Discretionary Decisions

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“How do you talk about discretionary judgment in the Job Description?” Corina asked.

“Right at the top,” I replied. “And attached to each Key Result Area.”

“Okay, I have a supervisor position. The Key Result Areas are:

  • Scheduling
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Safety
  • Production

“The prescribed duties are easy,” Corina explained. “The supervisor has to post the schedule, maintain the equipment, prevent time-lost accidents and meet the production schedule. How do you figure in discretionary judgment?”

“The first element to establish is the Time Span of Discretion. How long do you, as the Manager, expect the team member to be able to make routine decisions (using their discretionary judgment) without having to come to you for direction? And that Time Span may be different in each Key Result Area.

“Let’s start with scheduling. How far into the future do you expect your supervisor to schedule your team members in their work assignments?”

Corina squinted, “I believe next week’s schedule is always posted the Wednesday before.”

“And what about the week after that, and two weeks out and three weeks out?”

“Well, those aren’t posted, but the supervisor has them in a notebook on his desk. They’re not finalized because some people may have vacation, or the production schedule may require overtime.”

“So, the supervisor is looking out four weeks into the future, using his discretionary judgment, making decisions about work assignments based on things like vacation and production schedules. Would you say the Time Span of Discretion is about four weeks?”

“Yes,” Corina began to nod. “It’s not just that the supervisor posts the schedule on Wednesday. To do an effective job, it’s the discretionary decisions being made four weeks out, in his notebook, looking ahead.” -TF

Herbie

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How do you incorporate discretionary behavior into a job description? Prescribed duties are easy, but what about the discretionary part?

When I was 17, I dropped out of high school and worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant. I quickly learned something about systems-thinking that stuck. In the middle of the work station sat a huge dishwashing machine. Temperature gauges, auto soap dispensing and a 90 second cycle timer. Whenever I placed a rack of dishes into the machine, there was a minimum 90 second cycle. No matter what I did, I could never go faster than the machine. The machine, in manufacturing terms, was my bottleneck. Herbie. My mantra was to keep Herbie working. Except for a few seconds each cycle, to move one tray out and a new tray in, my focus was to keep Herbie in cycle.

That 90 second period was my discretionary time. I could soak silverware, rack glasses, stack plates. It was my discretionary time that determined my throughput. If I kept trays in the queue, I was most effective. Whenever Herbie sat idle, I was losing ground. It is the discretionary behavior that determines effectiveness. How does a Manager capture that from team members? -TF

Discretionary Performance

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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

Time Span of Discretion

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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?”

Post It Note Mentality

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We had an enthusiastic pile-on to yesterday’s question from the Ask Tom mailbag. It was kicked off by a response from Michelle Malay Carter. Michelle is one of the principles of a company called Peoplefit. You can read more from Michelle at Mission Minded Management. My thanks to all those who posted yesterday.
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So, I am in Cincinnati this morning. Cold up here for a Florida boy. Working with 50 managers from a company interested in the research of Elliott Jaques. I am often asked, “What is your workshop about?”

Elliott’s research spanned more than 50 years exploring the notion that each of us has an innate capability to handle varying degrees of complexity, in both our personal and business lives.

We, as Managers, have an intuitive sense about this capability, especially in others. Yet, we have no language to talk about it, nor a way to measure it.

  • Charlie has a post-it note mentality.
  • Sally just doesn’t get it.
  • Sam is in over his head.
  • George is in the weeds.

When I say these things, you know exactly what I mean. Yet these descriptions don’t help us pinpoint a person’s capability. Elliott’s research gives us that language and defines the scientific measuring stick. Tomorrow, I will talk more about its application in the workplace. -TF

Mr. Nice Guy

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

This is about the production supervisor for our company. He is generally well regarded by most of his subordinates, as easygoing, who tries to help his employees in any way he can. If a worker needs a small loan until payday, he digs into his pocket. If an employee needs some time off for a personal problem, he takes up the slack himself, doesn’t dock the time off.

At the last performance appraisal, one of his workers had experienced a large number of personal problems during the year. In the appraisal, he decided to do as much as possible to help. Although an average worker, he rated him outstanding in virtually every category. Because the firm’s compensation system is heavily tied to performance appraisal, this created a merit increase of 10% in addition to COLA.

The employee has acknowledged that his performance was no better than average, but didn’t hesitate to tell his friends about his wonderful boss.

What difficulties do you think this has created for the company? Is there anything that should be done to diminish any negative impacts?

Response:

For, now, I will leave this to our readers. Please post any comments you have using the link below. To read posted comments, follow this link to the website that supports this blog. This should be interesting. -TF

Systematic Abandonment

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Thanks to all those who posted comments last Friday in response to our post about forecasting. As promised, I will be sending out a copy of Real World Intelligence to those who participated.
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“We have an idea for a new product line,” Alicia sounded off. “It’s a logical extension of our core product. We all think it will be a winner.”

“How are you going to fund the startup and who are you going to assign to this new project?” I asked.

“Well, that’s a problem. We are currently under a hiring freeze and while we have a budget for Development, actually ramping into production is going to pinch,” she grimaced.

“What are you going to let go of?”

Alicia was a bit surprised. “We hadn’t really discussed shutting anything down.”

“Alicia, the biggest mistake that young companies make is that everything looks like an opportunity. Before long, all their resources are spread thin and their product portfolio is a hodgepodge. They can’t figure out if they are in the shoe business or the construction business.

“To be truly successful, the company has to decide on its focus, and create a discipline around that focus. Especially in times where resources are tight, we have to make sure we have enough staying power. This requires an approach of systematic abandonment. As you adapt to the market, it is important to cut off those projects that are no longer returning value.” -TF

Market Intelligence

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Registration for our next Leadership program in Fort Lauderdale closes Monday, February 25. Visit www.workingleadership.com.
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“Well, to be honest, it is very difficult to forecast revenues,” Cynthia explained. “You have to understand, we are connected to the residential housing industry and things are much different this year than they were last year.”

Cynthia’s candid assessment of forecasting revenues in the residential housing industry underscores the dynamic nature of the real estate market. Indeed, fluctuations in economic conditions, housing trends, and consumer behavior can significantly impact revenue projections for real estate professionals.

Navigating the search for real estate is no small feat, especially when buyers are met with a mix of enthusiasm and uncertainty. As prospective homeowners scroll through listings and tour open houses, they often find themselves confronted with industry-specific terms that can be perplexing. One such term, “pending,” frequently appears beside listings that once seemed like dream homes. In real estate, “pending” means that an offer has been accepted by the seller, but the transaction has not yet closed. This stage typically involves inspections, financing, and final negotiations — essentially, it’s the limbo where hope hangs in the balance.

Understanding the implications of pending status is crucial to streamlining your home search. Many buyers wonder whether a pending home is still up for grabs — and while deals can sometimes fall through, it’s not something to count on. That’s why it’s important to adjust expectations and refine search filters accordingly. Resources like https://exprealty.com/guides/what-does-pending-mean-to-your-real-estate-search/ provide clarity on how to interpret such listings and avoid the heartache of falling in love with a house that’s already halfway to someone else’s welcome mat.

As the market continues to shift with interest rates, supply chain effects, and evolving buyer preferences, having a well-informed approach becomes more essential than ever. Real estate searches are no longer just about location and price — they’re about timing, terminology, and tools. With the right understanding of statuses like “pending” and access to reliable platforms that decode the jargon, buyers can make more confident, better-timed decisions in a marketplace that waits for no one.

Armed with this knowledge, buyers and sellers alike can make informed decisions and navigate the complexities of the market with confidence and clarity.

“But you have to make decisions based on your market. You have to make decisions about overhead, pursuit of market share, gearing your operations to meet a diminished demand. How will you make those decisions?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Things are just so different. I don’t think it’s possible to forecast this year’s revenues,” she continued to protest.

“Cynthia. If you cannot forecast revenues, then you don’t know your market. If you don’t know your market, you might as well sell the company right now.”
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How does your company forecast revenues? How do you engage in Business Intelligence about your market? Post a comment. The best post will receive a copy of Real World Intelligence by Herbert Meyer (former Special Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence). “Ninety-five percent of what the CIA finds out about, is public information.”

Allocation of Your Most Precious Resource

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“Looking at the future,” Glen contended, “we are desperately looking for that new something that is going to help replace some our declining lines of business. We find something, we gear up for it, commit some people to the project, but so far, all of those projects have failed. We end up pulling the plug.”

“Who have you committed to these new projects?” I asked.

“Well, they are new projects, so we generally take those people that we can spare from our core project lines.”

“Are these your best and brightest people?”

“Well, no. Our best people are still running our core projects. But we can usually spare a couple of people from one of their teams.”

“So, you are trying to cobble together a launch team, in an untried project area, where unforeseen problems have to be detected and corrected, and you are doing this with spares?”

Focus

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“But, I want to improve,” Barbara stated, flatly. “If there is an area, where I need improvement, or where I make mistakes, I want to focus on that.”

“Indeed, if you are an ice skater,” I replied, “and your laces are untied, you are likely to take a nasty spill. So get your laces tied, tightly, so they don’t trip you up. But getting your laces tied, does not make you a champion ice skater.” -TF