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Management by Exception

Those of us who manage people on a day-to-day basis can never really be certain that our way is the best way. Much like bringing up our children, we try to educate our people, trust them, and give them as much authority as they can handle. We train our team to work together, we replace the weak links when necessary, and we hope that none of the errors in judgment that they make from time to time will sink our ship of business. Being a manager is like being a parent. There is no way to learn to lead except by doing it with confidence and faith that you can get it right most of the time.

Most of us are familiar with these management theory axioms: “You can delegate authority, but you can't delegate responsibility,” “Delegation is the key to success,” “The bottleneck in your business is usually the boss,” etc. One of the most useful keys to understanding business is the previously mentioned Peter Principle, formulated by Laurence J. Peter, which states: “In business, people tend to be promoted until they reach their level of incompetence.”

I am fond of the theory of “Management by Exception.” It suggests that you can be most secure as a manager if you slowly give your subordinates more authority while maintaining concentrated supervision over their actions. Convince your people that you will never blame them the first time they make a mistake with a particular task that you have delegated, and that you will cover them for that mistake at all costs. In return, request and expect them to come to you with any questions, no matter how simple, about the task to be performed. In the majority of cases, you will be successful.

If you demonstrate to them by real-world example that the best way to learn how to accomplish a new task is never to make a decision about which they are not confident, you will minimize the Peter Principle dilemma. They will venture out and make small mistakes but will hedge the big decisions by feeling comfortable about discussing the available alternatives with you. This approach can make your supervisory role much simpler.

This approach allows you to delegate more authority, educate your people more effectively, and create a strong incentive for them to discuss any decision about which they may feel insecure, without the fear of reprisal or feeling stupid. It also provides you with an open channel of communication, as well as increased worker confidence, because you are not looking over their shoulders and stifling their creativity. Giving them the power to make decisions without being required to check with you promotes growth and confidence for the individual and fosters an underlying feeling of loyalty to the company. Under these conditions, you are not a dictator—but perhaps a benevolent despot.

On the other side of the coin, you might find yourself guilty of blaming subordinates for making mistakes when you delegated tasks without giving them enough information. Did you question them about whether they felt adequately trained, and therefore confident that they could successfully complete the task? How many times have you said: “He really let me down. I thought he could do it and he failed. I guess he is just not the responsible person I thought he was. It is his fault.”

Wrong. It is your fault. One can delegate the authority, but not the responsibility. That is why this person works for you, and not the reverse. If you cannot properly guide your subordinates to a majority of good decisions that allow you to delegate more and more authority to them, you may be failing as a manager. They have trusted you just as much as you have trusted them, and they have given you the privilege of guiding them. They trust that you know their inadequacies and will not let them get into serious trouble. One of the most important reasons they agree to work for you is that they believe you will protect them while teaching them how to manage more important projects—so that someday they might have your job.

If we do not understand this principle, we as managers are doing our team a great disservice. We are not passing on the knowledge, methodology, and nuances that lead to success in business problem solving to those who trust us to guide their careers. If you want their loyalty and dedication to you and your company, you must provide this to them or you will lose them to a more understanding and knowledgeable boss. Good people are hard to find. Dedicated people are almost impossible to find and keep. If you are having problems finding and/or keeping good and dedicated people, maybe the problem is you.

How do you solve this problem if it applies to you and your company situation? I suggest one-on-one training for those members of your team who have demonstrated their capacity to learn how to take control of a situation. Hopefully, they can learn how to correctly analyze the circumstances and produce the exemplary solution that will maintain the company's image as a leader. With your help, these “winners” will move the company forward and maintain the cutting edge of performance that clients have come to expect as a matter of course from your company.

But don't make the mistake of giving them too much too soon. If you do, you will be allowing the potential for failure. Let them prove to you how fast they can grow. It is one of your jobs to keep their newly found self-confidence in check. If you move them too quickly, they will become overly self-confident too soon and increase their propensity for failure from lack of practical knowledge in real-world situations.

Fast-track individuals will give almost anything to be allowed free rein to learn at their own speed, which you must objectively help determine. You might provide some hands-on hardware and software training for those people who have demonstrated on-the-job excellence. Arrange an open-door availability of experts to discuss the “how to” solutions of completing day-to-day tasks in the most time-efficient manner to benefit the client most effectively. Try to create an environment for Management by Exception.

A very large part of this management method is promoting your team's creativity. Creative thinking and decision making consists of their expertise with the subject at hand and their ability to think flexibly. They should be willing to explore all alternatives without locking onto their initial beliefs. You can provide the motivation to them through proper training and by instilling self-confidence by showing that you believe they will be successful and should accept this creative project challenge.

If you are not accurate in matching your people with the assignments that are right for them, a creative challenge may very quickly change into a situation in which they are overwhelmed by their work. On the other hand, creativity may thrive when they realize that you will let them decide how to achieve the goals of a project. And sometimes you must be quiet—sit back and don't tell them what goals to achieve.

An important aspect of this working philosophy is providing constant and consistent evaluation of the performance of your people in an objective manner, from which they may truly learn and benefit. Each task that they complete, after proper direction, should be evaluated and critiqued with them privately for their benefit. Each problem and the effectiveness of their solution for any delegated project should be discussed at the time of completion, prior to implementation. After examining the situation together, if you both agree that the solution is the best one for the situation, you then give them the reward of authority for the implementation of the solution, and broadcast all of their earned credit to their peers for a job well done. In my opinion, this is the best way to find and keep the “young tigers” who will ensure that your business remains the leader in your audio marketplace niche.

Management by Exception requires close monitoring by you and your managers, but it can be an extremely powerful force in creating the optimum growth environment for your people and your business.