As a leader you may be busy taking a lot of decisions, which in a way keeps you and those around you feeling your power. But wait. Are you taking too many decisions, without asking in the first place, ‘Whose decision is it?’ asks Gary B. Cohen in ‘Just Ask Leadership’ (www.mhprofessional.com)?
When leaders take the burden of responsibility too far, they either want to protect others from making tough decisions or they want to extend their power, he explains. “The result is poor decision making because these leaders don’t have sufficient information.”
Instead of adhering to the old Harry S. Truman adage ‘the buck stops here,’ these leaders should do a better job of clarifying job responsibilities, trusting their co-workers to make good decisions, and then holding them accountable, Cohen advises.
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“Employee empowerment begins with leaders asking themselves four words over and over: ‘Whose decision is it?’ Because co-workers might assume that leaders are exempt from the rules and can make any and all decisions, leaders must be extra vigilant about asking this question.”
On asking questions, an interesting quote is of Will Lansing, CEO and chairman of ShopNBC: “I ask questions to learn things that I don’t know. I want to be transparent to my people. I never ask questions I have the answers to. My time is too valuable to waste playing games with my team, and they know it.”
Cohen reminds leaders that the person best equipped to solve a problem is the one who lives with it every day. “Don’t make decisions for your co-workers. With questions, help them expand their consciousness so that they can see the world anew. Help them make their own decisions.”
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Now, answer this question: ‘In a crisis, is it better to ask or command?’ With conventional wisdom, you’d say that when the pressure is on, you – the leader – will ask less and tell more. Interestingly, though, research done by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) suggests otherwise, Cohen informs. Citing Robert Blake and Jane Mouton who studied aviation failures, he notes that when a captain centralises authority in himself he in effect shuts out information that others are capable of contributing.
“If pilots (facing the likelihood of a crash) and merchant marines (aboard a torpedoed ship) can make time to ask questions and consider alternatives, then perhaps you have the time to listen to what your co-workers have to say, even under duress.”
A book you’d wish your bosses read and re-read.
Managing underground
An operations manager who is skilled in statistical and quantitative analysis but incompetent when it comes to people is not going to get anywhere, observes Scott T. Young in ‘Essentials of Operations Management’ (www.sagepublications.com).
An example of success that he mentions is of Home Depot which analysed its management processes and streamlined its hiring practices and performance review processes, placing HR managers in every store.
“Among their management improvements were the centralisation of the purchasing function and the decentralisation of HRM. The actions made sense because purchasing can realise economic gains through bulk purchasing and HR managers need to staff locally.”
A section on ‘human-centred production’ begins with the discussion of ‘managing underground’ – a phrase that came about after a study of mines at the Turris Mine in Illinois. The miners revealed a preference for managers who would solve problems inside the mine over those managers who preferred to stay within the safety of their offices and problem-solve, recounts Young. The term can apply to banks, hotels, hospitals, and manufacturers as easily as it could to a mine, he adds.
Comprehensive treatment.