People Management Challenges: The way the organization treats its staff.

• Hire the best possible people.
  • Select people based on: qualifications that meet (or exceed) the currently open position; their fit with the group's and the organization's desired culture; and their potential for increasing contribution to the corporation throughout the remainder of their careers (ambition, learning and growth potential; distinct from stability); sufficient stability (retainability) to justify the necessary investment (hiring cost, learning curve); preferring internal candidates when their qualifications are close to equal and development can soon close the gap.

  • Select people with diverse perspectives, ideas, experiences, and backgrounds (not just those who are like its current staff).

  • Select people for assignments and open positions without regard for the difficulty of replacing them in their current positions (no "pigeon-holing").

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• Help people develop their capabilities and careers.
  • Design jobs (organizational structure) such that everybody has opportunities for business initiative, learning, and professional growth (eg, no jobs limited to obsolete products, task-defined jobs, or separation of thinking and doing).

  • Provide challenging and worthwhile projects and job assignments, and other opportunities for professional growth (eg, training, mentoring/coaching).

  • Use outside vendors and contractors to teach its staff new capabilities while working with staff on new challenges; or to perform familiar (less challenging) work to free staff to tackle new challenges; but not to do new, challenging work in place of our staff.

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• Communicate openly, honestly, consistently, and in a timely manner, while keeping confidences and discouraging rumors and unproductive speculation.

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• Always match authority to accountabilities.
  • Hold individuals accountable for clearly defined, agreed deliverables.

  • Once deliverables are agreed, empower people with the resources, information, freedom and authority they need to meet their commitments. Manage people by results without mandating how, when, or where they work. (Coaching and teaching is not mandating, and is consistent with full empowerment. Standards and policies are consistent with empowerment as long as decisions are made by a consensus of the stakeholders.)

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• Give people clear, timely, constructive feedback; and receive feedback as a [gift]/[positive experience] that helps it improve.

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