As managers in organizations we all want to do well – we want our teams to do well – and we want our organization to do well. What this means for you exactly depends on your position in the organization. The CEO (your top manager) has a perspective that encompasses the whole organization and the community in which it operates. A front line manager might be more focused on team members, team productivity and process improvement.
So what sets top performing organizations aside from the others? If we all want to do well, why aren’t all organizations performing at their best?
The 3 Primary Factors That Impact Organizational Effectiveness
How do you create and sustain an accountable organization? Is it a unique product? Stellar customer service? Something else? The truth is, it could be any or all of these things, but true organizational effectiveness comes from ensuring that the appropriate organizational systems are in place to support managers in their work. The most fundamental of these systems is an accountability and authority framework that creates the ability for organizations to be clear about who is accountable for doing what, and the authority that they have to do it.
Without a commonly understood accountability and authority framework this clarity is extremely difficult to establish. So what are the three primary factors that impact the effectiveness of an organization with respect to this framework?
- The Board of Directors. The role of the Board is very important because all of the accountability and authority in an organization begins there. While the Board cannot directly task anyone in the organization aside from the CEO, it must ensure that the CEO has an appropriate accountability and authority framework in place to be successful in implementing the organization’s strategy.
- The CEO. The CEO is at the top of the management accountability and authority framework within the organization. The CEO has the single most significant impact on the effectiveness of the organization simply by being the person that is accountable for translating the organization’s strategy into deliverables.
- Managers are required to use the resources (people, money, equipment, information) that have been delegated to them to produce results. Managers impact organizational performance by how well they “manage” their resources. They must be clear about delegation of budgets, equipment, and work that needs to be done.
Successful Managers Vs. Effective Managers
How do you ensure your successful managers are also your effective managers? For most managers, the definition of success is the ability to be promoted. With that in mind, a successful manager is one that rises through the organization quickly. On the other hand, an effective manager is one who is able to manage his own work and that of his team in the best way possible, thereby helping to attain the overall strategy of the organization. There is a significant difference and in some ways, conflicting goals between the two. While it makes sense that effective managers are more likely to be successful, it may not always be the case, as success does not presume effectiveness.
To truly understand the relationship between effectiveness and success, managers need to first understand how to be effective. What are the drivers that either constrain or promote effectiveness? Managers often feel accountable for various things in the workplace, yet when we measure clarity of accountability, only 65% feel that they receive clear instruction about what they are being held accountable for.
When Not to Promote From Within: Why Top Performers Don’t Always Make the Best Managers
How do you avoid promoting someone into a manager position where they will fail? When a vacancy in management opens up, there is a tendency in many organizations to promote the best performer on the team. Although this is common, automatically promoting top performers is often a mistake. When you promote a top performer, it is possible to move them out of a job that they are clearly ideally suited for, and rob the team of its star player. Even worse, that individual may make a terrible manager.
Of course, some top performers may make excellent managers. The important distinction to make is that being a top performer has nothing to do with being an effective manager. The two require entirely different skill sets.
The Common Thread
There is a common thread throughout these three concepts. And it has to do with accountability. By understanding the relationships of these concepts and how to apply accountability in your organization, you can manage more effectively and build more effective teams, and contribute to your organization being high performing.
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