Tag Archives: problems

Look Again at the Decisions

“I know I have heard that before,” Vicki replied. “As the manager, it’s not my job to motivate, I am supposed to create an environment. So, what does that mean? We have work to do here.”

“This is all about work,” I replied. “And by work, I mean making decisions and solving problems.”

“But my people know what they have to do, and there aren’t that many decisions to make.”

“Look again,” I encouraged. “Your team is making decisions all the time, if you let them. Most of their decisions fall into two categories, quality and pace.”

Vicki looked puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“How many units are supposed to come off the line by lunch time?” I asked.

“Fifteen,” she replied.

“And so, as the morning goes on, your team is making decisions about how quickly they should go without compromising quality? And if there is a quality issue, they have to solve the problem and make up the pace to reach the goal by noon?”

“Yes.”

“And, what happens if they discover that they can maintain the quality standards, and produce 20 units by noon?” I smiled.

“Well, they would probably knock off at 15, or slow the pace down because the goal was 15.”

“But that would violate the contract,” I prompted.

“The contract?” Vicki repeated.

“The contract to do their best. Part of the contract means if they can complete more than the goal using their assigned resources in the allotted time, they are supposed to tell you, as the manager.

“See,” I continued. “That is why 15 is your goal, not their goal. It is the manager who is responsible for the result. And that is the first thing to understand about creating this environment.”

Worldwide Conspiracy

“We call him, teflon,” Audrey said. “Nothing sticks. Things go wrong in his department all the time, but he always has an explanation why one thing or another caused the problem. Always something out of his control. Not his fault.”

“Has he ever taken responsibility for any problem in his area?” I asked.

“No, he has never had to. You would think there is a worldwide conspiracy out to get him and foil all his plans. Even when I don’t buy his excuse, he has a backup excuse to replace it. Do you think he is just unlucky?”

“Audrey, sometimes the explanation for the problem tells you more about the explainer than it does about the problem.”

How Will You Learn?

The cherub faces in my leadership class looked up, all smiles, ready to take notes, write down all the answers.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“Well, to listen and learn,” came a response from the back.

“Listening to me will not make you a more effective manager,” I replied. “What I have to say is only my understanding, for me.” I stopped. “So, how will you learn? Listening to me will not make you a more effective manager. Reading my blog will not make you a more effective manager. How will you learn?”

There was an uncomfortable silence. Sometimes silence does the heavy lifting.

“What you learn will only get started in this room. The real learning happens outside of this room, when you take the words and try them out in your own problems and decisions. My understanding means nothing (except to me). What is your understanding?