Another aspect of creating leaders in your organization is how assignments for subordinates are designed and managed.
I was very lucky in my first management position to be overwhelmed immediately. What happened was that I was managing a group of professionals doing design work, and I tried to stay on top of everything that was happening. Within a few days, it was obvious that I could never keep up. I was then forced to have some of the key people take on assignments in which they would operate somewhat independently of me. I gave them specific areas of responsibility and the authority to make decisions to realize the required outcomes. I had them check in with me on a regular basis so I could stay informed about accomplishments, problems, and schedule outlook. I began to notice that the people I entrusted to operate this way were more effective, efficient, and certainly more satisfied than they would have been had I tried to micromanage them.
I soon saw that I could run the entire group this way, and I did. Now my job became doable for me, and I had time to actually help my people do their jobs more effectively. I was transformed from a taskmaster into a coach and resource for the people. A year or so later, I was promoted to be a manager of managers, and I made the transition fairly easily because of what I had learned as a first-level manager. The higher one goes in a management hierarchy, the more important it is to structure assignments and empower people in fulfilling them.
There is one essential element that, if missing, will destroy an organization set up to operate as described: Even though the boss delegates responsibilities to subordinates, it is essential that the boss remain responsible for the results produced. Even though one of your people does something differently than you would have, it is imperative that you stand behind what was done. In effect they are acting for you and, more importantly, as you. The quid pro quo for having someone in your organization give their word to fulfill one of your responsibilities is that you give your word to stand behind what they do.
Generally speaking, I recommend delegating every responsibility that you have. I have even gone as far as telling one of my direct reports that he or she has the additional responsibility of being the manager of “everything else” in case something falls through the cracks. You may ask, “If I do that, what’s left for me to do?” The answer is that there will be plenty for you to do. The obvious items that will come to you are the breakdowns that your subordinates could not solve and issues between subordinates that they could not resolve.
How your organization is structured will determine the nature of the issues that come to you for resolution. For instance, if your organization is divided into product silos, only inter-product issues will tend to come to you. If your organization is functionally divided, for instance having manufacturing and engineering separated, then inter-function issues will surface. Generally, subordinates should and usually will handle issues that are contained within their individual domains. If such an issue does come to you for resolution, I recommend giving advice and not direction. This situation is an opportunity for your subordinate to demonstrate leadership.
One of the phenomena that I experienced as the head of a large organization was that people seemed to hang on every word I said. I would hear about rumors that started because of some off-hand remark that I had made. Or, if I made a suggestion in a meeting about how to handle some issue or problem, my words were often taken as a directive. The lesson here is that leaders have to be deliberate in what they say, and take care to make sure they are accurately understood. For instance, if a suggestion is being made, make sure that the listeners understand that it is not a directive. I always prefer to make suggestions because it keeps the listener responsible for making the choice and being committed to it.
Delegation, as described here, gives people the opportunity to be leaders and to deal with every issue that leaders encounter: enrolling a team into committing to fulfill the assigned responsibility, identifying the breakdowns that inevitably occur in any but the most trivial pursuit, and resolving these breakdowns to produce the required outcomes on schedule and within budget. In addition, dealing with peers and the people above you in the management chain are also skills that are developed.
An excellent goal to have when taking a new job, whether or not it is a new organization, is to aim to minimize your having to direct the day-to-day workings of your organization. Obviously, it will take time to realize this goal. People have to be trained to take on leadership roles and to deal with higher-level concerns. At first, you will spend a great deal of time showing people how to do their jobs, but if you are successful, you will gradually shift your role from doing your people’s jobs to simply being a resource that supports them in doing their jobs.
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Part 3: Leadership and Listening
Part 5: Leading and Organizational Culture
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