Diamond Structure – the one for professional services

Prefer to watch on video than read?  Click here – 3 mins with captions.

Traditional hierarchy looks like this – a pyramid (and BTW it’s a very appropriate organising principle for many, many situations, so don’t feel guilty if you’re running one or in one).

Work Levels

The hierarchy shows us which roles have the job of being accountable for other roles…but it also can be used to show us what Elliott Jaques discovered as different levels of work.  I’ve drawn them in here…

The Empowerment Formula

Prefer to watch on video than read?  Click here – 4 mins with captions.

“Empowerment”.  We’re into it.  And why not?  It’s a good thing.  A condition of being OK is ‘agency’, which means being able to take actions that make a difference.  To have some sort of power.  To be ‘empowered’.

Unfortunately, a decree of “YOU ARE NOW EMPOWERED” combined with matching posters and distribution of keep-cups with catchy slogans is not going to be enough.

Breakdown of Leadership Greatness – Meryl Streep Plays Katharine Graham

Prefer to watch rather than read?  Click here – 7 minutes with captions.

(Sorry about any ads that appear – I needed to use copyright content, which lets them puts ads on the video)

It’s time again to break down a movie scene – this is from Steven Spieberg’s The Post, the true story of legendary leader of the Washington Post Katharine Graham.  She’s played by the also legendary Meryl Streep, it’s directed by Steven Spielberg, and I go through the key scene of the film and show the key elements to her leadership using the four elements of Peter Koestenbaum’s  Leadership Diamond.

So…this one is best watched on video, which you can do by clicking here.

The Team Leader Role – How to Set it Up to Work

Prefer to watch on video than read?  Click here – 5 mins with captions.

The Team Leader role.  Called lots of things – sometimes ‘Team Leader’, older-school names are ‘Supervisor’ and ‘Leading Hand’, modern names are ‘Coordinator’.

Then we have the Manager role.  Sometimes called that, often now called ‘Team Leader’ because management has  apparently become evil, and in the US this role can be called ‘Supervisor’. 

And before you get started on ‘hierarchy is bad’, remember that most of us work in hierarchies, and it remains the optimal structure in many situations.

If it’s run well.  Which is what this is about.

Something to listen to…

Hey, I’m still on a break, but thanks to post scheduling, I’ve still got something for you…from me. And a colleague…

It’s…the episode I did with Daniel Franco a few months ago on his Creating Synergy podcast. Along with the wonderful Michelle Holland, he’s a Director of SynergyIQ where I’m based in Adelaide, South Australia.

We covered a range of stuff on why organisations do and don’t work, and I had a great time talking to Daniel who totally knows what he’s doing to get a guest talking away and enjoying themselves.

If you’re reading this on your phone, depending on your preferred method:

Click here for Apple Podcast

Click here for Spotify Podcast

Click here for Google Podcast

…or type “creating synergy adam” into your Search box.

I’m sure you won’t find it as weird to listen to as I always do when I hear myself!

Have you heard of Personal Kanban?

School holidays are here, so I’m taking a short break from videos and articles.

But…there’s still something I’d like you to know about – it’s called Personal Kanban, by Jim Benson.

(The Muppets guy was Jim Henson. ‘H’)

Literally translated to ‘signboard’, ‘kanban’ started from Japanese production in the 1950s, with the key concept being that work is ‘pulled’ when there is a need for it. In the case of cars, this starts from a customer order.

The WIP Secret – 4x increase in throughput with one simple change

Why read when you can watch on video?  Click here – 5 mins, with captions.

You can increase the throughput of your show hugely with one simple change.

For real life.

But don’t take my word for it, let’s turn to one of the total gurus – Eli Goldratt. 

As part of the brilliant Goldratt Satellite Program, which you can still buy and watch the legend himself (I’m not associated with it BTW), he tells the story about the maintenance area of the Israeli Air Force.

Manager Poker – the quick way to destroy ownership and accountability.

Prefer to watch on video than read?  Click here, 4 mins with captions.

When playing poker, or more importantly in my life with my three kids, when playing Uno, it’s important to hold your cards close to your chest.

We see the same in organisations – managers holding their cards close.  I call it playing Manager Poker.

It’s no good.

Truth Serum? Could we handle work reality?

Prefer to watch rather than read?  Click here for the video, 5 mins with captions.

Indulge me in a little work fantasy, which combines two very unlikely sources – authors Jan De Visch and Otto Laske…and Jim Carrey!.

Jan De Visch and Otto Laske are researchers and consultants, and one of their brilliant books is Dynamic Collaboration. 

In this book they refer to Job 1 and Job 2:

Failure Demand – it’s hidden in plain sight

Prefer to watch on video than read?  Click here – 5 mins with captions.

Less cost, happier customers, happier staff, happier you. 

There’s something hidden in plain sight which is inhibiting these from happening – John Seddon’s Failure Demand.

It’s not a new concept, but John’s naming of, and describing of the concept is brilliant, which leads to understanding and action.  His book Freedom from Command and Control is a must-read for anyone involved in service centres, along with the more recent Beyond Command and Control.