When you think of your favorite job, what were the things that made you like it? For me, the things I liked about my favorite job were that the job was interesting, my boss gave me the freedom I needed to get the job done, and all of the politics of the office were shielded from me. Basically, I was working in what is now called a Results Oriented Work Environment.
Lets go back to our doggy park. In the doggy park, my team-mates all have doggie traits; because, I successfully applied doggy-park recruitment techniques. That means, they are all high performers who enjoy what they're doing, and don't need to be supervised closely to reach thier goals.
When I toss my ball to play fetch, all the doggies know the goal: to be the first doggie to get the ball. Their goals are clearly defined and are attainable. As the guy in charge of the doggie park, it doesn't matter to me how they reach thier goal, as long as they get the goal. I dont' have any specific rules around what they need to do to get the ball, long as they do it. And really, the only thing that matters is that they try thier best, not all the doggies can get the ball all the time despite thier effort.
If, after I throw the ball, I see that one of my doggies is struggling, I will do my best to help figure out what's wrong and to help them overcome it.
That, in a nutshell is how ROWE works. In ROWE, the job of the leader is to clearly articulate their teammate's goals, remove any obstacles that could prevent them from attaining thier goals, and finally remove any unnecessary rules.
ROWE was codified by the HR department at Best Buy. There, they looked at the employee manual and realized that many of the rules we inconsequential. They didn't add anything to the employees' ability meet thier goals, and forced an antiquated management structure in places where it didn't belong. For example, if an employee's primary goal is to create a report of a branch's activity every week, is it really necessary for them to be in the office from 9 am to 5 pm 5 days a week? Not really. That is a remnant of an antiquated management structure.
For X-theory managers, the concept of ROWE flies directly in the face of everything they believe in. They believe that people will do the bare minimum to get thier paycheck. Under that theory, if you give your teammates a high degree of freedom, they will take advantage of it in a bad way. If that's how you feel as a manager, you're never going to be able to make a doggie park.
For Y-theory managers, the concept of ROWE fits perfectly into thier world view. They believe that folks will work hard if they enjoy what they're doing. Under that world-view, giving teammates the freedom to do a job as best as they can will result in the attainment of thier goals very quickly. Basically, let them know what they are expected to do, and then stand back and watch them succeed.
The reality is your teammates will present a mixed bag. Not every employee will do the right thing. So, managing your doggie park won't always be easy. In organizations that have moved to ROWE, there is attrition. The reason for this is that some folks learn how to be X-theory employees and try to push the boundries of thier new freedom. The phrase they say under X-theory managers is "if that's how they expect me to be, that's how I'll be". Then, when a Y theory manager comes along, the employee is unable to be part of the dog-pack. The reality is, sometimes folks need X-Theory management, but not all of them.
So, what should you do? First things first. If you are going to implement ROWE, start small. Get a group of folks on an existing team who are already high performing (because they have doggie traits), and implement ROWE for them. Allow the rest of your folks to see that you are in fact going to follow through with your promise of providing the freedom that comes with ROWE. But if you have folks who, even after you show you are serious, still are unable work properly in a ROWE ennvironment, then you'll need to use some of your X-Theory tools.
In my next post, I will discuss how to create your team both by retaining your existing teammates as they move from x-theory management styles to your doggie park, and also discussing how you can interview folks to see if they they will work well in your doggie park.
Lets go back to our doggy park. In the doggy park, my team-mates all have doggie traits; because, I successfully applied doggy-park recruitment techniques. That means, they are all high performers who enjoy what they're doing, and don't need to be supervised closely to reach thier goals.
When I toss my ball to play fetch, all the doggies know the goal: to be the first doggie to get the ball. Their goals are clearly defined and are attainable. As the guy in charge of the doggie park, it doesn't matter to me how they reach thier goal, as long as they get the goal. I dont' have any specific rules around what they need to do to get the ball, long as they do it. And really, the only thing that matters is that they try thier best, not all the doggies can get the ball all the time despite thier effort.
If, after I throw the ball, I see that one of my doggies is struggling, I will do my best to help figure out what's wrong and to help them overcome it.
That, in a nutshell is how ROWE works. In ROWE, the job of the leader is to clearly articulate their teammate's goals, remove any obstacles that could prevent them from attaining thier goals, and finally remove any unnecessary rules.
ROWE was codified by the HR department at Best Buy. There, they looked at the employee manual and realized that many of the rules we inconsequential. They didn't add anything to the employees' ability meet thier goals, and forced an antiquated management structure in places where it didn't belong. For example, if an employee's primary goal is to create a report of a branch's activity every week, is it really necessary for them to be in the office from 9 am to 5 pm 5 days a week? Not really. That is a remnant of an antiquated management structure.
For X-theory managers, the concept of ROWE flies directly in the face of everything they believe in. They believe that people will do the bare minimum to get thier paycheck. Under that theory, if you give your teammates a high degree of freedom, they will take advantage of it in a bad way. If that's how you feel as a manager, you're never going to be able to make a doggie park.
For Y-theory managers, the concept of ROWE fits perfectly into thier world view. They believe that folks will work hard if they enjoy what they're doing. Under that world-view, giving teammates the freedom to do a job as best as they can will result in the attainment of thier goals very quickly. Basically, let them know what they are expected to do, and then stand back and watch them succeed.
The reality is your teammates will present a mixed bag. Not every employee will do the right thing. So, managing your doggie park won't always be easy. In organizations that have moved to ROWE, there is attrition. The reason for this is that some folks learn how to be X-theory employees and try to push the boundries of thier new freedom. The phrase they say under X-theory managers is "if that's how they expect me to be, that's how I'll be". Then, when a Y theory manager comes along, the employee is unable to be part of the dog-pack. The reality is, sometimes folks need X-Theory management, but not all of them.
So, what should you do? First things first. If you are going to implement ROWE, start small. Get a group of folks on an existing team who are already high performing (because they have doggie traits), and implement ROWE for them. Allow the rest of your folks to see that you are in fact going to follow through with your promise of providing the freedom that comes with ROWE. But if you have folks who, even after you show you are serious, still are unable work properly in a ROWE ennvironment, then you'll need to use some of your X-Theory tools.
In my next post, I will discuss how to create your team both by retaining your existing teammates as they move from x-theory management styles to your doggie park, and also discussing how you can interview folks to see if they they will work well in your doggie park.
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