Sometimes we need to ask ‘Who’s the driver anyway?’
By Brian Kreissl
Back when command and control was the preferred management style at most businesses, organizations were taller and more hierarchical, and leaders weren’t afraid to exercise their formal authority — it was easier to spot the sources of power in organizations. Organizational charts dictated who had the authority to make certain decisions and managers rarely consulted their subordinates on decisions.
By the late 20th century, concepts such as employee engagement, empowerment, delegation and self-managing work teams, increasing numbers of knowledge workers, the flattening of organizations, the rise of teleworking and the introduction of virtual work teams began to result in leaders taking a very different approach to managing their teams.
No longer was it considered acceptable to bark orders at employees or expect them to simply obey without question. It also became much less acceptable to micromanage employees or concentrate all decision-making power within the most senior leader.
Managers and leaders began to realize that frontline workers often have the best knowledge of many situations and should be consulted on decisions impacting their jobs, product quality or the organization’s customers. Workers should be empowered to make decisions quickly and decisively in areas affecting them.
However, there are a number of problems frequently associated with power and influence that today’s organizations may need to grapple with. Some issues include a lack of structure with respect to decision-making, employees who don’t seem to want to be empowered, decisions being made at the wrong level and an overreliance on job titles and formal power in determining who has the authority to make decisions.
Who’s the driver anyway?
One potential problem with a highly engaged and empowered workforce consulted regularly on decisions of importance is it can be very difficult to come to a consensus when important decisions need to be made in a timely manner. This can also happen on project teams or steering committees where no one has the formal authority to make decisions.
While it’s great to be able to seek input from a variety of stakeholders, it may sometimes be necessary to have someone make an executive decision or put things to a vote. Employees should still be given an opportunity to make themselves heard and should feel their thoughts and opinions are respected, but it isn’t possible to implement everyone’s recommendations either.
As a manager, I have encountered several situations where my team members didn’t seem to want to be empowered to make a decision and preferred instead that I make the decision for them. “Just tell me what you want me to do” was how one person put it.
I thought I was being enlightened and empowering by allowing people to use their own judgment, and in most cases that worked out pretty well. However, it’s important as a leader to recognize the difference between truly empowering people and simply waffling or avoiding a difficult decision.
In a couple of cases, they were probably justified in thinking I was being indecisive and scared to make a decision. Above all, it’s vitally important to ensure people have the necessary knowledge, skills and organizational information and aren’t overly fearful of making a wrong decision before they can be truly empowered.
On the other hand, a senior leader who spends most of the day double- and triple-booked in meetings and is required to make just about every decision is probably micromanaging and failing to delegate decision-making authority down to the appropriate level. Similar problems include getting overly hung up on job titles or inviting only the most senior person in a department to a meeting when the person who actually does the work would have much better knowledge of the issue or problem.
Some of these problems relate to outdated notions of management and leadership, but many leaders and their teams aren’t quite sure how decisions should be made and by whom in an environment of empowerment.
Book discount and giveaway
Who’s the Driver Anyway is a book by John Kuypers that includes a proven methodology that can help make teams become more effective, engage middle managers, improve decision-making in organizations and facilitate cultural change. The first five readers to email me at [email protected] will receive a free copy of the book signed by the author. Anyone else can purchase the book at a 25 per cent discount when ordering by quoting promo code 68728 by Oct. 31.
