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Principle 1

To be successful, managers must understand their role. The role of the manager is to achieve the business goals set for them, and at the same time provide an environment that allows their team to be effective and satisfied with their work while developing their full potential.

ORGANIZATIONS EXIST TO coordinate the work of many people toward a common business purpose of producing the organization’s products and/or services. To deliver its purpose, each organization has a strategy, decided by the owner or the board as representatives of the owners, with business objectives, decided by the chief executive officer (CEO). The work is then organized by managers and delegated to the right people, at the right level and in the right roles.

Critical to the organization of work is every employee being clear on what work he/she must do to play his/her part. Therefore, to be successful, managers must understand their role in the organization and the role of their direct reports. They must have a clear understanding of what each role is accountable to do and what authorities they have to do it. This understanding goes beyond the technical and programming aspects of a role and extends to the requirements of managing people.

The Role and Accountabilities of Managers

The role of the manager is to achieve the business goals set for them, while providing an environment that allows their team to be effective and satisfied with their work while developing their full potential.

To do this, managers are specifically accountable for:

Their own personal effectiveness

The output and behavior of their team

Building and leading an effective team, so that each member is fully committed to, and capable of, moving in the established direction

Continuous improvement of work processes and methods

This brings together a number of concepts with which organizations (and managers) often struggle. The first is that managers are accountable for their own personal effectiveness. Everyone in an organization is an employee of the organization and reports to a manager. This is how organizations ensure strategy is executed in a planned and orderly way. In doing work, all employees, including managers, are accountable for delivering the work defined by their manager. Managers have this same requirement for both delivering their outputs and demonstrating the behaviors required of all employees. In the area of behaviors, these requirements are arguably at a higher standard.

Managers, however, have additional accountabilities beyond those of non-managers. They are accountable for the output and behavior of their team. While all employees are accountable for delivering their work, a manager is also accountable for the work outputs and behaviors of their direct reports. This means managers cannot blame individual team members for not delivering the output that the manager’s manager requires, or for poor behavior of team members, as the manager is accountable for the outputs and behavior of the team. This is a requirement for all managers, from the CEO down to a frontline manager.

Managers get work done through their direct reporting team. So managers are accountable for building and leading an effective team so that each team member is fully committed and capable of moving in the direction set. They set the purpose and direction of their team and enable team members to move along together in that direction with competence, commitment and enthusiasm, dealing with obstacles on the way. They are accountable for building the capability of their team to achieve the outputs.

Managers build and lead an effective team by delivering the performance management sequence. This sequence starts with effective role design, followed by selection for the role, then induction of the individual into the role. It continues while the individual is working in the role. Each part of the sequence has a different emphasis with the same goal: having fully loaded roles filled with people capable of doing their work. This sequence is shown in the diagram below.

Role design establishes the role in the organization. It sets out its business reason, its purpose and objectives, its accountabilities and authorities, and its working relationships with other roles. See “Principle 6: Create Effective Roles and Put Good People in Them.”

Selection identifies and appoints an individual whose capability is judged to best suit the capability requirements of the role. See “Principle 6: Create Effective Roles and Put Good People in Them.”

Induction familiarizes those selected with the work of the role, its relationships with other roles and the incumbents in those roles, the systems of work including the policies and work processes relating to the role, an overview of the typical tasks, the current priority tasks of the role and the performance requirements of the role. See “Principle 8: Coach and Develop Your Team”

Assigning and assessing work is a foundation condition for individual performance effectiveness. The manager assigns clear tasks and then monitors the individual as he/she progresses in their work, providing feedback about progress and how effectively the individual is working. See “Principle 7: Effectively Assign and Assess Work.”

Development in the role follows naturally from effective task assignment and completion, as the manager reviews the work and the individual’s effectiveness in executing the work. The manager creates opportunities to coach the individual on how to be more effective. This may involve helping individual’s see better ways to solve problems, run meetings, collaborate with others, comply with rules and policies, or better use the company’s resources. See “Principle 9: Develop Your Team.”

Reward and recognize team members, as appropriate. The intent is to create conditions where all employees are in a position to see that the organization is a meritocracy – a place where people are paid fairly based on their performance effectiveness. See “Principle 9: Recognize and Reward Good Work.”

Finally, in addition to the execution of the day-to-day operational work, managers are accountable for continuous improvement of work processes and methods. They identify ways for work to be done more effectively and efficiently. They then implement the necessary changes for this to occur.

While continuous improvement forms part of the accountabilities of all employees, only managers are authorized to change the organization’s systems of work. When changes are made, it is the manager who creates the environment to enable the change to occur. See “Principle 10: Continuously Improve and Lead Change.”

So, before we go further, let’s tackle the argument of management vs. leadership. Leadership is defined as:

The process in which one person sets the direction for one or more other people and gets them to move together in that direction with full commitment.

If we accept that a manager is accountable for the output and behavior of their team, for building and leading an effective team so that each member is fully committed to and capable of moving in the direction set, and for bringing about change through continuous improvement of work processes in their team, we must accept that they are also leaders, no matter at what level in the organization. Leadership, therefore, is not a freestanding activity; it is a specific accountability of all people managers, it is part of the role and not separate from the role. Trying to separate leadership from management confuses the benefits of good managerial practice. All managers are leaders. Their only choice is to be a good one or a bad one. On the other hand, not all leaders are managers.

Authorities of a Manager

Having established what managers are accountable for, they must then have authorities in connection with those accountabilities. Authorities are those aspects of a role that enable the person to act legitimately in order to carry out the accountabilities required of a role. Authorities include such things as authority to assign tasks, get access to information and expend resources, including money, in the organization.

In order to do their work and fulfill their accountabilities, managers have three types of authorities:

Work authorities

Role authorities (managerial)

Personally earned authority

Work Authorities

The first type of authority a manager has is the authority to do specified types of work, such as, the technical and programming work specified in the position description.

Work is authorized through the line of management. It cascades down the organization from the managing director, who authorizes the strategy and business plan, through each layer of management to the frontline manager. The frontline manager authorizes the work plan and assigns tasks to each team member. This cascading of authority and assigning tasks enables the organization to achieve its business objectives. Examples include the delivery of a service or product, the preparation of a forecast or business plan, or the authority to expend money.

Role Authorities (Managerial)

The second type of authority a manager has is the authority stemming from their role as a manager. It is the authority given to a person to make decisions in order the meet the accountabilities of the role. All employees are held accountable for their own work effort in producing something, whereas, employees in managerial roles are doubly accountable. They are not only held to account for their own personal effectiveness, they are also held to account for the output and behaviors of their direct reports.

In order to be held accountable for the work of their team, managers must have four minimum managerial authorities in relation to their direct reports. These authorities are the ability to:

Veto the appointment of a person to their team, with good reason

Assign tasks to team members

Review performance, Recognize and Reward performance differentially

Initiate removal of poor performers from the role, with good reason and due process

Without these authorities, a manager will not be seen as the true leader and will have difficulty carrying out their accountability for achieving the output. These authorities are called VAR³I authorities and they must be exercised within the boundaries of the organization’s policies, procedures and values.

So why do managers need VAR³I authorities? If a manager is held to account for the output of their direct reports, then it makes sense that the manager must be able to decide on the capability fit of a person to their team. If a person is to be transferred to their team, the manager must be able to veto the appointment to the team if he/ she feels that it will affect team performance.

In the selection process for team members, the manager does not act alone. In practice, he/she selects the best fit and then recommends the appointment to their own manager for authorization, that is the manager-once-removed (MoR) from the employee. The MoR then has a ”reviewing role” and can also veto appointment with good reason. This ensures that the long-term view of the organization is considered and that both the manager and MoR are comfortable with the selection.

If the manager is accountable for the output of the team, then he/she must be able to assign tasks to team members. In fact, the manager is the only person who can assign tasks to members of their team. If others are able to assign tasks, the manager will be unable to manage workloads effectively or ensure critical issues are addressed in balancing the work to be done. This is likely to impact others in the team. This does not mean that the manager’s team members do not work with others; they do and must for the organization to be successful. But it does mean all working relationships must be clear. This is covered in “Principle 3: Understand and Respect the Role of Others”.

Following this, it makes sense that, as the manager is the only person who can assign a task, he/she is the only person who can effectively judge or assess the performance of that task (review) and make fair judgments to recognize and reward team members based on those judgments (within the boundaries of the salary system). This is a most important authority, for it goes directly to the individual’s sense of worth and is therefore an important building block in the relationship with the manager and a key to building trust.

If a manager’s decisions are overturned, he/she may have difficulty in linking the changed decision to the work outcomes. It could lead to inappropriate behavior and employees losing confidence in the organization’s support of managerial authority. Over time this will erode feelings of mutual trust in the organization.

Consistency of monetary reward is achieved through good salary systems design and implementation.

The initiate removal authority is exercised when a team member is unable to deliver the required output for the role. The manager will have worked with the team member to identify the issues and, where appropriate, to develop and implement a performance improvement plan. If the team member’s performance does not improve and the manager assesses the issues relate to an incorrect fit to the role (not valuing the work or level of work ability mismatch, for example), then the manager is accountable to use this authority to remove the team member from the current role. Obviously the manager will have had appropriate conversations and guidance from their own manager in this process. In this context, it should not be a surprise to the manager’s manager that there has been a performance issue. If the working relationship between the manager and his/her manager is effective, they would have discussed the issue earlier and together agreed upon actions to improve the team member’s performance.

This authority is only to ”initiate removal” from the team, as the manager does not have the authority to remove the person from the organization (dismissing the person). This authority rests with the person’s manager-once-removed (MoR), as it may be that the manager is underutilizing that team member or not managing effectively.

It may also be that the person’s performance is related to long-standing and unresolved conflict. If placed in another role suited to their skills, that person may thrive. It is also about ensuring that such serious decisions about dismissal have appropriate controls and checks, and that fair treatment processes are followed.

What is important is that the MoR reviews the manager’s decision to initiate removal from the role and checks to ensure that the appropriate process is followed. If so, the MoR must support the manager’s authority and decide the removal from the role.

It is then the MoRs accountability to decide whether the person is retained within the organization, in a more suitable role, and of course ensuring the receiving manager has veto appointment authority, or whether the person must leave the organization.

The interrelationship between manager accountabilities and VAR3I authorities and the manager-once-removed is shown in the table adapted from Dr. Elliott Jaques shown on the following page.

Personally Earned Authority

To perform successfully, managers must also develop a significant level of personally earned authority. While authority to set direction is vested in the work and the authorities of a role, managers must continually earn personal authority to achieve the willing, enthusiastic collaboration of others to drive in a direction. This work is central to building and maintaining the manager-employee relationship.

The minimum requirement for a manager to be able to develop personally earned authority is to demonstrate capability in the role. Personally earned authority is earned, or grown, by demonstrating competence in the role and by building trust through the consistent application of sound managerial practices. Beyond this, it is the trust and respect that is engendered through the hundreds of actions that the manager takes every day in carrying out their work. It is developed through maintaining a clear and consistent position on what is right, even when things get tough, doing what you say you will do, and demonstrating your consistent application of the company’s policies and practices.

To demonstrate competence in a role, managers must:

Have the necessary mental processing ability for their role so that they can add value to their team and be capable of working at one level of work higher than their direct reports, so that they can see those things that their team members do not see

Have the skills, knowledge and experience for the role

Personally value the work of their role

Be free from personal characteristics that inhibit effective people management

Effectively implement their division’s business plan

Continually demonstrate the organization’s values and behaviors

Consistently apply effective managerial leadership principles in creating roles, selecting team members, assigning and assessing work, developing, recognizing and rewarding team members

Demonstrate sound judgment on people management issues

Be free to use their discretion and judgment to make decisions within their authority, using their own personal style in a way that builds trusting, productive working relationships, not only with their direct reports, but across the business

Key Concepts

The key concepts of this principle are:

The role of the manager is to achieve the business goals set for them, and at the same time, provide an environment that allows their team to be effective and satisfied with their work while developing their full potential.

Specifically a manager is accountable for:

Their own personal effectiveness

The output and behavior of their team

Building and leading an effective team, so that each member is fully committed to, and capable of, moving in the direction set

Constant improvement of processes and methods

Leadership is not a freestanding activity; it is a specific accountability of all people managers; it is part of the role and not separate from the role.

In order to do their work and fulfill their accountabilities, managers have three types of authorities:

Work authorities

Role authorities (managerial)

Personally earned authority

To get work done, role accountabilities must be matched with role authorities.

To be held accountable for the work of their team, managers must have four minimum managerial authorities in relation to their direct reports, including the ability to:

Veto the appointment of a person to their team, with good reason

Assign tasks to team members

Review performance, Recognize and Reward performance differentially

Initiate removal of poor performers from the role, with good reason and due process

Managers build and lead an effective team so that each team member is fully committed to and capable of moving in the direction set. They do this by effectively delivering the performance management sequence:

Selection for the role

Induction

Assignment of tasks

Assessment of tasks

Reward and recognition

Development in the role

Tips for Getting Started

1. Compare your people manager role, accountabilities and authorities with those outlined in this chapter. How does it compare?

2. Assess your effectiveness in delivering your role.

Do you fully accept accountability for your own personal effectiveness?

Do you fully accept accountability for the output and behavior of the team?

Do you build and lead an effective team, so that each member is fully committed to and capable of moving in the direction set?

Do you continuously improve work processes and methods?

3. Discuss your people manager role, accountabilities and authorities with your manager to confirm the requirements.

4. Ensure that your organization’s formal policies provide the accountabilities and authorities needed to fulfill your role.

5. Communicate your role, accountabilities and authorities to your team members so they understand your role requirements.

6. Update and review your Managerial Leadership Action Planning Log using the content of this chapter.

Additional information available at:www.theleadershipframework.com.au

1 Role, accountabilities and authorities of acting managers
2 Role, accountabilities and authorities of supervisors/ team leaders
3 Role, accountabilities and authorities of a manager’s manager
4 Leadership skills and behaviors

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