The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum levels help us determine at what levels we should delegate authority to our team members.

It all depends on their aptitude, competency and motivation, but if we get the level of delegation right, we can achieve great results and encourage our team members to take on more responsibilities. Here are the levels that Tannenbaum and Schmidt covered:

1. The Manager decides and announces the decision.

The manager reviews options in light of aims, issues, priorities, timescale, etc., then decides the action and informs the team of the decision. The manager will probably have considered how the team will react, but the team plays no active part in making the decision. The team may well perceive that the manager has not considered the team’s welfare at all. This is seen by the team as a purely task-based decision, which is generally a characteristic of X-Theory management style.

2. The manager decides and then ‘sells’ the decision to the group.

The manager makes the decision as in 1 above, and then explains reasons for the decision to the team, particularly the positive benefits that the team will enjoy from the decision. In so doing the manager is seen by the team to recognise the team’s importance, and to have some concern for the team.

3. The manager presents the decision with background ideas and invites questions.

The manager presents the decision along with some of the background which led to the decision. The team is invited to ask questions and discuss with the manager the rationale behind the decision, which enables the team to understand and accept or agree with the decision more easily than in 1 and 2 above. This more participative and involving approach enables the team to appreciate the issues and reasons for the decision, and the implications of all the options. This will have a more motivational approach than 1 or 2 because of the higher level of team involvement and discussion.

4. The manager suggests a provisional decision and invites discussion about it.

The manager discusses and reviews the provisional decision with the team on the basis that the manager will take on board the views and then finally decide. This enables the team to have some real influence over the shape of the manager’s final decision. This also acknowledges that the team has something to contribute to the decision-making process, which is more involving and therefore motivating than the previous level.

5. The manager presents the situation or problem, gets suggestions, then decides.

The manager presents the situation, and maybe some options, to the team. The team is encouraged and expected to offer ideas and additional options, and discuss implications of each possible course of action. The manager then decides which option to take. This level is one of high and specific involvement for the team, and is appropriate particularly when the team has more detailed knowledge or experience of the issues than the manager. Being high-involvement and high-influence for the team this level provides more motivation and freedom than any previous level.

6. The manager explains the situation, defines the parameters and asks the team to decide.

At this level the manager has effectively delegated responsibility for the decision to the team, albeit within the manager’s stated limits. The manager may or may not choose to be a part of the team which decides. While this level appears to gives a huge responsibility to the team, the manager can control the risk and outcomes to an extent, according to the constraints that he stipulates. This level is more motivational than any previous, and requires a mature team for any serious situation or problem.

7. The manager allows the team to identify the problem, develop the options, and decide on the action, within the manager’s received limits.

This is obviously an extreme level of freedom, whereby the team is effectively doing what the manager did in level 1. The team is given responsibility for identifying and analysing the situation or problem; the process for resolving it; developing and assessing options; evaluating implications, and then deciding on and implementing a course of action. The manager also states in advance that he/she will support the decision and help the team implement it. The manager may or may not be part of the team, and if so then he/she has no more authority than anyone else in the team. The only constraints and parameters for the team are the ones that the manager had imposed on him from above.

So, identify at what level your team member works best at, and create a willingness for them to achieve results at that level.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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One of the best-known management models to come out of Japan is the technique called the Five Whys, and it should be part of your management armoury.

It’s a solid way of getting to the root of any problem you may have. When you have a problem, you ask the question ‘why?’ up to five times, by which time you should have reached the root of any problem you are dealing with.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say Fred is not performing to the standard you know he is capable of. You sit down with him and ask, why?

You find out that Fred has got too much work to do. Why has he got into this position? Because he is seen as someone who has capability in many areas and too many people ask him for help. Why has this occurred? Because the rest of the team haven’t been coached to deal with problems themselves.

And why might that be the case? Because the department is under-resourced and can’t spare anyone to coach team members. And why is that? Because we didn’t replace a key team member when she left.

Sometimes the reason is uncovered after two or three questions; sometimes it takes further examination to find the underlying cause. But the average it takes is around five levels of questioning.

Now that you have dug deep to ascertain the real root cause of why Fred is under-performing, you can identify what is within your control and what is outside of it. Is it possible for you to share out Fred’s workload somewhat? Does Fred need help from senior management to distribute his workload more efficiently? Could he do with some coaching himself to make him more aware of when he should say no to delegated work?

By finding out the real reasons, you can then identify how it can be approached and offer solutions that might have been missed if you simply apply normal processes to manage someone’s performance.

Try the five why’s next time you face a challenge and see if it opens up more possibilities for you.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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The 7S Model was developed in the 1980s and is still valuable as a management model today.

It can be used in situations where you are trying to align various aspects of your business, especially where you are going through rapid and uncertain change.

Developed by the McKinsey Group, the 7S model involves seven factors which can be categorised as either “hard” or “soft” elements:

Hard Elements would include your strategy for change, the structure of the organisation and the systems you use.

Soft elements would be the shared values that you and your team employ, the skill-sets that you need, the style you adopt and the knowledge and abilities of your staff

“Hard” elements can be identified and influenced more easily: They would be driven by the organisation charts and reporting lines within the business and they may include the systems you use to get work done.

“Soft” elements are, by their very nature, more difficult to manage and may be affected by the culture of the organisation. But you have to apply yourself to these as much as the hard elements, as they provide the support structure for the successful implementation of any change, and they are all interdependent on each other.

You need to ask yourself where you are now and where you want to be in the future. The model will help you assess these elements with these searching questions:

Strategy:

* What is our strategy, in real terms?
* What are our strategic objectives?
* What will we do about the competition?
* What will our customers demand from us in the future?

Structure:

* How is the company set up?
* What is the organisational structure?
* How do the teams work together to achieve goals?
* How do the team members work together?
* What is the quality of communication?

Systems:

* What are the main systems we use in the company?
* How do we monitor and measure the systems?
* What processes do we currently use?

Shared Values:

* What are the values we keep to within the business?
* What is the corporate culture?
* What is the strength of these values?
* How are we communicating those values?

Style:

* What style does the management team adopt?
* How effective is it?
* How would we rate the teamwork among our staff?

Staff:

* How do our teams specialise in their roles or are they more general in their responsibilities?
* Have we the right people in the right places?
* What development do they need?

Skills:

* What are the strongest skills we have in the company?
* What skill gaps are there?
* Do we have staff who can do the job competently?
* How do we measure and reward success?

The McKinsey 7Ss model can be applied to almost any issue at work. If there are any inconsistencies in some of the above elements, maybe your team or company isn’t working effectively enough. The model can help reveal these inconsistencies, and you can work to ensure these elements are matched up to help you share values and objectives with your teams that are responsible for making it happen.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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Many companies are telling us that business is growing, albeit marginally, after the challenges of the last couple of years. How can companies monitor and drive this growth deliberately and proactively, rather than relying on business improving by default?

An interesting model by Larry Greiner, who discussed growth phases that companies go through, should help us clear the fog.

Greiner suggests that organisations go through 6 stages of growth and need appropriate strategies and structures to deal with the changes as they happen. It also describes the appropriate styles you need to adopt as you go through the stages.

Firstly, there’s growth through creativity. This would be a start-up company, an entrepreneurial approach, progressing through hard work and long hours.

Second, growth through direction. This constitutes sustained growth, functional structuring of the business, proper budgeting and processes.

Then there’s growth through delegation. This involves management taking less responsibility, allocating profit centres, financial incentives, etc.

This is followed by growth through coordination and monitoring. This is where new product groups are developed, better planning is carried out, more capital expenditure is made, and more centralisation is developed.

Next, there’s growth through collaboration. This involves action-learning sets, cross functional or matrix team management, decentralised teams and advanced information systems.

Later, Greiner added a sixth phase to his growth phases model: Extra-organisational solutions, like mergers and networks of organisations.

By analysing what stage your company is at in the growth model, you can adapt your leadership style to match what is needed to produce results that will proactively drive you forward as growth continues.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage model sets out a strategy that creates a positioning in your market place based on sustainable advantages that you can build up in your industry.

Porter states there are basically two types of competitive advantage that results in a third viable competitive strategy and gives you your USP.

The two types are differentiation and cost leadership, i.e. the low cost producer.

The differentiation model determines those companies who look at their uniqueness in the marketplace, based on the viewpoints of their customers. These could be the product itself, service, brand image, marketing, service back up, etc.

But this doesn’t mean the company can ignore its pricing position. In areas that don’t affect its differentiation, costs should be kept to a minimum, says Porter. Only in the unique differentiation areas should the price premium paid by customers be seen as valuable to them.

The other competitive advantage is being the cost leader in the industry. This is often achieved by economies of scale, and the differentiators should still be considered important, even if you are attempting to offer lowest price. If price is your only differential, someone, somewhere will beat you short or long-term. And then what happens to your advantage?

Porter then states that the result of your first two competitive advantages is your focus. That is, you set out to be the best in a segment or niche market. This explains why some companies set out to differentiate themselves in the market, then lose their focus and fall behind the competition. You must look for other niches that will attract customers rather than become outdated by focusing in areas that don’t attract current customers.

Porter’s Competitive Advantage model offers an effective and important addition to your management portfolio by focusing on what your company should do best. That focus is better than trying to appeal to all sectors with some differentiation and average pricing. Customers will be unable to determine what you actually stand for unless you offer some kind of advantage to them.

It’s an interesting model that creates a firm strategic model for progress in your industry.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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