The Six C’s of Management Put to the Test
The Six C’s of Management Put to the Test
January 29, 2010 by Taylor Studios
When a direct report doesn’t complete a task that has been assigned to them it can be frustrating. In my early years (I started my business when I was about 25) I would become very aggravated. I would think, “I told them to do this. I sign their paychecks. What’s the problem here?” Of course, being aggravated didn’t accomplish anything. There are many new tools I have acquired to remedy this, but one of the best is looking at how well the task was assigned in the first place. I use some C words to help identify what could be causing issues.
Capacity – Did the person have the available time to complete the task? What is their workload? Do they have the right tools?
Clarity – Was I clear on what I wanted? Did I describe the outcomes I expected? Did I give them a date to complete it by? Did I describe what completing the task looks like? Is there measurable results? Did I follow up to make sure they understood? Did I explain why the task is important?
Competency – Does the person have the ability to do the task? Are they lacking some skill?
Courage – Does the person have some fear around the task?
Character – Does the person have the integrity to do what is right? Do actions follow words?
Consequences – People often don’t do what you ask because they can. What will happen if they don’t complete the task? If you are a leader you will have the courage to enforce the consequences.
As a manager if you can identify the roadblocks it helps generate solutions. It will help you assist the person to achieve results. You can ask yourself if one of the above is an issue.
I give all my newly hired direct reports written goals and objectives for their position. For my account manager I set the objective to make 50 phone calls per week. I explained why I believed in the results this generated from my past experience. This person said, “No problem, I can achieve that.” Month after month it was not achieved. I wondered if it was competency. Our design-build process is difficult to describe and understand. I had him practice what he would say. He had it down. We discussed his capacity and I agreed to lower the objective to 30 phone calls a week. He once again said, “No problem, I can achieve this.” Eventually, even though I thought I was very clear, I told him the consequences, “This is a deal breaker. If you do not make the phone calls, I will let you go.” He made the calls. This is not a rosy example of using these tools, but I did go through all of the C’s in attempting to overcome this roadblock.
Do you have an example of when you used the Six C’s of Management?
Posted by: Betty