. (adj., para. 3): causing a series of events to happen one after the other

7. (n, para. 4): a perspective or view

8. (adj., para. 4): being based in something

7 Reading comprehension

Complete the summary with one, two or three consecutive words from the article on page four.

1
The of ‘The Peter Principle’ was the idea that each employee was eventually
2
promoted to a position where they were . The potential truth of this
3
idea resulted in the book being popular. Despite this, is still generally
required to advance in your career. Research in the UK found that 60% of managers had
4
not to equip them for their position which is obviously problematic given
5
the vital role they play in any company. Without , managers can cause
serious issues within departments and potentially throughout the company. To tackle this,
6
organisations need to develop for individuals who are not interested in
management but have plenty of other relevant skills. Linking salary increases to achievement
7
rather than promotion creates a positive for people in these roles. If you
have no desire to manage, it’s a good idea to discuss this with your manager, making sure to
8
for the company. Equally, companies should ensure that roles for employees
9
on a non-managerial track aren’t seen as , but that these individuals are valued.

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8 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Do you agree with the Peter Principle that ‘every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence’?
Why/ why not?
2. In your experience, is the pathway to career progression via a management role? Why/why not?
3. In your company, is it possible to progress without going into management? Why/why not?
4. Do you agree that there should be a non-management career pathway? Why/why not?
5. What steps could you take in your business to create non-managerial pathways for people?

9 Extended activity/homework

Read the task.

"In any company, every employee ends up getting promoted to the position in which they are
the least effective due to the current faulty corporate structure of promotion."

To what extent do you agree with the above statement?

You should:

• write at least 250 words,

• check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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Transcripts

3. Listening for gist

Patricia: I was very flattered when Cynthia offered me the promotion. I’d been in the job for about
three years at that point and loved it. I was getting great feedback and felt as though I
knew what I was doing. Still, there were a lot of others in the department who were pretty
brilliant at their jobs, like Jason in Design who was so talented and such fun to work with.
Looking back, I suppose I felt a bit steamrollered into the position, but it seemed like the
next logical step for my career. I was worried that if I turned it down then I wouldn’t be
offered any other chances for advancement. I was happy, but I didn’t want my career to
stagnate, so I took it.

Cynthia: Patricia was a natural at her work from the minute she started. Very competent and
driven, but without being arrogant that can sometimes be a negative aspect with those
qualities. She was very good-natured and popular with her colleagues and organised a lot
of successful social events which really added to the sense of the department being a team.
So, I thought she’d be an obvious choice for management. I was quite upset when it didn’t
work out. It’s all become quite awkward as she was really content before, but now she’s
clearly not happy and I feel as though I’ve damaged my reputation with senior management.

Jason: I wasn’t surprised at all when Patricia got promoted. She was always really committed to
her work and no one had a bad word to say about her. She was always complementing
my design work. The trouble was, she hadn’t had any management experience and I don’t
think she had any real support or training. As soon as she stepped into the management
role, she changed. I think she found it quite hard to relate to everyone as their boss. She
became quite irritable and there were a couple of times where she shouted at Peter in the
office. She ended up stepping down after six months and is back doing what she was doing
before, but it has permanently changed her relationship with the rest of the team and she’s
quite downbeat now. I strongly suspect she is looking for other work. The whole thing has
been a disaster because we will lose her and we still don’t have a manager.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This gets students to think about their own experience of promotion. If students have not had a promotion, you
may want to ask them to talk about someone they know well who had a promotion.

2. Focus on vocabulary

Part A
5 mins.
Ensure students can correctly pronounce the target language. Ask them to complete the exercise unaided in the
first instance, but allow them to use a reference if needed later on.
feel flattered (idiom) - be happy because someone has made you feel special or important

1. → f. 2. → a. 3. → c. 4. → h. 5. → e.
6. → d. 7. → g. 8. → b.
Part B
10 mins. Ask students to complete the sentences and then discuss the questions in pairs to practise using the
vocabulary.

1. stepped down 2. steamrollered

3. stagnate 4. irritable
5. downbeat 6. competent
7. good-natured 8. committed

3. Listening for gist

5 mins.
This allows students to identify the speakers and listen once ahead of the main comprehension. Higher-level
students may be able to do both exercises simultaneously.

1. Patricia 2. Cynthia 3. Jason

4. Listening for comprehension

5 mins.
Ask students to listen again and take notes to support their answers.

1. Given. ‘I was happy but I didn’t want my career to stagnate, so I took it.’
2. Not Given.
3. Given. ‘I was worried that if I turned it down then I wouldn’t be offered any other chances for advancement.’
4. Not Given.
5. Given. ‘She was very good-natured and popular with her colleagues and organised a lot of successful social
events which really added to the sense of the department being a team.’
6. Given. ‘She was always complementing my design work.’
7. Not Given.

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8. Given. ‘The trouble was, she hadn’t had any management experience and I don’t think she had any real support
or training.’

5. Reading for gist

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit to encourage students to skim read rather than read in detail.
Article sources:
www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211207-why-good-individual-workers-are-steamrolled-into-management
www.cipd.co.uk/Images/managing-conflict-in-the-workplace-2_tcm18-70655.pdf
en.wikipedia.org - Peter Principle

1. not used 2. a
3. d 4. c
5. b

6. Scanning for vocabulary

5 mins.
This offers additional support with vocabulary and can be done before or after the main comprehension.

1. tongue-in-cheek 2. hierarchy 3. invariably

4. be cut out for something 5. lynchpin 6. knock-on
7. standpoint 8. grounded

7. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to read more carefully and complete the summary with grammatically correct words from the article.

1. central theme
2. no longer effective
3. a management role
4. received training
5. experience and confidence
6. career pathways
7. incentive
8. show your enthusiasm
9. a dead end

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Circulate and help as needed.

9. Extended activity/homework

45 mins +.

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Ask students to plan, write and edit their essays based on the work done in the lesson. Be sure to give them
feedback on their writing.

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