Notice that the title of this post doesn’t say “inaction….”  Too often, that is exactly the problem most of us face [read: me] when using RR&E thinking.

Below is an example from my experiences with this tool, but first let me explain what “RR&E Thinking” means to me (and check out the bottom of the post for a nerdy MBM discussion of why we fundamentally care about this stuff).

I don’t think it’s revolutionary to claim that if each employee understands her roles (the different “hats” she wears at an organization), what she’s responsible for, and what expected results she is to achieve, then we’d have a lot better chance of success.  RR&E thinking suggests that we (the employee and the supervisor together) clarify these three things for each employee, and then we go back to them frequently enough to make sure things are getting done and that those are still the ‘right’ things to be focused on.  These are usually written down and look something like “here are my 2-4 roles; for role 1, I am responsible for these handful of things, and for each of these I have a few responsibilities.  For role 2…” etc.

A Few Examples

As a supervisor, I’ve had successes and failures using RR&Es with my direct reports.  I’ve found that two things usually trip me up (or, if done well, help a lot).  First, spending time to get the expectations clear is very helpful.  For example, in my role I do some mentoring.  At first, my expectations were to “be a good mentor” (not that helpful…).  After a few quick meetings where I brought in more specific expectations and got feedback, we landed on a “constellation” of measures for this role, including “positive feedback from mentees, meet with mentees enough to be aware of and help them deal with issues, and most of the mentees improve their performance in specific areas (depending on the person).”  Not perfect, but it helps guide my behavior month to month.   A good trick to use to clarify what your boss is looking for is to ask, “When you think of this responsibility, what does ‘good’ look like to you?  What else?  What else?  Anything else?  Of these, how would you prioritize their importance?”  Seriously: try it.

The second thing that trips me up is inaction.  Write-it-and-forget-it behavior limits the power of this tool significantly.  True, there is a lot of value generated by simply sitting down once with your direct reports to clarify expectations.  A lot.  But, to constantly adjust to an ever-changing world and to provide clarity to your employees, it’s important to check in frequently to make sure the RR&Es still make sense and that we’re advancing the ball down the field.  For example, when I manage folks, I use their RR&Es in our weekly (or monthly) meetings.  I can quickly skim the document to remind myself “OK, these are the 3-5 big things Joe should be focused on–what progress are we making on these fronts?”

Back to Basics

In MBM, we try to find managerial best practices by looking at how prosperous societies achieve prosperity.  Assuming that the accountability that comes along with ownership of property in society leads to people making good use of resources, and assuming that entrepreneurs who own property are constantly re-evaluating where their best opportunities are, we want to find ways for individuals in firms to feel a similar sense of “ownership,” accountability, responsibility and excitement over the projects they have, while making sure we’re constantly asking the question “is each person–today–in the role that is their comparative advantage?” 

We are—at the risk of oversimplification–trying to replicate the benefits of ownership by giving a sense of responsibility and accountability to individual employees, and then asking everyone to constantly search for where they can best help the organization succeed.

Comparative Advantage, Decision Rights, RR&E, Theory to Practice