Friday Note - The Buck Stops Here!
PJ McCaughn
Customer focused sales and manufacturing professional continuously achieving success thru perpetual curiosity, dogged determination and exceptional execution.
Over the years, I have encountered many different management styles and many different philosophies on the concept of management. My biggest pet peeve is managers who give out a project, do not give the individuals involved the authority to get it done and then abdicate from all responsibility for the results. (Unless of course, it is a smashing success.) AND - if the project fails, they have an easy sacrificial lamb for the figurative funeral pyre. This is a prime example of the management technique of "Shit Flows Downhill." Either way, you will eventually lose your good employees using this methodology. In my opinion, this is not management, this is usury of the worst kind!
Good managers know that the buck stops with them. They OWN their projects, shepherd their people for the best result possible and are willing to take the bullet if it all goes south. So, you ask, how do I create successful results?
Go back to my Friday note from October 29th on goals. I wrote this article from a personal perspective, but it applies to all goals, personal or professional. Define the goal, objectives and action items necessary to accomplish your end game. Coordinate the formation of this plan with your team to get the buy-in you need to succeed, appropriately delegate tasks, and let them help plug any holes in your strategy. Empowered, engaged employees are much more effective teammates.
Determine what involvement you will have in this project. The effort you need to expend on it will be directly affected by the level of trust you have in your Project Managers and the delegation terms you set. Once you have done that, make sure you clearly define the assignments and authority level given to each individual on the project.
Be available for consultation and advice. Your people will hit roadblocks that exceed their authority or their comfort level, and they will need your assistance in problem-solving or your sign-off to proceed. The thing you need to remember most is that YOU are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project.
My high school Driver's Ed teacher used to say, "I don't care where we go, just keep the car between the lines, with the shiny side up and the dirty side down." Keep your project on track with clearly marked lines to follow, fences to stay within and definitive stop signs, and you move from a mediocre manager to a leader with a reputation for getting the job done.