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“First of all, Sylvia, every company is a real company, even a company of three,” I replied. “As companies grow larger, the structure of how they work together becomes more complicated, for better or for worse.”

“Well, we have a good sized company,” Sylvia responded. “We have supervisors, managers, vice-presidents and a CEO. And we have an organizational chart.”

“So, let’s talk about those relationships and how they work best. A line worker reports to a supervisor or a supervisor reports to a manager. What is the nature of the relationship? What do they talk about?”

Sylvia struggled to describe this. Everyone knows, magically, how this reporting relationship works, but describing it is difficult.

“They talk about problems,” Sylvia started. “Problems with the work.”

“Or successes with the work,” I picked up. “But their relationship is around the work. It’s all about the work. This reporting relationship is an accountability relationship.”

Sylvia nodded.

“As a manager, when you have a conversation with a line worker, you are the Manager Once Removed. What is this conversation about? What is the nature of this relationship?”

“That’s what Vince objected to,” Sylvia quickly protested. “I felt that it was an appropriate conversation, but when Vince objected, I didn’t know what to say.”

“That’s because Vince was wrong. What is the nature of the relationship of the Manager Once Removed?” -TF