From the Ask Tom mailbag:
Question:
How do you incorporate Time Span into a Role Description?
Response:
This is the third post in this series.
Calibrating Level I Roles
Calibrating Level II Roles
Level III Roles
Level III roles are populated by managers responsible for production consistency, to create predictability in organizational output. Their focus is on the creation, monitoring and improvement of systems. We depend on Level III roles to create sustainable efficiencies. The problems they solve are related to work flow, system layout and sequence.
Given a problem to solve, the central question at Level III is, “why didn’t our system anticipate this problem, or why didn’t our system, at least, mitigate the damage from this problem?” To solve these problems, those in Level III roles engage in comparative analysis or root cause analysis.
The Time Span of their longest projects typically range from 1-2 years. To manage projects of this length, Level III roles depend on planning scenarios, employing “what if” analysis. In pursuit of any task assignment, they create alternate paths to the goal, contingency planning to anticipate roadblocks outside their control.
You’re still putting out excellent material Tom!
Daniel
Wanted to fill my previous comment out a little bit with some thoughts. I don’t always read your blog, but I come back from time to time.
That said, your concept of time span has been perhaps one of the most significant things pervading my management thoughts. It’s an exceptionally useful concept, and you publish it in a very effective manner.