Community and Government Case Studies

Getting the Best Team in Place

One of the difficult problems in business is maintaining an effective team of managers to run the business. With retirements, promotions, and those who leave the organization, the top manager (whatever his/her title may be) is faced with filling vacancies with competent performers that will continue the same or better level of performance and will ensure the organization achieves its mission and goals. A utility power plant which faced a series of retirements at several levels leaving it with a very small pool of talent to fill two key positions in power production and plant maintenance. There were no clear internal qualified candidates. It had been the policy to fill the positions from within to the extent possible. Desiring to continue with internal promotions a strategy was developed to evaluate the pool of existing personnel. A strategy containing four key components was developed and implemented. The key components are: Notice was made to plant personnel that the positions were open and those interested in being considered should apply. Six candidates came forward – two from maintenance and four from power production. A rotation system was put in place where each candidate would spend three months in each of the superintendent positions under the guidance and coaching of a key assistant to the plant manager. In addition, the two persons occupied the same office in order for them to hear the daily conversations of the other person and the comments made by the coach. The coach attended all the regular staff meetings to guide them as well. The same office strategy provided for a deeper understanding of both departments, key to effective plant operations. There had been some problems of the two departments taking “pot shots” at each other in the past.   Monthly performance discussions were held with each person to focus on his strengths and areas needing improvement. The plant manager played a role in these feedback sessions and spent time with each candidate during his rotation assignment.   While there was a downside to leaving the positions officially vacant for six months, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Specifically, one great advantage was the in-depth knowledge gained by having the candidates operate “under fire” learning how they performed under the daily pressure of the job. Candidates themselves would discover if they really wanted to be in that position. In fact, one candidate withdrew from consideration after his rotation assignment. While he was a very experienced person, he opted out. For those candidates not selected, they would have a much greater appreciation of the superintendent’s problems and be in a position as supervisor to better support the boss. Before the rotations were completed, another candidate was promoted to another position so that left just four candidates for the two positions.   A one-day training program on Situational Leadership was given to all six persons plus the coach. This gave all candidates a good understanding of how best to approach their role as leader and work more effectively with subordinate supervisors. With the coach present, each was able to provide follow-up coaching using the Situational Leadership model.   Sets of competency statements were developed to assist with the coaching, selection and training process. The six candidates were all involved in the process. Competencies are developed in three areas:   Administrative competencies, which describe the general skills of the position related to daily work. Areas include planning, organizing, staffing, delegating, leadership, managing performance, administration and self-management. These skills will be present at various levels in and organization. They change somewhat with each level. Personnel competencies, which deal with the people skills of the job. These skills include interpersonal, communication, coaching, and self-management. Personnel competencies often are the same for three to four levels of management since you everyone will want to posses and practice the same skills. Technical competencies, which describe the skills unique to the discipline of the individual position. Accounting, marketing, production, engineering, maintenance etc. are some examples. In developing a set of competencies, the 80/20 rule is applied. Describe the 20 percent of the competencies/skills that are used 80 percent of the time. While you can describe more in all three categories, the 80/20 rule has proven very useful. From a development point of view, a person can focus only on a limited number of development options while doing his/her daily work. Detailed interviews are held with one or two persons to develop a draft document. The draft is then reviewed with all six candidates plus the plant manager and coach present. The agreed upon document is then used to enhance the assessment of skills for each individual and to develop action plans for development. Decision grids are also developed for the two key positions as well as the plant manager. Decision grids describe two categories of decisions unique to the position. Functional decisions focus on the decisions related to the position such as maintenance and production. Personnel decisions pertain to the people decisions that for the most part are common to a group of positions horizontal in the organization. Again, detailed interviews develop the draft to be considered in the final review. Individual decisions are listed down the left side. Across the top of the grid are listed all key positions, not a person’s name, that interface with the manager making the decision. Therefore, the persons in each of the key positions across the top are present for the review of the draft decisions. Content entries for the grid are the following: INP – Input to the manager before making the decision from those having or desiring input. INF – Informed after the decision is made as to what it was to all those needing information. C – Concur with the decision prior to it being implemented ( ) – Parentheses are used to denote selectively on each of the above. The manager need not check with the individual each time the decision is made. In most cases the manager will know when to contact the individual. A – Approval is reserved for a small number of decisions when the upper manager must give his/her approval before implementing the decision. The main focus of the review meeting is to surface all issues surrounding each specific decision prior to acceptance. Should the decision be reworded for clarity? Do all the parties agree on their respective role in the decision? The placement of the decision is important. If decisions are to be pushed down to the lowest effective level, this becomes a key issue to address. At the end, the question is asked, “which decisions have been omitted from this grid.” A key use of decision grids for newly promoted persons is to review each decision with the incumbent and get agreement on which decision he/she will discuss with the manager before implementation. In short, the manager puts a “pencil” approval mark on a decision until the individual provides sufficient evidence that he/she is going to make a good decision consistent with company practice and one that will move the organization forward. As the incumbent proves his/her ability, the “pencil” approvals are removed and the person is own their own to operate as the decision grid describes. With the work on the above components complete, let’s examine the impact on the individuals and the work team. First of all, the plant manager, the job coach and the six candidates gain a much clearer idea of what it takes to be an effective superintendent. Second, work on the decision grids involved persons outside the power plant, which will have positive impact on their departments as well. Third, the involvement of all parties produced a product that all have a stake in and are in better position to support. The big payoff is for the candidates themselves and finally the two persons who will be selected to fill the positions. Among the benefits for them are: A better understanding and appreciation of what is required of the two open positions for which they are being considered. This will assist in the interview/selection process. Each candidate, after rotation, will be in a position to accept or reject the position. Once selected, the competency statements will provide the individual with a means to identify the skills in need of development. Continued coaching of candidates, as they progress in time, on decisions made and to be made as well as skill development. Preparing individual development plans will be made easier with the grids and competencies developed. Once the superintendents are settled into their positions, the competency statements and decision grids can be edited for the direct report supervisors and their foreman. This will provide the superintendent a means to continue development and coaching for improved performance down through the two levels of supervision. Decision grids and competency statements take some time to develop, but can be seen from the above description, there is an ample amount of payoff for all parties concerned thus benefiting both the individuals and the organizational team.      «Back