Keep the people in the picture

Well, the last two days have been interesting from a blogging perspective.  I wrote a post a few days ago about what I'd learned lately about managing other people, and some conclusions I'd drawn about my management style.  The comments and feedback I've gotten have forced me to think through this again.

One thing I've realized about myself, and this may be just my approach, is that I expect everyone on the team to have the same vision, the same drive and the same determination as I do, or even moreso.  Oftentimes when I frame a problem or challenge for my team, I am more concerned with the technical challenges and the process challenges.  If you've read along with Thinking Faster you'd recognize that most of my writing has been about improving processes, systems and culture.

Well, a lot of what I've written about was right, but I am thinking that sometimes when I frame a problem I am leaving the people out of the picture.  More and more our firms are evolving to knowledge work, and knowledge workers are not automatons with uniform performance and expectations.  That's not to say that blue collar workers or others are just robots, but I think knowledge workers want (and demand) more freedom in the way they work, as long as they present the right final product.  Most traditional manufacturing and shop floor work requires strict alignment to a standard process - what's ISO 9000 or other quality validation certification for if not the enforcement of a standard process?  More and more, as they gain deep experience in a process, a customer or a technology, knowledge workers become more like craftsmen.

OK, so if all that is true, then what it means is that the systems and processes have to be solid, and transparent, and stay out of the way of the people doing the work.  Once the systems, processes and culture are in line (if that ever happens) then the focus should be always and everywhere on the people.  What can we do as managers to make them more effective?  What management styles or motivations will encourage them to do more, and better, work? How many degrees of freedom do you allow each team member, and when does this become an exercise in herding cats, as opposed to a sleek, well-oiled machine?

There's no silver bullet, no Gordian knot, no wisdom of Solomon to unravel this.  Just a balancing act between your needs as a manager to stay on target, on time and relatively sane, and the needs and expectations of the people who work for you.