RandomCrates

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.

Project Managers are often in difficult positions. We must manage large teams with people spanning multiple departments, all having full time day jobs and differing priorities. A project manager rarely has dedicated resources and must create realistic schedules taking into account everyone’s priorities and availability. Managing a team dedicated to the project may simplify scheduling, but it doesn’t do much for motivation.  How do you motivate a team that does not report to you, may not understand the goal of the project, and may have different priorities?

What Do They Need?

To help motivate your team you must first understand what they need. Abraham Maslow did a lot of work in the area of motivation and fulfilling employee needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a a five stage pyramid that represents the various needs that every person ultimately wants to fulfill. Once fulfilling the base needs Maslow believes everyone looks to fulfill the next stage, moving up the pyramid until all needs are satisfied.

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While working on various projects I’ve learned that when exploring process improvements most people tend to jump into the details. Getting straight to the specific tasks and activities causes many issues, most serious is the tendency to get stuck doing things the way they always have been. How many times have you asked “why do it like this”, only to get the “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” response. When looking at processes and efficiency improvement it’s important to look at it from a results oriented perspective defining inputs, activities, and outputs.

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