Week 7, 2023—Issue #242

Management Continuum, Part 2: More Skill, More Will, and More Trust

What determines an organization's approach to management?

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Remember the management continuum from last week’s article?

It looked like this:

There’s no ideal position; it’s all contextual. Consider the following:

1. More Skill

Andy Grove examines Task-Relevant Maturity (TRM) in his book High-Output Management. Issue #153 provides more information, but in brief: the higher an individual’s task-relevant skill, the less instruction and supervision they require. In other words, the more skill in your organization, the further to the right you can move on the management continuum.

2. More Will

Skill is one of two axes in the Will/Skill Matrix introduced back in Issue #75. The other axis is Will, or motivation. The relationship is similar: the higher a person’s motivation, the less instruction and management control they need. In other words, the more will/motivation/engagement you have in your organization, the further to the right you can move on the management continuum.

3. More Trust

Will and Skill don’t exist in a vacuum. Highly skilled people have options; they can move if they want to. Highly motivated people will move, unless they get the autonomy and trust they deserve. Trust is an enabler that helps organizations to attract and keep Will and Skill. In other words, the more trust you have in your organization, the further right you can move on the management continuum.

Trust, Will, and Skill enable your organization to move along the management continuum. However, the amount of environmental change it experiences will determine its willingness to do so.

That’s all for this week.
Until next time: Make it matter.

How can we build better organizations? That’s the question I’ve been trying to answer for the past 10 years. Each week, I share some of what I’ve learned in a weekly newsletter called WorkMatters. Subscription is free. Back-issues are published to Medium after three months. This article was originally published on Friday, February 10, 2023.