DOES YOUR EXECUTIVE TEAM KNOW HOW TO DELIVER WHAT YOU NEED?
Have you heard of Completed Staff Work?
This is a concept I learned when I was a productivity consultant. It’s an important concept, particularly now, because I hear from so many leaders that they are spending time on their team’s work rather than their own. Although, some leaders are not recognising they are doing part of their team’s work, and this is what is limiting their opportunity to focus on their own leadership portfolio.
Senior leaders receive a piece of work from their team members, then spend time reviewing it, time correcting it, time sending it back with explanations and how it needs to be improved. Next they receive a revised version of the work from the team member. Which they then review, make more suggestions for improvement, and send back again for more updates. Then they go through the whole process again, in some cases, for a third time.
Executive leaders are already overwhelmed with work. They are very busy. They have extensive portfolios, from the CEO down. This review, revise, check again, revise again, kind of process is not very productive, despite how well intentioned it may be.
In a world where there is so much going on, as a senior leader you need to focus on your own portfolio. You simply do not have the capacity and the time to do your team’s work for them.
Today I am sharing the concept of Completed Staff Work with you, because I believe there is some gold in this that may very well help you get out of this endless cycle, of review, revise, repeat. Creating an opportunity for you to help your team members to elevate their capability and their accountability for their own portfolio of work, which will then in turn release you to focus more clearly on your own portfolio of work.
How does completed staff work, work?
This is a concept that originated in the military and has been around for a long time. It is based on developing clear accountability, and capability, and premised on the idea that each person in an organisation should own their space and deliver to their leader what is expected of them. And secondly, the leader is able to trust in the completed product/task that is delivered to them.
The story goes that Henry Kissinger, who was at the time US Secretary of State, had a staff member who delivered a ‘finished’ piece of work, a report, to his in-tray. Back in the days of paper based offices. Now Mr Kissinger, did not look at this paperwork. He waited until the individual came back the next day to follow up and he asked his staff member, “Is this the best you can do?”
The staff member took the report back and said, “I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”
The staff member took it away, did some more work on it, finished off some more of the research and completed a better version of the report, and then dropped it in Mr. Kissinger’s in-tray. The next day when they were having a conversation, the individual asked about the report and Mr. Eisenhower said, “Is this the best you can do? If it is, I’m just going to pass it on to the boss”. His boss was the President of the United States.
Again, the staff member took the report back and further revised it. Then dropped it back in the in-tray. The next day, Mr. Kissinger asked them, “Is this the best you can do?” The staff member replied “Yes.” Mr. Kissinger said, “Great. Now I’ll read it.”
Be clear. Your job, whether Chairman, CEO, or Executive is not to do their job for them. It is not to go through a piece of writing, a report, a project or a recommendation and review everything to make sure it is complete. That is their job. Your job is not to individually validate every piece of the thinking. It is not to confirm every single fact has been entered, all the aspects have been considered. This is their job.
Your job is to ensure they know how to do their job.
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People and organizations don’t grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses.
~ Steven Covey
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By the time it gets to you, completed work should be usable. It should be thorough and completed to the standard you expect. It should be Completed Staff Work. Ideally, it should be completed to the level that you could comfortably pass it on to your boss, whoever that might be. The board, the chairman, the CEO.
The work that comes to you should be completed to a level that means you can trust in its quality, in its veracity, and you could pass it on to your boss knowing it was good quality, thorough, well completed work.
If this is not the case now, and you do have to review things in detail and to typically send them back to the originator, then you have got work to do with your people. Their job is to give you completed staff work, and your job is to get them to the level where you can trust that what you receive from them is completed staff work. This is your opportunity to elevate you all.
How do you do this?
1. EXPECTATIONS
The first thing is to have the expectations conversation. Let your people know exactly what you expect from them. Not half-baked work or half-cooked tasks. Their work needs to be completed to the standard, whatever that standard is in your team and organisation. Your people need to have considered all the aspects that need to be considered. They need to have sufficient research or data behind them. The work needs to be presented to the level of articulation and presentation that is required.
It is your job to be very clear with your people about what these expectations are, so they understand what you need from them.
When they do not know what they are aiming at, the chances are that they may miss at least some of the time. This creates a real risk of frustration or disappointment, for you and for them.
Do not assume your people know what you expect from them. Get really clear on the expectations and communicate them regularly. Review expectations with your people on an ongoing basis so if the standard moves for what completed staff work is, they know what the new standard is.
2. CAPABILITY
Secondly, your people need to have the capability to reach the expected level. Some people, once you clearly articulate to them what they are aiming at, will rise to this, and you can trust them to deliver what you need.
However, if there is a gap between the standard for completed staff work, the expectation that you have, and where your people are currently operating, then you need to help them close this gap.
You can start by mentoring them. Give them guidance. Help them to understand what else needs to be done, make suggestions, share other examples of what you are looking for, work alongside them if you need to in order for them to understand how the process works, what kind of questions you need them to be asking, what they need to consider, and so on.
Give them the opportunity to learn what is required through mentoring them.
Once you have provided them the benefit of your wisdom and experience, the next step is to coach them.
Ask key questions to help them take accountability, using their increased knowledge of what they need to do and how to do it.
You might ask things like:
- How are they going to approach this work?
- What else do they need?
- How will they ensure they meet the deadline?
- What else do they need to consider?
- Who else can help?
- What are the potential roadblocks?
Your job is to work with them to close the gap, not to do the work for them.
The objective is for you to receive completed staff work, that you can trust in, so your time spent reviewing their work is significantly reduced. Meaning you can spend more time on your own strategic portfolio.
Part of this leadership mentoring and then coaching process is, of course, to encourage, to recognise progress, to acknowledge effort and celebrate great work when it is produced. Your objective at the end of the day, is you want a team that is high functioning, that is meeting the requirements, that is growing their capability and accountability. And that you can trust in them to deliver at the level that is required, consistently.
My dad used to say to me early in my career, “As a leader, you’re only as good as the people working for you, and it’s your job as a leader to help them be great.”
I hope this creates an opportunity for you. The concept of Completed Staff Work: Your team giving their best thinking, their best recommendations and ultimately their best work. Your role in helping your people to deliver to this level, by being clear about what the level is, and then helping them to bridge the gap so they can operate at this level. In turn, releasing you to elevate as well.
I’d love to know your thoughts.
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