Inspecting your managers, a crucial excercise in a flat (or pyramidal) organization.

A flat organization, while not in the majority, is the preferable format, allowing managers to assume decision making responsibility. This works more effectively then the more common small business form of pyramidal organization where all decisions emanate from the top, the owner. ( see my other blog entry’s on flat organizations).

The owners job should be to PLAN, REVIEW AND TRAIN.

Therefore the challenge in managing a flat organization is  both the owners and the managers learning how to communicate and transfer pertinent information effectively and honestly without fear of risk, ego involvement and interfering emotional junk.

First, the manager must understand that the owner requires information in order to effectively manage the growth and direction of the company as well as to generally understand whats happening .

Second, the owner must foster an environment that supports the managers in taking reasonable calculated risk when making decisions and not being penalized for failure or mistakes, but being encouraged to try again. This opens up the full throttle for self direction, self responsibility and growth, while removing daily operational responsibility from the owner.

Therefore given these two basic requirements, the requirement for information and the support of reasonable risk. The manager must accept being inspected and thus transfer all pertinent information and the owner must learn how to inspect his managers to gain his insight, but not interrogate.

Inspection, the close examination of what is working and what is not working.

This is not intended to be a judgmental evaluation of the managers performance, but is a real time report extracting vital information so management and ownership decisions can be more effectively made regarding what exactly is occurring and what can be done to further the business goals and objectives..

The issues are the owners tends to make it personal and emotional and the managers feels as though they are being interrogated as opposed to inspected.

Unless done effectively, failure will result in a return to pyramidal organization with all decisions being made by the owner, and the possible loss of your managers, thus the difficult yet crucial understanding between the owners and the managers that inspection is all about the transfer of information and opinions from managers to owners and must be conducted without emotional baggage and the interference of personal judgmental attitudes.

The managers have become the owners eyes and ears and are closer to the line of action, and the owner must refrain from making judgments regarding the managers performance understanding that we have entrusted the managers to do the job and therefore they should enjoy our full faith and support while he is controlling the position.

There must be a frank discussion about this reporting process so both the owner and the managers learn and understand the requirement for inspection and the difference between inspection and interrogation. The result will be a quality flat organizational experience enhancing the likely success of the business and the people running it.

If your organization is pyramidal, which works well for most owners, while inspection of your managers is not as mandatory because the owners involvement is closer to the scene of action, the ability to regularly inspect is always extremely helpful and should be trained into your managers.

To best work, inspection cannot be an attack on ones character, capability or even performance, but is a close micro evaluation of performance parameters. This is an important and necessary system for all business organizations, flat or pyramidal.

Business communications, in this case inspecting your managers are not social events, or personal discussions and thus are designed to achieve specific business goals which communication process must be trained and adhered to, to achieve the full potential for success that we all envision.

If owners and managers can learn how to perform this function, both will be happier and far more successful as will the underlying business entity also reach its greatest potential.

Its worth doing. Call me to discuss further. 413-549-2966