I’m continuing my series on an in-depth look at a wonderful little book that’s twenty years old this year. The title is Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson. You may want to consider dropping back and reading the previous posts about ABSURD! I think it will put each new one in great context.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with one of the better known “Turn Around” companies. A Turn Around company is not even invited to the table until things are in dire straits. The hiring company, in spite of their best efforts is facing bankruptcy or takeover in a relative short period of time. The Turn Around company is paid very well to turn things around is a relative short period of time to avoid the tragedy.
I asked the consultant to explain their process to me to see what they do differently than what the management has already tried. Here is the outline presented:
Start with the bottom of the organization, the people who are closest to the problem.
They ask the people who are closest to the problem to come up with the proposal to fix the problem and them give them the authority and accountability to fix it.
Teach the Leaders of the Organization how to say “yes”
While the people closest to the problem are preparing the proposal the consultant is teaching the leaders of the organization to nod their heads in affirmation and say yes to the proposal. They’re teaching them to grant authority and accountability to those who will accomplish the work
All of that made sense to me but then I asked what they did with middle management. His response was “We ignore them.” They felt that middle managers just got in the way of a quick turn around and they didn’t have the time or energy to deal with them, overcome their loss of control or educate them in good management practices. They simply ignored them.
Our author makes another profound observation in this section of the book when he says “Participative management depends on trusting the group. Most managers simply don’t have that confidence and can’t take the time to develop the trust.” To me, this was the key. If the leaders and managers of the company had taken the time and made the effort to develop trust in their groups, they would have avoided the need for a Turn Around company to save them.
Leaders that build trust and have trust in their organizations are very different from the top-down, management and control types of leaders. Which are you? Will you need that Turn Around company someday? I trust not.