RandomCrates

If you believe what Dan Pink is selling, as managers and process creators we have a lot of work to do. Motivation, it seems, has little to do with carrots and sticks and more to do with autonomy.

We can’t forget that we are leading people. We must keep in mind that business process management is more than flow charts. We aren’t leading monkeys or robots, but people who want to enjoy what they’re doing.  I’ve talked before about creating business processes and consistently re-evaluating business processes.  When defining the work instructions It’s important to focus on the non-negotiable tasks of the process. Does everyone need to do everything the exact same way? Probably not.

As Dan points out, the carrot rewards do work for simple tasks. If a task or process is repetitive it probably makes sense to use a carrot reward. Things along the lines of, “If you sew X number of bags, you’ll get Y bonus”. These simple tasks that have prescriptive instructions can be “carrotized”. However, these carrot rewards do not work for complex tasks that most of us do everyday. Telling your staff, “Figure out this problem that we’ve never seen before by X day and you’ll get Y reward”, produces poor results. Dan relays that this scenario has the potential of causing a tunnel vision. The focus is on the reward, not the result. Imagine the implications this has in Sales organizations.

So what can we do for our processes?

• Build in autonomy where appropriate. Are all tasks time or location dependent? Probably not. Look into a Results Only Work Environment.
• Focus on the results not the specific actions that everyone takes to get there.
• Ensure the inputs and outputs are solid, and the hand-offs defined. For the most part, your people should be smart enough to figure out the tactical execution.
• Set Expectations. Make sure everyone throughout the process understands their responsibilities and time lines. Nothing will break sabotage a process more than unclear expectations.

Treat people as people and you’ll be surprised how they respond.

Check out Dan’s TED talk below.

How often do  you hear someone say, “It’s not my problem.” Well, that line of thinking is the problem. A problem for one part of the organization always impacts you.

If you are in sales, do you not think problems in customer service impact you? Try selling for an organization that has poor service levels.

Are you in supply chain? Do you ignore accounts payable issues? Try getting credit from a supplier that always gets paid 60 days late.

Too much focus is on the task at hand. Everyone in the organization needs a basic understanding behind the theory of your business. By having a clearer view of the interdependencies we can all see that one group’s problem is everyone’s problem.  As managers we must enforce accountability, flatten the organization and properly apply empowerment.

Give your folks some latitude and you’ll see an increase in ownership and pride in the outcome.

Am I full of it? Let me know in the comments.

I’ve seen many people who pride themselves on being process oriented  get stuck thinking the process is set in stone. The current process is not gospel. If something isn’t working it’s usually not the people (unless it’s a training issue), it’s usually the process. Aside from constraint that cannot be adjusted, people should rarely be adjusted around the process. The process should be adjusted around the people.

Many managers have their head stuck in the sand, and can’t see the actual issue. The process is inefficient because the real world is never as nice as our flow charts, documentation, and PowerPoints. The real world is iterative, complicated, fighting for attention. We need to monitor the processes and adjust to match the real world.

Process Improvement Cycle

When designing a process, we have to use all the tools available to us, but the job doesn’t end when the new process is implemented. It’s a constant cycle of Problem > Adjustment > Stabilization > Problem > Adjustment… If we aren’t proactively adjusting and improving the process during this cycle, the process will begin to fall apart, we will lose buy-in and trust. A process is only as good as the people, make sure you don’t forget them.

Let’s get something straight. Just because your business card has “Manager” in the title, it does not mean that you have a management style. If your title is manager you fall into one of five categories:

1. You are grossly unqualified to manage yourself, let alone a group of employees.
2. You aren’t really a manager. Your boss just thought it would make you feel important. You are really just a supervisor, and #1 may apply.
3. Your an excellent ass kisser, and #1 and #2 apply.
4. Your manager fits into one of the first three categories, and subsequently, so do you.
5. You are actually a manager. You take managing your employees seriously. You are concerned with getting the most out of your staff and meeting the goals of your organization.

Is this you?

I don’t have any statistics on this, but I would guess that only about 1 in 100 fall into category 5. I have heard way too many managers say, “That’s not my management style.” Listen, 90% of people have only a personality, not a management style.

If you are a manager, take a look in the mirror, and if you don’t fall into category 5, start doing some research. If you are in category 5, double check. If your focus is on the task, and not result, you actually fall in one of the first four categories.

Anyone can learn to be a good manager, but like anything it else, it requires effort. People aren’t born good managers.