Category Archives: Timespan

Detail Thinking at Stratum IV

Leave a reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:
At what Strata levels do details disappear, if they do?

Response:
Strata levels, as elements of Elliott Jaques model, create a visual representation of the Level of Work. Your question appears to ask about the behavioral traits of person, completing a task assignment, specifically curious about attention-to-detail as the task is completed.

Strata levels are descriptive about specific behaviors only as they relate to effectiveness in the completion of task assignments. Details never disappear. Even in longer Time Span task assignments, the devil is always in the details.

This is still an interesting question and may lend insight in describing the Level of Work in each Stratum. My answers, in the form of questions?

Level of Work – Stratum I
What details exist that will impact decision making on the pace and quality of the work?

Level of Work – Stratum II
What details exist that will impact decision making on the coordination of multiple elements, materials, equipment, people in the completion of the work, on time, within spec?

Level of Work – Stratum III
What details exist that will impact decision making in the creation of a system, so that tasks assignments are completed with predictable, consistent results, every time?

Level of Work – Stratum IV
What details exist that will impact decision making in the integration of multiple systems and sub-systems?

You see, there was an exercise described by Peter Senge in the Fifth Discipline (Stratum IV-systems thinking) called the Beer Game. The set-up of the game creates a brewery (system), two-step distribution (system) and a retail store (system). Because these systems in the simulation were not integrated, the end result typically produces the construction of an entire second brewery system. The detail, the retail store put beer on sale for one week during the simulation. The construction of the second brewery occurs NOT from market demand, but from a series of backorders put through the system in a non-integrated attempt to cover the sell-out of beer during a one-week retail sale period.

Yes, the devil is in the details, even at Stratum IV.

The Measure of Performance

1 Reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I attended one of your workshops last week. How do you evaluate the Potential Capability of prospective or current employees, using Time Span as the metric?

Response:
While this sounds like a simple question, there are many elements to it. Your question is all about Capability.

  • Does this person have the Capability to fill the role, now?
  • Does this person have the Potential Capability to fill this role in one or two years?
  • Is the underperformance, that I observe, related to a lack of Capability, OR another factor?

These are all absolutely legitimate questions for a manager to ask when making a decision related to task assignment, internal promotion and external recruiting from a candidate pool.

It is critical to understand that successful performance in ANY role can be traced to these four factors –

  • Capability (your question above)
  • Skill (Technical knowledge and practiced performance)
  • Interest or Passion (Value for the work)
  • Reasonable Behavior (Habits and the absence of extreme negative temperament)

And I depend on the judgment of the manager to determine which factor(s) are most directly related to the performance I observe. And if the primary factor turns out to be Capability, the most descriptive term is Applied Capability. Indeed, the person may have greater Potential Capability, but as a manager, I am only able to see Applied Capability. I can see Applied Capability because there is a work product, direct output.

But your question was about Potential Capability. As a manager, I may make an intuitive judgment that a team member has greater Potential. This typically means, that, as a manager, I observe underperformance that I deem “could be better.” The question is “why?” What factors could be changed to create higher levels of effectiveness in the role (or task)?

Changing the degree of Applied Capability has little to do with Capability. It has more to do with the other three factors. The limits to Applied Capability have to do with Skill, Interest and Reasonable Behavior. Change any one of those factors and you will see a change in Applied Capability.

But your question was about Potential Capability. The only method, as a manager, to gain insight into a person’s Potential Capability is to test for it. Project work is the single best way to test for Potential Capability. Lee Thayer says it best, “The only measure of performance, is performance.”
_____
Our next online program Hiring Talent kicks off Mar 19, 2012. Pre-register now.

Evidence, Not Hope

Leave a reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
How do you un-do some internal promotions that probably shouldn’t have happened? The person is just not effective in their new Stratum III role?

Response:
Troubleshooting effectiveness in a role can be traced to one of these four factors –

  • Capability
  • Skill
  • Interest (Value for the work)
  • Reasonable Behavior

I rely on the manager’s judgment to determine which of the factors may be in play. In my Time Span workshop, I describe a team member with the following characteristics –

  • Worked for the company – 8 years
  • Always shows up early, stays late
  • Wears a snappy company uniform (belt around waist, cap on straight)
  • Knows the company Fight Song
  • Makes the best potato salad at the company picnic

And yet, is under performing in his role. Put that list against the four factors and I arrive at capability mis-matched for the role. To do a thorough inspection, I would examine each of the Key Result Areas in the role to see where the underperformance occurs. It is likely there are parts of the role that are done well, and parts where we observe underperformance. The mis-match is likely to occur on those longest Time Span task assignments.

In your question, you describe a Stratum III role. I would examine each of the KRAs and task assignments to see which is the culprit and modify that specific task assignment. The modification might be to break the longer task into a series of shorter tasks with more oversight, or to shift an analytic step to another resource.

All of this can be avoided by assigning project work to team members BEFORE they receive promotions. Successful completion, evidence is what I look for, not hopes and promises.

Where to Start

2 Replies

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I have been following your posts on Requisite Organization. How do I implement this management strategy after seven years with a lack of organization or structure?

Response:
You start at the beginning, of course. Before you wreak havoc on everyone else, start with yourself. The first place to look is at your own Role Description. If you can even find it, it’s likely a mess. That’s where you start.

List out all the tasks and activities in your role. I use 2×2 sticky notes, one for each task. You should end up with 50-75 tasks. Look at the tasks and see which go together. Separate the tasks (the ones that go together) into piles. You will likely end up with 5-8 piles.

Next, name each pile with a short 2-3 word name. These names will be things like –

  • Planning
  • Personnel and Recruiting
  • Production
  • Administrative (Paperwork, every role has paperwork)
  • Reporting (Metrics, measurements)
  • Process Improvement
  • Safety
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Scheduling
  • Training
  • Quality Control
  • Research

The names of these piles-of-tasks become the Key Result Areas for your role. These Key Result Areas (KRAs) become the structure for your Role Description.

Drafting the Role Description, using your KRAs as your outline, the organization of the document falls together. Inside each KRA, list the specific tasks, identify the Level of Work, and the accountability.

KRA #1
Tasks
Level of Work
Accountabilities

KRA #2
Tasks
Level of Work
Accountabilities

And so on.

Once you have written your Role Description, then pick a team member (to torture) and collaborate through this same exercise. Pick someone friendly and cooperative. It will likely take 3-4 meetings over a period of 1-2 weeks before you get agreement. Then move to the next team member. By then, you will get the hang of it and you will be ready to move to the next step.

Let me know how it goes.

Rare Air

2 Replies

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I have started the process of locating candidates for a Stratum IV position. How do you test an individual for capability given a specific job requirement. Specifically, after narrowing the field of candidates I would like to have them tested for the capability required in the position? Most of the canidates in our pool are age 30-38 and have promise but lack validating comparative experience.

Response:
I know you have been following the series we completed yesterday, defining the Level of Work in typical roles.
Calibrating Level I Roles
Calibrating Level II Roles
Calibrating Level III Roles
Calibrating Level IV Roles

I am often asked to interview candidates to assess their current capability or potential capability. It’s like a dog barking up the wrong tree. The cat’s not in that tree.

Instead of attempting to assess the potential capability of the candidate, spend your time defining the Level of Work in the role. Then, interview the candidates related to the work. I know this is a simple solution, but here is the brilliance.

You are absolutely NOT qualified to assess a person’s current or potential capability. Here is my humble news. I’m not either. Leave that assessment to higher powers.

But, managers are absolutely qualified to observe and assess behavior related to work. Competent managers can easily spot positive behavior, negative behavior and can instantaneously tell the difference. Play to your strengths as a manager. Define the Level of Work and interview the candidates related to the work. You will always stand on firm ground within your competence to conduct that interview.

The second part of your question indicates you are working through a young candidate pool, age 30-38, for a Stratum IV role. Elliott’s research is very clear. In the snapshot of a candidate pool, age 21-50, the frequency of people demonstrating capability for Stratum IV roles was 1 in 200. If you can expand your age search up to age 21-70, you will double your odds to 1 in 100. It is rare air. (Source – Life and Behavior of Living Organisms, pp 188).

Calibrating Level IV Roles

1 Reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
How do you incorporate Time Span into a Role Description?

Response:
This is the fourth post in this series.
Calibrating Level I Roles
Calibrating Level II Roles
Calibrating Level III Roles

Level IV Roles
Level IV roles are typically responsible for multiple systems and subsystems. Left to their own devices, organizational systems fend for themselves and create friction at the departmental level. It is the role at Level IV to integrate these systems together. More than multi-tasking, Level IV managers understand the dependencies, inter-dependencies, contingencies and bottlenecks that exist between multiple systems. The goal is to integrate these systems together into a “whole system.”

Problem solving at Level IV is generally related to longer term initiatives which may take 2-5 years to achieve defined objectives. The focus in problem solving often requires the Level IV manager to step out of the internal elements of a single system to examine (often counter-intuitive) the output of multiple systems interacting together. This may involve the momentum of a reinforcing system offset by the impact of a balancing system. Sales, as a reinforcing system, are often offset by the capacity of operations, as a balancing system. Unrestrained sales that outstrip operational fulfillment create backorders and unhappy customers. Unrestrained operations that outstrip sales create inventory overstocks, carrying costs and bloated balance sheets.

Task assignments at Level IV are defined by operational planning and longer term strategic planning.

Calibrating Level III Roles

2 Replies

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.

Calibrating Level II Roles

Leave a reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
How do you incorporate Time Span into a Role Description?

Response:
This is the second post in this series. Yesterday, we discussed Level I roles.

Level II Roles
Level II roles are populated by supervisors, coordinators, project managers. The problems solved and decisions made are longer in Time Span than Level I roles. Level II roles are concerned with the coordination of production with materials and equipment. It is a team orientation rather than individual orientation.

Level II roles are concerned not only with the organization of materials for the current working session, but the ordering of future materials, for next week, next month. Experienced Level II roles may be responsible for materials and equipment procurement for projects three to six months in the future. The most experienced Level II roles may be expected to work on projects up to 12 months in the future.

Since Level II roles are typically responsible for the assembly of people, materials and equipment, all in place, at the appropriate time. To be effective, their tools consist of schedules, checklists and conducting short meetings.

Tomorrow, we will look at Level III roles.
_______
We are currently pre-registering for our next Hiring Talent program, beginning March 1, 2012.

Incorporating Time Span into a Role Description

1 Reply

From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
Can you give me an example of how you would incorporate Time Span in a job description?

Response:
In a role description, Time Span leads us to better understand the Level of Work in the role. Traditionally we describe the tasks and activities associated with the role, but rarely define the Level of Work.

In each level, we have to understand the nature of problems to be solved and the decisions to be made.

Level I Roles
Level I roles typically consist of individual direct output. This is where we find technicians, equipment operators, clerical, data entry. Team members in Level I roles receive task assignments from a supervisor, coordinator or designated manager. Most discretionary decisions revolve around pace and quality.

“Am I working fast enough to complete the assigned task in the time expected? Am I working carefully enough to meet the quality standard set for this task?”

The output of a Level I role is often the direct product or service experienced by your customer.

Team members in Level I roles may work in the same room with other people, but are rarely concerned with other teammates’ activities unless there are direct hand-offs of work tasks, one to another.

Work materials and equipment are organized only for the working session. Ordering additional work materials for future work, next week, next month, is generally outside the bounds of Level I, unless specifically authorized by min/max standards set by their manager.

Goals, or task assignments are generally expected to be completed within one day or a few days. Experienced team members may be expected to continue projects without supervision as long as a month. The most experienced team members in Level I roles may informally assist other team members in trial and error troubleshooting or modeling work routines or special skills and may be assigned projects as long as three months in length.

Tomorrow, we will look closer at Level II.
______
We are currently pre-registering for our next Hiring Talent program, beginning March 1, 2012.

Calibrating the Role

Leave a reply

I want to welcome new subscribers from our workshops last week out in California. Busy week this week, Wilmington to Washington DC ending up in Chicago. Looking forward to reconnecting.
_______
“So, if the first step in the hiring process is to define the Level of Work in the role, how do I do that?” Ellen sounded off.

“Ellen, look, it’s not like you are starting from scratch,” I assured her. “You know how to talk about the tasks in the role. You use words to describe the activities. You just have to listen to the words. Let’s start with a Stratum I role. And let’s pick a discipline, like marketing. Describe to me what you would include in a role description that calibrates the role at Stratum I?”

“Okay, marketing. Stratum I. I know that Stratum I roles typically work on tasks that can be completed between one day, to one week, to one month to three months. I immediately begin to think about the administrative paperwork that is attached to any marketing campaign. Marketing is creative, collaborative, often involves outside vendors. There are contracts that have to be signed, media orders that have to be placed, layouts that have to be completed, colors that have to be approved. Many of those decisions are outside the bounds of a Stratum I role, but the paperwork still has to be typed, and filed. Phone calls still have to be made. Folders have to be completed that contain the contracts.”

“It is interesting that, in defining Stratum I decisions, you most clearly identified decisions that were NOT Stratum I. You talked about contracts that have to be signed, and indicated that was outside the bounds of Stratum I?”

“Well, yes,” Ellen described confidently. “A contract is about a commitment with a client. The contract commits resources, budget, managerial oversight. The Time Span of those commitments are way beyond three months.”

“So, you WERE listening. To the words you used to describe the role. The clues are all there.”