Job Description
Job Title: Supervisor
This is a Stratum II Position. This role in the organization is to make sure the work gets done.
Key Result Area 1 – Scheduling
Prescribed Duties: By Wednesday at 5:00p, post the team work schedule for the following week.
Time Span – 4 weeks. This task requires the supervisor to look ahead on a rolling 4 week basis, to anticipate changes due to team member vacations or other circumstances that will affect the team members attendance; and to look ahead on a rolling 4 week basis, to anticipate changes due to production fluctuations which may require a reduction in shift personnel or overtime. The supervisor will use discretionary judgment to create the schedule based on those circumstances. Overtime must be approved in writing by supervisor’s Manager.

“So, just posting the schedule on Wednesday isn’t the half of it,” Corina flatly stated. “I have always accepted that if the schedule got posted, the job was done. Now I am beginning to see that Supervisor effectiveness occurs way before Wednesday. Also, the boundary is very clear for discretionary judgment. Overtime requires approval.”

Corina thought for a minute.

“What about me?” she continued. “As a Manager, my job is different. How would discretionary judgment be stated on my job description?”
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Our next Leadership Program in Fort Lauderdale begins Wednesday, March 19. For more information, visit www.workingleadership.com.

Question from the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

How do you incorporate discretionary responsibilities into the job description?

Response:

This discussion hinges on the difference between prescribed duties and discretionary duties.

Prescribed duties are easy. Those are the ones you are told explicitly to do.

But do we pay an executive, who writes a letter, for the mechanics of pushing a pen to make ink flow onto a piece of paper, or pressing keys to make letters appear on a screen? Or do we pay an executive for the discretionary thinking that goes into the message of the letter?

Do we pay a machine operator for the prescribed duties of moving a piece of metal into position and pressing a button to cut the metal? If that were the case, we would simply purchase robotics. Or rather, do we pay the machinist for the discretion of how raw materials are organized to enter the work area, the cleanliness of the scrap produced by the machine, the attention paid to the preventive maintenance to keep the machine operating?

Indeed, effectiveness in a position may have more to do with discretionary performance than prescribed performance.

So, how do we build discretionary performance into the expectations of the job? Can it be done through the job description document? Comments? -TF

Greetings from Austin. It’s warmer here.
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“What should I expect from my accounting department?” asked Roland.

“I don’t know, what do you expect?”

“We have a job description for each position, but it’s just a list of things that have to get done,” Roland continued.

“Is it sufficient to clearly communicate what you expect?” I asked.

“I thought so, when we wrote them up, but now I don’t know. You have been talking about Time Span. How does that figure in to all this? How can it be helpful?”

“Okay, let’s look at your Accounts Payable position. When you look at the work that has to get done, does your job description accurately describe the tasks?”

Roland pondered for a minute, “Yeah, but even if my A/P person does all the things on the list, even gets them done before they are due, they could still be doing a lousy job.”

“Oh, really, how so?”

“The job description says that all the invoices have to be recorded into the computer system and coded to the various expense accounts. And check runs are supposed to be finished by 5:00p every Thursday. But the person could still be doing a lousy job.”

“Tell me more,” I continued.

“They could do all the prescribed duties okay, it’s the discretionary things, like looking to see if we could take a discount if we paid early, or making sure we don’t pay the same invoice twice in the same month. Stuff like that.”

“So, it’s the discretionary part that’s not made clear in the job description.”

Roland thought some more, “You’re right, the job is really bigger than what is reflected in the job description. How do you put that stuff in the job description?”

Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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In response to yesterday’s post, about the Manager with problem employees rule-breaking behind his back.

I see three origins of this behavior.

• Malicious, destructive rule breaking.
• Lazy, non-compliant rule breaking, when the boss is not around.
• Fun rule breaking, light hearted, poking fun at authority, when the boss is not around.

Here is one thing we understand.

The team members know the rules. People don’t break the rules without knowing the rules. So, this is not a training issue. This is a mindset issue, which is a bigger problem.

Changing a mindset rarely comes from the outside. A Manager cannot dictate that a person change a mindset. Those of you with children can attest. It simply does not work.

The solution will require a multiple set of meetings. I would recommend twice a week, 10 minutes per meeting. So, pick a Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday, first thing in the morning. As the Leader, simply ask these questions and flipchart the responses from your team. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Post the flipcharts in the break room and leave them there.

• Meeting 1: How are we doing, working together as a team?
• Meeting 2: What impact do we, as a team, have on the customer?
• Meeting 3: In what way can we, as a team, have a more positive impact on the customer?
• Meeting 4: What impact does our individual behavior have on the behavior of our other team members?
• Meeting 5: In what way can we, as a team, have a positive impact, helping each other create a more positive customer experience?

The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Get the team talking about behavior, not the manager talking about behavior.
• Re-focus the energy of the team from misbehavior to customer focus.
• Get the team to create its own accountability for behavior, even when the Manager is not around. -TF

Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am a young store manager of two and a half years with no previous managerial experience. Through this time, I have problem employees doing things behind my back, against the rules. I never have enough information to reveal the responsible person or the only information I get is confidential. Mostly, I do not have the time to be involved all day with rule breaking when I am not in the store. What can I do differently to improve this situation?

Response:

It is difficult to understand the nature of the rule breaking, so I can see three causes.

• Malicious, destructive rule breaking, when your back is turned.
• Lazy, non-compliant rule breaking, when the boss is not around.
• Fun rule breaking, light hearted, poking fun at authority, when the boss is not around.

For your part, it probably doesn’t matter. If your boss was aware of the hijinks behavior, it would reflect poorly on you as the Manager. This is tricky, and the solution is likely counter-intuitive. Your efforts could easily backfire and make the situation worse.

So, let’s get some input from others. If you have a response for this dilemma, please post your comment below. If you would like to read the responses, just follow the link to today’s post. I will have some thoughts tomorrow. -TF