Higher up does not mean vague it up
Where to sir?
There’s something I’ve seen in organisations more than once, that if we put into a saying would read like this: “the higher you go in management, the more vague you can be about what you actually want“. This sentence will not exactly generate wise nods around the executive table, but it seems to be true a lot of the time.
Why does this occur? Three reasons 1) behavioural , 2) cognitive capability and 3) knowledge & skill
For behavioural, it means our executive just doesn’t care about being clear. Maybe lazy, maybe fear, maybe arrogant. The cure here is to point it out and require it to be fixed. If this doesn’t help, then they need to work out whether they really want to lead others because results are going to start to suffer.
Cognitive capability is an issue where they just can’t put the pieces together in their mind to create a clear future despite all efforts. To them, all options appear equal. This one requires removing the person from the role until they are ready. Not easy, but until they are ready they will be at best ineffective and at worse will cause harm.
The third is common and is the most easily fixed – knowledge and skill, in this case about tasking. Regardless of the level within an organisation, each employee deserves (as a human being, not because it’s a nice idea) to be informed of the purpose for the work, what is actually required, by when, to be advised of the resources they have available and told the limits. Executive Leadership by Jaques and Clement covers this nicely if you’d like to read more.
The only practical difference between a task at executive level compared to the frontline is timeframe. By this, we mean the amount of time into the future we will actually be working (as a colleague Herb Koplowitz nicely describes it). If the task is mowing the lawn, it might be two hours. If it’s gaining a sustainable foothold in Eastern Europe, it might seven years. Either way, the person given the task deserves to know what you actually want. Not how, but what by when.
Whether you are the CEO or running a team on the shop floor, complete the work of both deciding and letting your people know their destination.
“Start driving and I’ll tell you if you’re going in the right direction” isn’t good enough.
It’s about respect.