Introduction
Over the last two years I have learned a number of lessons about management. Some of them have been learned the hard way and other have been learned by talking to other people. In this article I’ve tried to summarize some of the most important lessons so you can try to avoid these mistakes.
In China a lot of these management problems are related to “saving face”, which is part of Asian culture. In the west these same problems are often called “office politics”. Whatever the cause the outcome is the same: They generally help a specific individual at the expense of the company.
All of these problems are related to authority and responsibility.
- Authority means that you:
- Get the praise if the project succeeds.
- Can be allocated resources and make things happen.
- Responsibility means that you get in trouble if the project fails.
What Works
Responsibility with Authority
If a single person is responsible for a project and has authority over the project then they have the motivation to make sure that the project succeeds. This doesn’t guarantee that the project will be a success but does improve the odds.
A Group with a Group Leader who assigns Responsibility and Authority
The chairman is not responsible for the output of the group. He/She is only responsible for assigning responsibility and authority. So if a task isn’t assigned to anyone then the chairman is responsible for that mistake but individuals are responsible for their individual projects.
What Doesn’t Work
Responsibility without Authority
This almost always means that the project will fail. It generally happens when a manager assigns a task to an employee without giving them enough authority to complete the task.
Authority without Responsibility (Kingdom Building)
This happens when roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined. The two most common forms are:
- Large unproductive departments (More employees = more important)
- Managers taking on titles without taking on the work. (More titles = more important)
Equal Group Authority with equal Group Responsibility (Blame Game)
If everyone has equal authority and responsibility then everyone assumes that someone else will do the work. If one person does all the work then everyone else still gets the glory. If no one decides to do the work then when the project fails then it is easy to blame someone else for the project’s failure.
Equal Group Authority with Individual Responsibility (Burn Out)
This scenario is similar to the “Chairman scenario” the main difference is that the chairman delegates responsibility and authority. In this scenario the individual is responsible for the project but doesn’t have enough authority to make sure it is successful. This scenario works for a while but eventually the person responsible for all the mistakes that the group makes will burn out.
This post is really different from the other posts in the blog and I would really appreciate feedback. Either directly or in the comments.
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