By Susan A. Williams
Orion Development Group (ODG) is a process management consulting firm. Susan Williams, a partner of ODG, developed the CSU Process Mapping Workshops. Ms. Williams consults in the areas of process orientation, leadership and organization development.
As a consultant, the two most common questions I receive from managers today are:
"How do I increase individual and team accountability?",
and
"How do I motivate my people?"
The answer to the latter question is best held for another article. But for now, try a simple strategy: stop de-motivating people! It is management's responsibility to remove the hassles and barriers that prevent optimum performance. Motivation is truly intrinsic; however, to allow individual motivation to blossom, one must remove the causes of employee dissatisfaction. Employees tell us that one of the biggest causes of low motivation and dissatisfaction, is a lack of clarity about what really needs to be done and why it needs to be done. That brings us around to the first question because, if in fact we do provide clarity, we can then hold people accountable.
So, how does a manager enhance accountability? Following are 5 proven management activities. Before you begin to implement the activities below, I suggest that you prioritize your opportunities. You do this by selecting key departmental work products for which you are responsible and identify those people who perform the key associated tasks. This serves three purposes: a) it gives you an objective way to select the individuals who will participate; b) it narrows your scope; and c) it gives you and the employees an opportunity to work together on something compelling and meaningful.
1. Clarify your expectations of the work product.
One way to do that is to ask yourself "What causes me not to like this product?" Translate your answer into measurable characteristics. I worked with a president of a non-profit organization, and I heard her say frequently, "That's not quite what I want...." One day I asked her what caused her to say that, and she replied, "I really want to see numbers, pictures and words." I fell silent and looked at her, and suddenly she realized that she had never actually explained that to her people! Try to be clear about what you do and do not want to prevent over- or under-delivery.
Try not to use measurable characteristics such as "error-free" without also asking employees to identify causes of errors and to formulate recommendations that will reduce the causes of errors.
2. Clarify individual decision authorities and boundaries.
What can the individual decide without you (decision authorities)? What decisions do you want them to bring to your attention (decision boundaries)? What decisions shouldn't they make (more boundaries)? One of my hot buttons is that some managers demand increased accountability from individuals who have no decision-making authority! You cannot ask for increased accountability from a person who has no control. Likewise, you cannot hold people at the end of the process accountable for things that the people at the beginning of the process created. This is a guaranteed morale destroyer. Employees need clearly defined boundaries and authorities, and they should be held accountable only for what falls within their authorities.
3. Promote an understanding of hand-off requirements.
You can do this by encouraging employees to meet with people downstream, either internal or external customers, who use their product to find out what is and is not working. Then, help your employee to negotiate measurable and doable hand-off characteristics. It is important to note that some changes to your process may need to occur to increase downstream customer satisfaction. Conformance to agreed-upon hand-off characteristics should then be self-inspected by the employee and then the manager. Continuous improvement of the hand-off becomes a measure of success for individuals and teams. It is important to remember that the improvement opportunities are not defined by you or your staff, but by the people downstream known also as, the customers.
4. Together with your employees, stimulate a dialogue...
...with the people upstream (the suppliers) and negotiate your input requirements of their hand-offs, using a process similar to the one described in #3 above. The reasons why this should be done after you conduct the downstream negotiations are twofold: 1) you need to know the downstream requirements to effectively negotiate your own requirements; and 2) you need to get the practice with those downstream first before you tackle the more difficult upstream negotiations. How does this enhance the accountability of your staff? They've got a hand in defining the process and creating the improvements.
5. Finally, encourage all employees to clarify requirements before taking significant action.
Encourage staff to ask questions when: they do not understand the task or goals; to determine customer requirements; and to understand the big picture. Traditionally our business culture frowns upon clarification--expecting others to guess (or telepathically deduce) our requirements. I cannot speak for others but in my seven years of undergraduate and graduate work I never once took a class, or saw one offered, on telepathy. Recognize and reward employees for seeking clarity and enhancing communications with customers and suppliers. Enhanced accountability occurs when we as managers, take the time to clarify requirements. This strategy also serves to connect our people to the bigger picture, campus-wide and system-wide objectives.
I encourage you to remember that the seeds of decline lie in complacency. The problems associated with having a complacent staff are obvious and result in declining customer satisfaction, but the accountability to correct it belongs to each and every manager.
Authors note: For questions or comments, please e-mail: susanw@tampabay.rr.com.
© Copyright 2007, Orion Development Group