Published: September 9, 2009
from "Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask", by Ram Charan.
Author’s Choice: What Is — and Isn’t — Micromanaging?
Blythe McGarvie, author of Shaking the Globe: Courageous Decision-Making in a Changing World, introduces a lesson in raising the level of corporate discourse from Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask, by Ram Charan.
Excerpts:
The difference between micromanaging and appropriate questioning is not always a bright line. What really defines micromanaging is not whether a director is digging into details. Asking questions of an operating nature is not in itself micromanaging, as long as the questions lead to insights about issues like strategy, performance, major investment decisions, key personnel, the choice of goals, or risk assessment. >
When a director picks up on a small point and challenges it for the sake of showing who is right or what could have been done differently, or when a director attempts to make a decision about operations, or individual people, it’s fair to say that person is micromanaging. This typically happens in the area of the director’s expertise and is driven by a personal need to demonstrate superior subject knowledge. >
How a line of questioning is worded can also indicate whether a director is micromanaging. The difference lies in how the CEO could respond. Does the inquiry put the CEO in a box, as opposed to shedding light on a subject and opening the door for a richer discussion? >
A micromanaging director might initiate the discussion of pricing by lecturing on her personal experience in dealing with a price increase, implying that the CEO lacks the courage to address the issue and that he should do exactly as the director has done. The implication is that management can do it if it has the will. >
A different approach to the topic is to say, “I’m curious about several aspects of inflation and our pricing strategy. What is our process of adjusting prices as inflationary conditions change? How are decisions initiated? Who gets involved and with what tools? What training is being given to people who are looking at pricing and to the sales force that brings it all home? Are the regional sales managers buying into it?” This lets management explain what the company is doing and what alternatives it has considered, an explanation that might include things the director didn’t think of, like issuing a press release. >
Asking questions at the right altitude, with the right tone, and about the right things refocuses management’s attention while respecting the CEO’s decision-making authority.>
Read full post: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/ac00004?gko=22cfc
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http://dreamlearndobecome.blogspot.com This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.
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