Principle 7: Enthusiastic People (Item 4)
Potential of an organization is realized through its people's
enthusiasm, resourcefulness and participation.
Your employees need to know:
- What you are trying to achieve – what are the Goals and objectives
– and to be even more effective how are you tracking in achieving
those Goals and objectives
- What their job is, what you expect from them. And to be even more
effective, how that job contributes to the Goals and objectives of
the company
- How to do that job – they need training and education –
and to be even more effective access to the `knowledge' of the company
- Is what they are doing what you want – feedback.
Employees need to know what the company is trying to achieve –
its Goals and objectives. The old thinking was that employees would
not understand, so why waste their time. The new thinking is that you
should keep employees informed and up-to-date with what you are trying
to achieve. They will than at least have a chance of achieving it for
you. It allows focus on achieving the Goals. (Principle 2, `Focus
on Achieving Results').
In Principle 1 (`Role Models') we discussed how you get people
to share your dream, your picture of success. It is your job to communicate
what you are trying to achieve in terms that others can understand.
If people do not understand or do not appear to want to understand,
it is your fault – not theirs.
Letting employees know what you want to achieve is a statement of trust
as well as a call for help. People usually respond to a call for help
- until they are hurt or abused when helping.
Companies often find that their employees are very cynical about what
the company is trying to achieve and calls for help. Cynicism can mean
a lack of trust; a history of broken promises or lack of care for employees;
a disparity of values between employees and the company's senior managers.
Employees might also consider the company's approach impractical –
possibly because there is no defined process to achieve it, or no method
to make the process capable except by working harder (Principle 4 `To
Improve the Outcome, Improve the System').
A question that employees often struggle to answer is "I know
how what I do contributes to the success of the company". If employees
do not know how they contribute to the success of the company, they
are unlikely to be able to make "good" decisions about what
needs to be done and they will probably not be as "enthusiastic"
or "volunteering" as they could be.
Employees need to know what is required of them in their daily work
lives to meet the needs of the company and fulfill the needs of their
part of the company. This was covered in detail in Principle 2 (`Focus
on Achieving Results').
The section below shows the minimum information needed by people to
do their job. None of this should have to be guessed, yet most companies
do not take the trouble to do even this.
Industry can learn from the military about delegation. The following
format is commonly used. (We have modified the terminology to make it
slightly more "business" oriented.)
Situation: A short summary of the background leading to the
project.
Desired result: What is to be achieved. (Not details or tasks
or how to achieve the result – all that is to be determined by
the team being tasked.) Why it needs to be done. How it links to other
projects. How it will benefit the business.
Steps to take: What is to be delivered, by whom for whom and
to whom, by when and where. What are the known milestones and deadlines.
Which groups are to be consulted. How big the task is. Specify the boundaries.
Are there restrictions and limitations – of policy or other units,
any formidable restrictions. Details of coordination. (During the briefing,
none of this about what to do — that is to be determined by the
team.)
Resources: What resources can the team draw on: people, technical,
organizational, budget, equipment, overtime, etc.
Command and communications: Who is in charge and how often will
they report and to whom. What will be the reporting arrangements (oral
briefing, written overview of current status, detailed examination with
recommendations for change). How much detail is needed (half a page
of notes or a detailed report). What power and authority is being delegated.
Consequences: How will performance be assessed. How will success
be assessed. What performance indicators will be used. What are the
consequences of failure – to the business, the team and individuals.
How will individuals be held to account for the outcome and decisions
taken – to act or not to act. What are the rewards for success
– to the business, the team and individuals.
It is usually best if employees design their own jobs – in mutual
agreement with their manager/supervisor. Jobs should be designed so
employees can exercise discretion and decision-making. Jobs should be
designed to allow
- flexibility of work practices
- creativity and innovation
- use and sharing of knowledge and skill
- rapid response to changes in the marketplace.
Examples of ways to make work practices more flexible include simplification
of job classifications, multi-tasking, cross training, job rotation,
changes in work layout and work locations, using technology, and changing
the flow of information to support local decision-making.
Stating why you need something done is the single most important piece
of information when you give someone a task. When people know why they
are to do something, they can then go on and make decisions that fit
with the situation. Adding "the reason for the action" was
a significant change to military briefing practice that occurred 70
years ago. Unlike the military of 70 years ago, the intent of present
day military missions is to have your people come back unharmed. This
requires initiative by the people involved, and less `command' by the
bosses. In fact, the bosses role has become much more one of coordination
with other units to arrange necessary resources. The "why"
is still often left out in companies. Most companies have not yet achieved
this change of role and tell only "how to do" or exactly "what
to do" when delegating. This is too controlling and usually removes
initiative and the chance to "volunteer".
Knowing the time frame is a critical piece of information that people
often leave out when delegating. If you know the task is to be completed
in half a day, you approach it in a different way from the way you would
use if you know it is expected to take a month. Time frame – like
budget – tells you how much you have to do, level of detail, expected
effort.
People need to know how they are going, but they dislike `feedback'.
`Feedback' usually has very negative connotations. The words "I'm
going to give you feedback on your performance" usually turns people
cold. Why?
People know that their ability to do their work, their performance,
is totally dependent on `the system' around them. Yet, `feedback' is
almost never based around the system's performance. `Feedback' is usually
given at the individual level. If the system is included, it is usually
an after-thought, a reason for excuses.
This may be because `the system' is the boss's responsibility. Discussion
that includes `the system' may be too close to the boss's performance.
You probably have very few people who come to work each day with the
idea of doing a bad job. Your advice on what they can do better is probably
irrelevant. You are probably a major part of their problem.
One of the most useful questions to ask employees is "what is
it that prevents you doing your best work?" This usually uncovers
system problems. The company must then act on the answers to improve
processes. Most companies do not ask this question and go on asking
it. It is easier to assume the employee is to blame.
When we understand the concept of Process Capability and the Principle
of Variation (Principle 6), we know that a persons performance will
vary each day, depending on what `the system' does with them that day.
The only reason for a `feedback' session is to find out what else the
person needs in order to do their job better. In other words, what the
employee and the boss each need to do, together and separately, to get
a better outcome.
Try praise instead of criticism. Saying, "well done" regardless
of what the employee has done is a good beginning.
You need to be constantly looking for opportunities to find people
doing things right. You need find opportunities to praise to say "well
done".
In the old thinking, bosses would try to find people doing the wrong
thing. Then kick their arse. Many bosses think their job is to look
for the opportunity to chew out, to kick butt, to fire, to chastise.
These are all the wrong approach. People hate them. Instead, your only
feedback should be "well done". Use it as often as you can.
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