Yin-Yang by HybridPersonality on deviantart.com
Everyone’s been at the bottom of the hill, challenged to catch and contend with whatever comes rolling down. We all know it’s not necessarily “right,” but we all know that it is also, however unfortunately, inevitable.
Equally unavoidable is the often overlooked counterpart to that fact of life: that responsibility flows uphill.
Since downward pressure is balanced by upward pressure, just pushing harder in either direction only increases the pressure on the system as a whole. How can the pressure that flows the nasty stuff downhill be better balanced with the pressure that drives responsibility upwards? Doing so necessitates the persons at the bottom of the hill absorb more responsibility, while the people at the top of the hill get their hands dirtier. Essentially, a leveling of the mechanisms that cause the flow is necessary. Here’s some tips on how to make that happen:
Ignore Rank. Get the job done. Period. It doesn’t matter what rank or title people hold. No one respects a title – they fear them. They respect the person holding the title. Pitch in when it’s required and show that you understand the job enough to do it yourself. If you don’t understand it, show that you know enough to listen to someone who does, and learn from your staff.
Coach. Give people the ability to make decisions that are in line with your expectations. Don’t dictate what people must do just to keep you happy, demonstrate why doing what’s required is a good thing for themselves and everyone else around them.
Give and take. You can’t delegate away responsibility, but you can give it away. If you have people who are capable of owning an activity, let them own it. You don’t need to stand in the way as a buffer against criticism if people are ready to take over. It’s simply inefficient to have two people responsible for the same thing, and you can take better control of other, more problematic functions while the good ones are running well.
Share your plans & get buy-in. People will resist what they don’t understand, which requires more pressure to force them to get things done. The more they resist, the harder you have to push. When things aren’t done – it will be your responsibility whether you want it or not. Keep the pressure low by communicating changes, and the reasons for those changes, to prevent the pipes from bursting.
Listen & Monitor. You can’t set the dials and let the system run all by itself. You need to create measurement devices for knowing when things are out of balance. Qualitatively and quantitatively, there must be mechanisms for knowing when you’re deviating beyond tolerances. This necessitates knowing what to measure, and how, and when the stresses on the system are becoming dangerous.
Work to remove obstacles. Nothing causes pressure to build up so much as foreign objects clogging the system. Keep a close eye & ear out for any signs of trouble, and take action to correct problems immediately. . Make sure both you, and your team, are aware of how to spot trouble signs and communicate them freely. Look to each other for solutions, follow through when the action is yours to take, and make sure everyone else is accountable for doing the same. Waiting can result in a far greater calamity than dealing with troubles as they happen.
While it is possible to delegate an activity to another, it is entirely impossible to delegate away responsibility. Simply put: If it happens under your tent, it is yours. Asking someone else to perform the work doesn’t absolve you of that.
