Any piece of general information we could ever imagine needing is readily available with the click of a button. It’s easy and fast for us to get the answer to anything we want, just by pressing “search” on a screen. So it stands to reason when we’re in a position of managing others that we have the inclination to want any and sometimes every piece of information at a moment’s notice. Since technology is so advanced we have become accustomed to this urge, but it is a quick path to slowing down the processes of a business.
When we demand to know every detail of a person’s job that reports to us at a moment’s notice, we slow down the flow of work. In manufacturing a bottleneck is the the slowest performing area in a series of operations that affects throughput. Throughput is how many widgets can be completed in a given time period from start to finish. In turn, a “bottleneck” sets the pace for a manufacturing process since it is the slowest process. The fastest that a manufacturing process can move is the slowest operation. If we are the informational bottlenecks in our organization, we are inhibiting the daily throughput of the company.
For example, if a principal wants to know each and every lesson plan of every teacher prior to instructing their kids, the teachers cannot begin to prepare until they have their lesson plans approved. And if they have to wait in line to be approved by the principal one by one, the principal is holding up throughput and the teachers aren’t able to do their jobs effectively, lacking the proper time to prepare.
This type of behavior is often seen in micro-managers. Often times they don’t necessarily do anything with the information, they just want to feel important and exercise their power. Sometimes the check-ups are needed, but the very act still slows down productivity. Fortunately there are ways to combat this if we’re the ones doing the micro-managing AND if we’re the ones being micro-managed.
First off, pinpoint the areas that are the most often identified as the most coveted information (in the teacher analogy it would be the lesson plans) and make this information readily available on some form of multi-user platform such as Google Drive or Evernote. These platforms, and a number of others like them, allow multiple users to view the same document(s) simultaneously and leave notes to each other without having to email or transfer them back and forth. Begin working on one of these types of platforms and “share” the work with the people that are always asking for the information. When this is done, the person in need of the information (whether it’s us or someone managing us) can easily and immediately access the work to “check up on things” without being a bottleneck to the process. The manager gets the information they’re seeking and the workers can work with fewer interruptions, everyone gets what they want.
Utilizing the technology available to us is key in today’s work world. We live in a fast-paced society and speed the speed of our organizations can be a competitive advantage. Micro-managing can and will always happen, but this is one way to slow it down and keep our throughput at a premium.
How do you prevent bottlenecks in your organization?
