Managing people is challenging in any industry.
This encompasses how managers delegate tasks, communicate expectations, monitor work progress, and address issues and innovation within their processes. Beyond the surface-level interactions, challenges often stem from the broader organizational environment, where employees, driven by good intentions, attempt to resolve immediate problems but inadvertently create long-term repercussions.
Productivity as a Management Challenge
To illustrate the complexities of this challenge, consider a study conducted by one of our consultants in a large aerospace company. The study revealed an intriguing observation: a mechanic, three-quarters of the way through his shift, was found reading a newspaper because he had completed his assignments early. This was initially seen as an opportunity to optimize productivity through more frequent check-ins.
But this conclusion was flawed.
It attributed the issue to the employee when it was fundamentally a management problem. The mechanic had finished his tasks more quickly than the supervisor had anticipated, and company policies required him to remain at his last job site until further instructions. The real problem lay in inaccurate work order time estimates and the lack of backup assignments.
A deeper analysis of workplace dynamics often reveals that problems are not the fault of employees. These issues often originate upstream or relate to skills gaps, both of which require managerial intervention. Managers are responsible for recognizing and addressing these challenges to ensure smooth operations.
Good Intentions and Unintended Consequences
Efforts to improve processes and planning can sometimes negatively affect employees. Improvement initiatives frequently aim to streamline operations, reduce scrambling, and optimize planning. However, individuals who excel at navigating unexpected challenges, often referred to as “scramblers” or “firefighters,” may find their skills less valued in such an environment.
These scramblers may temporarily resolve problems but create new ones in the process. For example, employees in various industries borrow items intended for future orders to complete current tasks, resulting in inventory issues. In one case, millions of dollars’ worth of parts were hoarded by employees at an aircraft manufacturer, not out of selfishness but to mitigate potential shortages.
Similar behaviors occur in service environments, such as hospitals, where nurses stock excessive bed linens or order transportation services with too much lead time to ensure patient well-being. These actions are well-intentioned but can lead to inefficiencies.
Great scramblers often have significant social influence, both positively and negatively, within an organization undergoing change. Implementing structured, proactive approaches may disrupt their established roles and social status, requiring them to adapt to new ways of working.
Reactive Problem Solving
In many organizations, managers who excel at creative problem-solving, often driven by charisma and leadership qualities, rise through the ranks. However, their problem-solving approach is often reactive, addressing immediate issues without addressing root causes. This leads to temporary fixes and recurring problems. This reactive cycle perpetuates when significant issues arise, forcing managers to firefight rather than proactively identify and address variances. A dysfunctional performance system and inadequate scheduling can hinder proactive problem-solving efforts. Introducing structured proactive approaches sometimes disorients individuals accustomed to the firefighting culture, posing additional challenges.
Challenges in Work Assignment
Another significant source of lost productivity lies in how work is assigned, or sometimes, not assigned effectively. Managers frequently act as work collators, creating task backlogs rather than actively assigning work. In knowledge-based environments, employees often self-assign tasks, which can result in suboptimal work sequences. Assigning work without specific time parameters can lead to pacing, where employees adjust their work pace based on the time available. This phenomenon aligns with Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time allotted for completion. Managers must provide clear assignments and follow-up to prevent pacing-related productivity issues.
Several factors can contribute to ineffective work assignment, including managerial discomfort when employees possess expertise, unclear expectations, or frequent changes in schedules. Uneven distribution of work can also lead to imbalances in output among employees, with some working at different paces due to varying workloads.
Overreliance on high-performing employees to shoulder excessive workloads can create dissatisfaction among slower workers and resentment among the more capable ones. This imbalance gradually erodes overall productivity over time.
Managing people effectively involves addressing common challenges related to delegation, communication, problem-solving, and work assignment. To overcome these challenges, organizations must recognize the interplay between management practices and employee behaviors, fostering a culture of proactive problem-solving, clear work assignment, and equitable workload distribution.
Ultimately, a balanced approach that combines the strengths of employees and managers can lead to improved productivity and organizational success.
