Old-school managers have a clear statement that they must control everything. Their subordinates can’t do it without them! They simply can’t make a decision without guidance.
Why is it so? Don’t you hire professionals in your field, but just executors of instructions? Maybe subordinates could do something on their own, but that’s just not the way it’s done here?
The manager receives no bonuses from such an approach. The collective quickly develops a “learned helplessness”. In the working relationship, this means that the person could do the job himself, but he clarifies every detail to the supervisor. Such work moves slowly because of the constant approvals, and the manager is drowning in micromanagement or even procrastinating gambling with a 22Bet bonus instead of engaging in development strategy and looking at the big picture of the project.
For example, when assembling a kitchen set project, you have to check every hinge, every fastener. In such situations, the manager actually does the work for the employee.
Thus, strict control only limits the team because all the processes are closed to one person. Progress will depend directly on his performance. No matter how effectively the team works, the result will only depend on the manager. And then it is either to reduce productivity, or the manager will have to overwork.
Agile Approach
People have been facing these problems for a long time, and at the end of the last century realized that a fundamentally different approach to project work was needed. And in short, it was developed and called Agile. It has its pros and cons, which we discussed in previous materials.
The most important thing is that this approach helps organize a team where everyone is responsible for his tasks. Ideally everyone has his area of responsibility and a manager just distributes the load between the participants. The team becomes self-organized, and the employees become autonomous. The management only creates the conditions for work and makes important decisions. For example, the product promotion strategy.
People Do Their Jobs
When professionals in their business can work on what they know without unnecessary edits and control, they feel not only free but also responsible. Therefore, they will try to find the best way to solve problems. After all, if a project fails because someone did a bad job, everyone will know who was responsible for that area.
An experienced designer or programmer knows how to do better. They don’t need to have their tasks interfered with “from above.” After all, they were hired precisely because they know how to do their job.
Constant Pace of Work
A team that works on Agile will learn to assess their strengths and set realistic deadlines for tasks. With each passing day, employees understand better how to optimize work processes and try to apply their ideas. It won’t happen in an instant, but over time, team members will “get the knocks” and learn to avoid them on their own.
Each employee works at his own comfortable pace. He or she has a scope of tasks and decides for himself or herself how best to handle them and meet deadlines.
Simplification of Workflow
Working in Agile also helps to simplify decisions and workflows. Avoid endless approvals and look for the most efficient ways of solving tasks. An Agile team isn’t afraid to give up what doesn’t work.
For example, if morning rallies are ineffective for you because you still haven’t got into a working rhythm, you can give them up. Or adapt the format and move it closer to noon.
