“You are looking at longer Time Span goals and creating systems,” I said. “What is Curtis’ goal?”

Glenn looked serious. “Curtis doesn’t have to worry about the system. As a supervisor, he just has to make sure production gets done.”

“Is that why he is throwing you under the bus? You are trying to create a system, and he is just trying to make the production goals for the day.”

“But, I explained the reason for the system. I don’t see why he doesn’t buy in. I expect him to be a team player,” Glenn defended.

“Your longer Time Span goals, the ones that drive your system, are your goals, not his. He has his own goals related to getting production done. And those are shorter Time Span goals. If you are going to get any traction on this, you are going to have to speak in terms of his production goals.”

Often a manager speaks out of both sides of the mouth. On one hand, Glenn wants to drive production to meet output goals. On the other hand, he knows that production must be efficient to meet profitability goals. Until Glenn can explain both requirements as necessary, his decisions will remain a mystery to his team. And when his decisions are a mystery, his team, if pressed, will throw those decisions under the bus in an effort to just get the production done.