The Broken Bridge Between Think and Work
Managers think and plan, workers work.
In between is delegation, by which authority to perform tasks and consume corporate resources is granted. That’s how managers used to be taught in America, so there are probably still some contaminating effectiveness in many work places.
That authoritarian procedure – tasking subordinates — was based on the premise that workers are dull and uninspired, need to be given specific guidance, and watched closely. Missing in that equation was workers’ competence, intelligence, and responsibility. In this still-new century, formerly dull-witted workers have been buffed-up by a couple of decades of computers, instant access to the internet, and have seen millions of once-great jobs dumbed down by technology or eliminated by the dynamics of globalization.
What persists too often is the managerial assumption that employees need to be kept on a short leash.
Once employees are oriented, shown job routines, and introduced to co-workers, they should “own” those jobs and be free to perform tasks and duties involved with only nominal oversight. Then, “order giving” is unnecessary.
What employees might be told is something like this:
“You can do all routine work (about 85%), and let me know when it is complete. Here are a few things (maybe 10%) that, if you do them, tell me immediately. And if these specific things (about 5%) come up, please get my permission first.”
That gives employees latitude to organize their work so they can respond to priorities. When you see employees waiting for orders, you know that no scheme of delegation — permission to work — is in place. Instead, they must be members of teams — it’s really hard to keep teams busy all day every day.
People resent being told what to do. In its most gentle form, it’s still order-giving.
Consider this creative solution developed by New York consultant Robert House, late in the 1950s. He was hired to resolve often dangerous conflicts in restaurants between waitresses and cooks. The cooks (mostly male), resented having orders shouted at them. House resolved the issue by installing a spindle on the counter, to which waitresses could attach orders, spinning the spindle to signal a new order. Alternatively, there was a wire with clothes pins to which orders could be attached. Cooks then could take the orders off the spindle in the order that that fit stove and counter capacity, and conflicts were reduced nearly to zero. Spindles were soon found in nearly every American restaurant – until they were replaced by computerized systems that have the same “sanitizing” effect.
When people know their roles and responsibilities, are free to use their intelligence and creativity, and can ask for help when necessary, work gets done on time and within budget. Workers and managers can collaborate to ensure smooth execution of tasks, and profitable performance results. A basis for developing increasingly effective work groups is provided when order-giving, that residue of authoritarian management, yields to individual competence and results in collaborative effort.
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Photo 1 courtesy MichyLal2
Photo 2 courtesy Barracuty00
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