Building, maintaining and repairing trust – a precondition for decentralized control.
What we know about trust ? It is a big thing
“Trust is like the air we breathe. When it is present, nobody really notices. But when it is absent, everybody notices”
“We are all big dogs now”
In many organizations you can make good progress in your early career by using positional power and traditional authority to get things done. Junior managers often have clear areas of responsibility and accountability and within that area, they are indeed a “big dog” and can use that power to get things done quite effectively.
However, once we are promoted to executive level in our organization, or when we start working in a more ambiguous matrix role, we need to build alliances and influence people we do not have formal authority over.
Research suggests that organizations consciously balance span of control(the resources over which an individual has direct control) and span of accountability(the results and performance outcomes for which they are held responsible) to achieve different outcomes.
If we think about the balance between span of accountability and span of control, there are only three options, and each of them drives a very different set of behaviors.
All the interactions and exchanges of information represent communication. Effective communication goes hand in hand with better performance.
What is different in a matrix ?
If we do not learn to overcome these factors, we can experience delays to critical activities and decisions, additional costs, and increased dissatisfaction.
“How can I be accountable for something I don’t control?”
“How can I get things done without authority?”
Welcome to the matrix, where multiple bosses, competing goals, influence without authority, and accountability without control are the norm. It is a world where skills, not structure, are the drivers of business and personal success.
