Does
effective process management impair dynamic management decision-making???
We all have grown up with
regaling stories of leaders whom have left footprints on society’s journey that
are celebrated for their enormity as much as their achievements. Steve Jobs,
Nelson Mandela, Jalal-Ad Din Muhammad Rumi, Mahatma Ghandi and President
Abraham Lincoln are all such individuals whom have impressed us and fit the
bill as great leaders!
Its easy to forget that even as
we stand on the shoulders of giants, those pivotal moments in our history were
always fraught with issues that surrounded great people whose charisma seemed
to be the salvation to our problems when in fact, their brilliance lay in their
message that inspired a process which delivered a successful outcome in that
moment. So in business, why is there an apparent clash between process and
personality when it comes to ‘great leaders’ making decisions?
I would say firstly that great
leaders are defined in hindsight for their character as much as their
achievements, which just leaves leaders, their decisions and the outcomes. So, “why
does effective process management inhibit great decisions by leaders?”
The short answer is “it should
not!”… However, it can and does due to many reasons, which can include:
Process design can
be overly burdensome curtailing leader effectiveness by removing or drastically
reducing decision-making ability. This can slow up organisational
responsiveness to market changes and can become an inherent threat to the
company’s long-term interests. Conversely, process design that does not control
leader authority through setting justifiable boundaries can expose the company
in many areas due to bad leader decisions that go unchecked to implementation.
Balance in process design on leader authority is key.
Personality of powerful
leaders can override process compromising its integrity. Accordingly, it looses
effectiveness when others see how one leader can be the exception to process
driven rule(s) they should all follow. This is cancerous in large organisations
where unmanaged and unaccounted for exceptions can grind process structures to
a disastrous halt creating a new suite of costly problems and risks for the
company.
Divergent priorities of
leaders to the company’s best interests set out in processes can be catalyst
for conflict between process control ‘enforcers’ and leaders; inhibiting the
leader’s ability to execute a decision he or she feels is a great one. A key to
great process management is internal business acceptance of the structures. An
impacted leader not included in any stage of a process design or upgrade will
be more likely to resist process requirements.
So thinking about some of the
common pitfalls in business, what helps in combining great leaders with great
processes producing great moments in time?
Who takes the lead? The process
manager should establish roles and responsibilities in the project initiation
(stakeholder analysis) stages of any process revision clearly linking company
objectives for the process and/or processes to function(s), to leader(s) and
other stakeholders. This should form part of the stakeholder engagement
process.
Reconciling Objectives. The project manager should solicit feedback on the process vision
presented to the stakeholders noting any variances and the reasons for same. Identified
issues should be recorded and managed to resolution via a working risk
register.
Defined Goals, One vision. This should be the
mantra of all process stakeholders. Anything else endangers process and
organisational effectiveness especially if the customer has to work harder to
effectively complete the process.
Create value, not paperwork. If a process step does not create value in its execution, then
it should not be there. If a process can work effectively without it, then it
should be removed.
Process Controls should
be sewn into process design, not placed on top of them. A process control
should never add work; it should add value by being a critical part of the
process sequence creating value in process delivery whilst delivering feedback
relevant on the risk identified in the process control.
Manage exceptions or
they will manage you. A balance between leader decision-making scope and process
control needs to be found in business practice, which critically influences
company culture in many unseen ways over time. Managing process exceptions with
a clear lean process flow helps by allowing the company to map out the impact
of approved exceptions in terms of their risks, opportunities and outcomes.
So considering the above, the
ability for leaders to be earthed in a good process matrix truly can be
positive for all concerned. Like all the greats whom have gone before, a
leader’s vision indelibly linked to inspired process structures translates
vision into accomplishments which history can judge as being great.
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