Surface Ripples

"Managing by the Buck"

We’ve all heard of “Managing by the book” or “Doing it by the book”, but this concerns another management phenomenon that can cause loss of morale, reduced productivity, poor quality work and missed deadlines if not done well.

“Managing by the buck” is a way of describing leaders who, on receipt of an instruction, simply “pass the buck” to their team.  As team leaders, one of our roles is to act as an “information gateway” to receive, filter and then pass on information or instructions to the “right person”.

All-too often, I see instances (and have been guilty of them myself) of someone simply hitting “forward” and then inserting all their team members.  In some cases, this may be appropriate, but in many, it isn’t.  

Such cases may include:

Where any number of people can carry out the instruction:

Simply forwarding on to several individuals risks all of them saying, “Well, I’m sure X will do this,” “Who does the boss want  to do this?” or “I’m too busy, but I’m sure someone will do this.”  We end up with the classic case of “Somebody, Everybody, Anybody and Nobody”.   If the leader gets upset, everyone’s response is, “Well, you didn’t make it clear who should do it.”  A well-trained and trusting team will just get together and “work it out for themselves”, particularly if “the boss” isn’t around.  However, it pays us leaders to have a second look and assess whether it’s absolutely clear who should do what and by when.

Where a specific individual/team has to carry out part of the instruction:

If clear guidance isn’t given, we end up with confused team members and/or individuals not appreciating that, before their colleagues, can do certain things contained in the instructions, they may have to do something first.  Again, the “well-trained team” rules may apply.

The inevitable problem is, “I’m always so busy and my team should be able to work things out and come to me for guidance.”  If we, as leaders, genuinely feel this, we need to let our teams know and that we trust them to “get on with it”.   That feeling should be a result of our careful training as their managers and regular team meetings.

The result should actually be that leaders can “pass the buck”, with the corollary that their team has been properly trained and can still  seek guidance if needed.

A team that is trained and empowered to "get on with it" with minimal interference from management is a great team.

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Leadership, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 09:22