Gallup’s Q12 and the self-managed business
I am very interested in, and have some experience of, self-managed businesses.
In case you don’t know, there are many related ideas such as participatory management, the democratic organisation, the Teal organisation, and dynamic governance (Sociocracy, Holacracy etc). All of these challenge the traditional hierarchical way to organise - they emphasise equality of voice, shared governance, more individual responsibility, and flatter, circular structures.
For me, self-management raises a question: can we find a way to integrate what we already know about management, learned over generations, with this new idea?
Consider Gallup’s Q12 survey. This, as the name suggests, consists of 12 questions, which Gallup believe are a useful way to measure employee engagement. I am generally careful about measuring people and organisations from outside, or from the centre, and perhaps I will write separately on that.
But I do like many of the Q12 questions, and much of the thinking behind them. I certainly like the fact there are only twelve, that they are easy to understand, and I respect the effort Gallup have put into their research.
These twelve questions seem to have been derived from an analysis of organisations that were largely using traditional approaches to management. So can they be applied to self-managed organisations? Let’s take just three of the questions, and see what we can learn, by posing them within the context of a self-managed organisation.
Question 1: “I know what is expected of me at work.”
When reading this question from a traditional management perspective, it is quite easy to assume that my manager is probably going to be the person who is going to tell me, or show me, what I am expected to do.
In a self-managed organisation there probably won’t be a manager. Instead, I will have to work out for myself what to do, and how to do it, based on my own needs, those of my colleagues, and our purpose as an organisation. That is where my ‘expectations’ will come from.
I will almost certainly want to check and negotiate these expectations with my colleagues, and I may want to get some coaching from them to clarify what I am expecting of myself.
But then it’s all down to me.
I know everyone is not the same, but personally, over many years, and in many different situations, I have found I am usually more motivated, for longer, when I find my own motivation.
So, overall I think this is a great question to ask: if I don’t know what is expected of me, I better work it out, quick.
Question 2: “I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.”
Typically, in a traditional hierarchical organisation, managers have access to budgets, and dole out equipment. Often this is to enable workers to do a good job. But can it also be construed as a reward for ‘good’ behaviour? Personally, I know I have sometimes seen it as favouritism when I have thought that resources were being given for more than just rational reasons.
In a self-managed organisation, I work out what I need for myself, or with my colleagues. If we need something, we get it for ourselves. It may be necessary to spend money, in which case, typically, we would agree that more broadly within the organisation, ensuring there are suitable checks and balances.
I have seen with my own eyes that companies which implement self-management find that people look after equipment gained in this way much better. And they also make more effective use of it. Because it is ‘theirs’.
Losing this element of control by the manager, also seems, to me, to be a very good thing. Every relationship has elements of power to it. Giving ourselves the equipment we need is cleaner, and more adult, than being given it by a manager, however well intentioned they may think they are.
And gaining this kind of autonomy is, I believe, very important if we are seeking organisational agility, and responsiveness.
Question 3: “At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”
In Gallup’s philosophy, as set out in the book “First Break All the Rules”, managers are very important, not least because they can influence the answer to this question. By understanding each employee’s unique talents, the manager ensures that they are getting the chance to do what they do best. And this serves the development and growth of the company.
This, of course, is one of the critical roles of management: hiring the right people, helping them find the right roles, and, if necessary, helping them leave the organisation.
So how does this happen in the self-managed organisation? As I said above, what I am expected to do is my responsibility, something I negotiate with my colleagues. And, when we are self-managing, making sure I am doing what I am best at is also my responsibility.
And self-managing organisations may have an advantage, if the people themselves are able to be honest about their real talents, and how they would like their careers to develop.
This process starts at the interview. Hiring is always tricky, but it works better when both parties are honest about what they want and need. In the self-managed organisation this also means saying explicitly that each employee is going to be expected to explore and develop their own talents. They may get help from colleagues, but ultimately it is down to them.
I think our talents probably become clearer to us over time. So it will also be important to continue to regularly negotiate the fit between my talents and the needs of the organisation. This means the annual ‘appraisal’ becomes a useful tool for feedback and self-development, and less another way to exert managerial power.
It is also possible, of course, that I may discover at some point that my talents are no longer relevant to the company. Or perhaps they are not developing as fast as I would like. That probably means I would be wise to consider going somewhere else, where I can develop those talents. In other words, I might give myself the sack.
I am not saying that would be easy. When we belong to any kind of institution there is always a loss in leaving. I may need help from my colleagues in this part of the process too - to usher me out of the door, and into my new world. And just as in a traditional organisation, this can be difficult if I don’t want to go.
Self-management doesn’t make these conversations any easier, but perhaps it makes them more ‘rounded’, and more inclusive?
Some links
Gallup’s/Marcus Buckingham’s “First Break All the Rules”