Thanks to all those who helped Florida weather this Hurricane. All eyes and prayers now on the people of New Orleans.

Last week we spent time talking about the distinct differences between the role of the supervisor and the role of the manager. We had a couple of thought provoking posts from Karen about the subject. First was a distinct analogy about doing the work efficiently vs. doing the work effectively. Her second post characterized the nature of the work of a manager.

It is important to understand the three distinct strata that make up this internally focused basic business unit. Strata I does the work. Strata II makes sure the work gets done. Strata III creates the system and makes the system better.

Each Strata is of vital importance. Where there are gaps in Strata I, it pulls the Strata II Supervisor into doing the work. When that happens, no one is checking to make sure that all the work gets done.

Where there are gaps in Strata II, it pulls the Strata III Manager into making sure the work gets done. When that happens, no one is checking the system, which ultimately begins to crumble.

Getting this structure straight and strong is the fundamental building block for a productive organization. -TF

“They just told me that, now I am the Manager. They didn’t tell me that I was supposed to do anything different than what I was doing before,” explained Lawrence.

We were talking about the role of the Manager, and the differences from the role of the Supervisor.

“That’s because most companies don’t truly understand the role of the Manager, nor the tools they use to do their job. For the people who do the work (Strata I) the tools are real tools, machinery and equipment, that’s easy to see. But what are the tools of the Supervisor?” Lawrence looked quickly to the left to see if the answer was written over my shoulder.

“The role of the Supervisor (Strata II) is to make sure the work gets done, so the tools of the Supervisor are schedules and checklists. The Supervisor uses those tools to make sure the right people are at the right place using the right materials on the right (well-maintained) equipment.”

“So what are the tools of the Manager?” asked Lawrence.

“The role of the Manager (Strata III) is to create the system, and make the system better. The tools of the Manager are flowcharts, time and motion, cause and effect sequence, role definitions and analysis.”

The role of the Manager is different than that of the Supervisor and requires different tools. -TF

In response to Tuesday’s post about Beating Back the Alligators, Sherry writes:

“I would love to get more information on how to beat back those Alligators! What happens when the Alligators are taking over?”

This is where the role of the Manager becomes truly important. The people who do the work (Strata I) can only work harder. The people who make sure the work gets done (Supervisor, Strata II) can only organize the chaos (also known as straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic).

The role of the Manager (Strata III) is to analyze what is causing things to be overwhelming and out of control.

Stop and think. What is the cause?

The most useful tool I know of is a long roll of butcher paper (available at any restaurant supply store). Roll it out and tape it on the wall. Create a flow chart of the essential steps necessary to do the work that is required. We are talking circles, boxes and triangles connected by arrows, cause and effect. Step One, Two, Three and Four. Then, for each step, ask why we are doing that? Is that in line with our senior purpose?

This exercise will expose unnecessary steps or activity that simply does not add value to the process. Get back to the fundamentals, do only those things that are truly essential.

What other ideas do you have? -TF

Lawrence had been a manager for only a couple of months and was having trouble letting go of the supervisor responsibilities from his previous position. His resistance is captured by David in response to Monday’s post.

But how do you get out of the weeds? So much stuff hits my desk it takes me hours to sift through it all to determine what really needs to be done. By then, the day is over and I have not done anything. The next day, it starts all over.

Dig a little, beat back the alligators, dig a little more. Understand that this is not a time- management problem. You cannot organize your way to greatness.

This is the secret, the keys to the kingdom. Your only hope (and hope is a strategy) is to improve your delegation skills. Delegation and training. The only thing that will keep a manager out of the weeds is to build a team to support the position. When a company gets big enough, it is called infrastructure. Without that support, there is no hope.

As a manager, I look for two strata (levels) of support for the manager. Strata I does the work. Strata II (supervisor) makes sure the work gets done. Strata III (manager) creates the system and makes the system better. -TF

His brow furrowed. Lawrence had to concentrate to understand. No one had ever really explained his new role as a Manager. “But I thought a Manager was supposed to manage. I thought I was supposed to manage everything on the floor.”

“You’re not a supervisor anymore,” I said. “Your new focus is on the system. Your role is to create the system and make the system better. When you became the Manager, you promoted Nicole to be the supervisor. Whenever you do Nicole’s job, you are not paying attention to the system.”

“I thought I was just trying to help,” defended Lawrence.

“And if you continue to help by doing Nicole’s job, you will continue to ignore the system, and you will fail as a Manager.”

“Give me an example,” challenged Lawrence.

“Nicole is busy scheduling her team around vacations, people calling in sick, having doctor’s appointments and such. That’s her job.

“As the Manager, you just received a revised a production forecast from sales. Three weeks from now, you historically ramp up into your busy season. I looked at your headcount from last year. You are down three people and Charlie just gave notice, his last day is Friday. Everything looks fine, now, but four weeks from now, your production is going to get slammed and Nicole won’t have enough people to schedule from. As the Manager, you have to look ahead and build your labor pool. Now.

“If you are too busy scheduling this week’s production, you will be so far in the weeds, you won’t see what’s coming down the road in four weeks.” -TF

Lawrence relented. We had been talking about the role of the manager. Two months into the job, Lawrence was feeling stretched way too thin.

“Okay, if I give up scheduling the plant floor and let my supervisor, Nicole, do that, I am afraid our department won’t meet our goals.” Lawrence shifted, very uncomfortable.

“Lawrence, you have a new role. It is Nicole’s turn to make sure the work gets done. It is her job to make sure things are done right.

“Your new job, as a manager, is to focus on the system, to make sure the right things get done. Remember last year, when our demand went to 125 units per day. Our big machine could only produce 100 units per day, so all the raw materials got stacked up in front. By Friday, we were 125 units behind. We went into overtime, hired more forklift drivers (browse around here) and rented extra space to store the raw materials. Our costs were increasing and we still only produced 100 units per day.

“It was only when George, the old manager, decided to run the big machine 3 hours extra each day that we worked through the backorders. We were able to get out of our storage space and let go the extra forklift drivers. Our costs went down and we were running 140 per day.

“Effectiveness is not only doing things right, but doing the right things.” -TF

Last week, I spent a lot of time with Nicole, a new supervisor in her company, talking about the difference between actually doing the work (what she used to do) and making sure the work got done (her new role). It was Nicole’s new job to coordinate people and materials, to pace production so that, at the end of the day, her team met its target goals.

It was interesting. One reason Nicole was having difficulty with her new role, is that her manager was doing it for her. Her manager was still doing the counting, still doing the scheduling, making sure things were efficient. His name was Lawrence.

It was time for me to have a conversation with Lawrence.

“Lawrence, you have been a manager now, for how long?”

“Two months. It’s really different, but it seems like a lot. Not only am I doing all the stuff I was doing before, but now I have new stuff to do on top of that.”

“Who said you were supposed to keep all the tasks you were doing before?” I queried.

“Well, my boss said I was still responsible for scheduling the people and making sure the materials were ordered. He said if we didn’t meet our daily targets, my butt was still on the line,” defended Lawrence.

“Okay, I understand. And does that mean you are the person who actually has to make up the workload schedule?”

“Yeah, but if it’s wrong, I am still in trouble.”

“Lawrence, do you have to create it to make sure it is right, or do you just have to check it to make sure it is right?”

Lawrence knew the answer, but it was tough to get him to say it. The toughest thing to do as a new manager is to stop being the supervisor. -TF

Nicole was still stymied over our discussion about the role of the supervisor. “But if I am not actively working on the line with everyone else, I don’t feel like I have accomplished anything at the end of the day.”

“Nicole, let’s talk about the value-add of the supervisor. While your team members do the work, your job is to make sure the work gets done. The value you bring to the party as the supervisor is that the work is complete, at the target volume, at the defined quality standard and on time. To make that happen, your job is to schedule the appropriate materials, schedule the appropriate team members and make sure the right machines are available. Your value-add is consistency, thoroughness (no gaps) and completeness (the job gets finished).

“The Mom and Pop just starting out doesn’t have to worry about that stuff. They just have to finish today’s job for today’s customer. As organizations grow, as volume increases and there are more customers than you can count with fingers and toes, these are the issues that make or break a company. Is the right volume of product (or service) produced, of consistent quality, on time? Successful supervisors are responsible for taking the organization to that next level. It is a different sense of accomplishment, yet critical for the company to grow.” -TF

In response to Monday’s post about Nicole and her new supervisory role, we received this comment from Gail.

Just because you place an individual in a leadership or supervisory role does not necessary mean that they are fully prepared. This is especially true for individuals that have moved up the ranks to leadership. They are still working as a worker and not a supervisor or manager. I believe it is important to give leadership and management training to all managers no matter what level they are on for reinforcement. Nicole just needed some leadership training and she could have been more successful a lot sooner.

I find the preparation for most supervisors is non-existent. Most companies don’t have the first clue what they truly expect from their supervisors much less how to train for it. Supervision is a coordinator’s role, juggling materials and schedules, pacing production to meet targets, keeping bottlenecks loaded up front so they’re never idle. Supervision is knowing your team, who is not feeling well today, who busted up with their girlfriend, whose car broke down on the way to work. It is a totally different role than running a machine or doing finish work on a cabinet. Training is more than important. It is essential. More on Nicole tomorrow. -TF