Management and Leadership Best Practice 2 – Providing the Tools

At one time or another, we have all been told that we should use the right tools for the job. And it’s easy to understand how using the proper tools and possessing the appropriate skills helps a given assignment proceed at optimal efficiency; which is also to say at the lowest cost. Obtaining the right tools and skills can be expensive and they are not always available. Subsequently, leaders sometimes push their organizations forward even though they are poorly equipped to tackle a particular initiative. Doing so, however, can have significant, negative ramifications on an organization and its people.

Inefficiency caused by performing a job without the right tools not only leads to unnecessarily higher costs but also fosters employee frustration; brought on by feelings that ‘they cannot win’ or are ‘doomed to performing harder than it needs to be labor.’ When working without the appropriate tools becomes an accepted practice, employee frustration can grow to the point that employees become demotivated, less productive, and more likely to leave the organization. Therefore, it is incumbent upon every manager to ensure their people have the appropriate tools and skills to complete assigned tasks.

Those leaders not providing employees with the appropriate tools and skills set these individuals, their organization, and themselves up for failure and in doing so are not meeting their obligations as managers. If the needed tools and skills are not available to perform a particular activity, it is the manager’s responsibility to reevaluate the need for and value of the activity. If it is determined that the activity will bring real value to the organization then an investment should be made to acquire the needed tools and skills. If, however, sufficient value creation potential does not exist, the activity should be abandoned or rescoped so that an optimal return on investment is realized when using the appropriate tools to perform the work. This is the essence of what it means to be a manager and represents the manager’s obligation to their people and organization.

There will be times, of course, when the tools and skills available will not exactly match the task assigned and the value of the task itself is insufficient to warrant a complete business case evaluation and technical rescoping. The assessment in these cases relies entirely on the manager’s judgment. Managers must ensure their decisions are not only based on cost factors but also on those qualitative factors impacting the workplace environment. Managers should keep in mind that while there are times when it is appropriate to ask an individual to perform a task with a suboptimal toolset or stretch beyond his or her skill level, doing so routinely diminishes the workplace environment and over time can inadvertently create a feeling of helplessness among employees. This ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’ circumstance can eventually lead to the same disastrous results as the failure of a single large project that is inadequately provided for. When making such assignments, it is important for the manager to acknowledge that the employee or team is being asked to perform something they are ill equipped to accomplish. If failure does occur, the manager needs to accept full responsibility and not place blame on the individual or team that was not properly supported.