david lyle-carter wrote:
> Can anyone offer any advise?
>
> We are experiencing in one of my client organizations a case of managers
> not willing to manage. All to often a subordinate will request something
> and the respective manager will pass on the responsibility to his
> superior, who will pass it on it turn, until the whole job lot of problems
> ends up on the top management's plate.
>
> It seems that many managers are too afraid to take on the responsibility
> to deal with the matter in hand.
David, about 20+ years ago, there was an delightful little management fad
running around called "Monkey Management." As a supervisor, I quickly
learned to master the art of managing monkeys. One of the more skillful
methods involved passing the monkey to one's bosses (this level of play
always received applause from the more proficient monkey managers). Of
course, a skillful boss simply refused to accept the monkey. The point is
that there is a process of collusion (or coercion) that exists in a
relationship where one person accepts tasks because the other person
doesn't want to do what they're supposed to do.
Interestingly, responsibility cannot be passed in isolation. It must
always be accepted. When the top managers don't fix responsibility and
authority at the appropriate levels (which is what appears to be happening
here), then they'll reap what they've sown. It's very tricky to undo this
arrangement, as no one in the organization will believe it when the top
managers say that they've "powered down" the responsibility and authority.
I'd say some soul-searching at top management level needs to happen first;
if they want managers to manage, then you'll want to recommend some tools
to fix the responsibility and authority so that it doesn't begin the
upward movement to top management again. Most importantly, the top
management need to stay out of their mid-manager's business during this
phase. It's very much like when that delightful child in the family plays
mom and dad against each other, manipulating them for the maximum leverage
in obtaining their wants. A lesson learned in the family becomes quite
effective in an organization that has too many bosses who can make the
same kinds of decisions.
hope this helps!
Doc
-- Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Visit me at <http://www.thresholds.com/> Or e-mail me at <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com> Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2361 Phone:01 360 786 0925 Olympia, WA 98507 USA Fax: 01 360 709 4361Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>