How to manage a remote choice?
The leader largely determines the nature, set and criteria for the actions of subordinates. He does not decide everything on his own, but that is why he is a leader – he influences his subordinates. Leaders are often unhappy with the way their subordinates make decisions and how they act.
“It is important for a person to define his life priorities. There should be a routine in life according to which you spend time and energy. “
Precisely remote, because the manager cannot constantly “stand above the employee” – in this case, he will certainly prevent wrong steps. How to manage the actions of employees who work independently and teach them how to prioritize?
Basis of Basics: Coordinate System
Alexander Fridman recommends starting control by creating a coordinate system:
“How does an employee make a choice? Based on some criteria. A person always acts extremely rationally. “Irrational” died out, leaving no offspring. A person is always rational, but the whole question is what he takes into account when making certain decisions. Yes, he can act under the influence of emotions. But this means that emotions are part of his decision-making system. When making a decision, he unconsciously takes into account emotions. But what set of criteria is he guided by and how does he act: subconsciously or unconsciously?
If the manager thinks that the employee is acting incorrectly, it should be understood that the subordinate simply has a different coordinate system. The leader thinks in one coordinate system, and the subordinate thinks in another. Therefore, his actions seem to the leader to be wrong. How can you learn to manage the choice of subordinates who are not close to the leader?
One way is to create a single coordinate system. When will it be useful and effective for management? What are the requirements for it?
- It must be absolutely transparent , every element of it must be visible and understandable, there must be no hidden elements.
- Each element must be clearly described . But clarity doesn’t always mean brevity. Trying to describe a situation succinctly can lose its meaning. Therefore, it is better to strive for clarity than for brevity. Saving space and letters leads to the fact that the phrase is short, cast, but has many interpretations. Don’t go straight to the “Latin prose”. First, you need to describe everything clearly and clearly.
- Consistency of origin: what this or that element is for. Moreover, it is good if the consistency is based on the interests of the business, and not on the “attack” of the leader. We are with you at work in the interests of the cause? Like or dislike are secondary processes.
- Consistency of elements. There is nothing worse than a system in which elements contradict each other. For example, some pretty slogans contradict the rules of the company. They sound nice, but they are not implemented in the practical actions of employees. Slogans can say one thing, while company rules say something completely different.
- Sufficiency . The design of our operating system solves all the problems that arise in the course of work.
- Relevance . Our elements must correspond to today’s tasks, they must be timely updated, verified, they must be relevant, not outdated and not answer the questions of yesterday.
- Inclusiveness . The system operates throughout the company: the staff knows about its points and is guided by them. Then the head of the company will be calm about making decisions by his subordinates, and all subsections of the company will work synchronously and correctly.
Ideal when the system is in automatic mode. But also there should always be a “manual drive” option for the manager. Important: The operating system will be beneficial if both subordinates and the manager adhere to its criteria. Then it will be motivating and effective. ”
Managing priorities
“The most important things, like a soufflé, must be served on time”
In the prioritization process, be sure to use a multidimensional coordinate system. If it is applied systematically, it will become a habit for both the manager and the subordinates, and its use will not cause any difficulties. The question arises: how to correctly prioritize?
Division of affairs into supporting and developing will help.
Supporting – these are such things, if not done, the situation goes down. These are today’s clients and those tasks that act, one might say, as a “backbone” – they support the body.
Developing – what contributes to development (methodology, qualifications, etc.), these are some changes in something.
with developing ones), since “bread is more important than butter”. Developmental affairs are more prone to elasticity: they can be done today, or tomorrow.
How to prioritize and at what stages should this be done? When we are faced with several tasks, we begin to think about which of them to assign a priority role. And it is right. In management planning, you first need to select an overriding strategic goal and then prioritize. And this should be done at the following stages:
- before setting goals,
- before decomposition,
- after decomposition.
Decomposition is a method of dividing the whole into parts, which allows replacing the solution of one large problem with the solution of a series of smaller problems, albeit interrelated, but simpler.
An accurate and objective look at resources after analyzing the attractiveness of the result in the process of decomposition can lead to a change in priorities. It may be necessary to adjust not only the tasks and parameters, but also the criteria affecting their achievement. You will have to return to planning tasks and revise the basic factors (time, cost and actions that lead to quality). They are closely interconnected and do not always persist under the influence of certain circumstances. Therefore, in the planning process, we can change our priority positions both at the start and after the decomposition, since the degree of their importance under the influence of the process can radically change.
How to prioritize work correctly? You need to think, think regularly, allocating a sufficient amount of time for this. Slowly prioritize the criteria, correctly prioritize the goals themselves. This approach will identify the factors that affect a specific situation and select several options for its solution. Trying to prioritize on the go in tackling difficult issues can lead to wrong conclusions that negatively affect the entire work. In the same way, uncontrolled development of activities is dangerous, when the expediency of changing priorities and the cost of the final results is not thought at all.
(Based on materials from the video by Alexander Fridman “On planning and priorities”, “How to manage the choice of subordinates.” Also used materials from the book by A. Fridman “You or Chaos. Professional planning for regular management”) …
To learn more about how to prioritize effective management, as well as how to manage the actions and thoughts of employees, you can take the course by Alexander Fridman “Managing the choice of subordinates: how to lay the foundation for the right corporate culture” (the course program can be found at link ).