Four questions every manager should ask themselves

The only thing managers constantly lack is time. They will often carry out their existing job as well as supervise others. They have to navigate bureaucracies: approving expenses, making hiring requests and dealing with mini-crises. The weeks fly by too easily; September suddenly arrives and the nights of the northern hemisphere begin again. But even frazzled managers can ask themselves thought-provoking questions. For example:

“Would I hire this person again?” There is a whole category of questions that leaders need to ask themselves, and they mostly concern regret. Peter Drucker, the management guru, encouraged managers to reallocate limited resources to more useful activities by asking questions about different activities: “If we had not done this already, would we be doing this now, knowing what we know now?” To avoid meeting overload, it is helpful to regularly question whether meetings are really necessary; Some firms detoxify meetings by wiping out calendars and having people refill them.

A version of the regret question that is useful for every manager is whether they would be willing to hire every member of their team for the same position. If the answer is a heartfelt yes, pat yourself on the back and think about why these people succeed. If the answer is no, you don’t have to take out an ax and start swinging. But you almost certainly owe them awkward feedback and have to ask yourself why you hired them and if there is a way to get more from them.

“How often do I hear dissent?” This handy question comes from Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor best known for her work on psychological safety. Most managers can make a case for creating an environment where team members feel comfortable disagreeing; some might even believe them.

If you’re on board with this idea, Dr. Edmondson’s question offers a useful way to figure out whether reality matches ambition. If you say you want a serious debate and can’t think of any recent instances where people below you in the pecking order have said why they think you’re wrong, then maybe you’re actually a fan of psychological jeopardy. (Do not include office naysayers in your answer; they are incapable of agreeing with people and do not count for the purposes of this exercise.)

“What should we automate?” There’s an obvious reason to ask this question now, as artificial intelligence offers new ways to reimagine white-collar work. But it’s something that managers should offer their teams regularly. The amount of time people spend on needlessly repetitive activities, from filling out vacation request forms to juggling calendar invitations, undermines productivity and morale. Identifying these sources of boredom and frustration can lead to a more engaged workforce and improved performance.

When different teams automate processes unilaterally and technology platforms proliferate throughout the organization, the overall workload can rise rather than fall. It’s hard to argue that increasing the number of switches is a big step forward for humanity. Therefore, if automation is needed, it should usually be done under the auspices of a central team. And even if you don’t end up turning things over to machines, you’ll likely discover opportunities to make things work better.

“How many people are leaving my team?” “Everyone as soon as possible” is the wrong answer to this question. But “no” isn’t necessarily a good option either. This is because one of the most malignant diseases afflicting organizations is managers who hoard talent for themselves. This behavior is harmful not only to employees, whose career opportunities are limited, but also to firms, which may lose good people as a result. It also hurts the managers themselves.

A recent study by J.R. Keller of Cornell University and Katherine Dlugos of Pennsylvania State University examined nearly 100,000 internal claims over a five-year period at a large U.S. healthcare organization. They found that bosses whose subordinates were more likely to be promoted attracted more and better candidates to open positions on their teams.

This is not an exhaustive list; Another obvious candidate is whether your team has clear goals. Some problems may be beyond the ability of individual bosses to solve. But such questions are not a way for time-pressed managers to pause and take stock.

© 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under license. Find original content at www.economist.com.