In a typical hierarchical organization, information is passed up the line (escalated) to the top for decision making. At each step along the way, the information is watered down or colored in some way. When it reaches the top it is less than perfect, which leads to imperfect decisions. Most companies have smart, skilled team members at all levels, and most of the unfiltered, hands-on knowledge and information exists closer to the front-line than it does to the top of the organization. As great companies mature, they build strength throughout the team, and move decision making down the org chart to harness the brilliance of the team to efficiently make better decisions.
The first key to moving decision making to the people with hands-on knowledge is to ensure that we have a shared understanding of the goals, objectives, strategies, and culture of the organization. For way more years than I want to admit, at the companies I led we created an annual plan book to make sure everyone was on the same page. I think I first learned about the annual book from Colin Angle the brilliant founder/CEO of iRobot (apologies if it actually came from someone else — it was a hundred years ago and my memory is fuzzy).
Here is the idea: Every year we published a book that stated the mission, vision, and values of the company, and the overarching corporate and financial goals for the year. We included a page about our market and our ideal customers, and a statement of our unique value proposition. It also included a statement about our ideal team member, and quotes from employees and customes. We produced it as an actual printed and bound 5”X8” book with a graphical theme that set the tone for the year ahead. This was not a long, wordy novel. Each topic had one page with big fonts and just a few simple sentences that were easy to read and digest.
Even though it was a little old fashioned to print a book on paper in a digital world, I believe it was important to print the book and hand it out to every employee at our kickoff. The tangible card-stock pages made a statement. Once we put the plan in place and printed the book, the die was cast. No moving the goal posts or editing the corporate direction. It kept us all focused on the same goals and outcomes for the entire year.
We restated our mission, vision, and values every year so that every team member was reminded of who we were and why we were in business. When I met with new employees, I would hand out the book and walk them through each page as an introduction to the company. We wanted a positive culture that was highly contagious and easily caught - the book was a means to transmit our core essence to everyone.
Once we have everyone on the same page, the second key to moving decision making closer to the hands-on knowledge is to build trust in the capabilities and judgement of team members. We need to know that they have the skills, capabilities, experience, and judgement to make informed decisions. In other words, we need to trust them, and building trust is not easy.
I think of it like giving the car keys to a new driver. Before they go solo, they need to demonstrate that they have learned how to drive. We do that by riding along with them at the wheel. We ask them to narrate what they are seeing and doing, and what decisions they are making. We don’t grab the wheel or step on the peddles (mostly), but we need to see them in action before we trust them to take the car.
In a business setting, this translates into constant communication and asking probing questions to understand why and how team members are reaching their conclusions. A leader needs to resist the urge to tell them the answers or make the decisions for them, but we still need to see how they will drive the ‘car’ before we turn them loose. In other words, we want to retain the ability to influence the decision before it takes effect. The more we give team members the opportunity to make informed decisions and demonstrate their capabilities, the more we build trust and are willing to let decisions happen without prior approval. However, trust is a two way street. Team members also have to trust their leaders to create a safe space for them to succeed, and sometimes that includes the space to make bad decisions and learn from them. Both parties have to be committed to growing the muscles that enable solid decision making.
With a solid grounding in the shared culture and core business model of the company (the ‘book’), and team members have earned managerial trust, then they are prepared to take on more decision making responsibilities. When managers commit to the idea of moving decision making down the corporate hierarchy, they also have to commit to working with team members to build trust and confidence. All of this only happens if there is ongoing meaningful communication. If we stop talking, the whole process loses momentum. It is a process, but when it works, companies accelerate and job satisfaction skyrockets.