Empower employees to act
Making the time to communicate with employees is one thing. But obviously, Johnson doesn’t have time to monitor every aspect of each employee’s performance. So part of managing his employees is preparing them to take their jobs into their own hands.
That empowerment process starts as soon as employees join the company. Johnson is always pushing down reminders of their responsibility, with help from Capt. D. Michael Abrashoff’s book, “It’s Your Ship.”
“One of the philosophies we try and hand out is that it’s your job, it’s your career. What do you want to make of it?” Johnson says. “You’ve got to put it out there and say, ‘You know what, it’s your ship.’”
Of course, before you set employees free, you have to clearly outline the goals they’re trying to achieve. That’s why Johnson puts so much effort into regularly communicating metrics with employees. Each meeting should be a r
eminder of the mission and which measurements are going to get you there.
Then you pair that message with some flexibility for how employees achieve it.
“It’s coaching the organization every day about what we’re trying to accomplish,” Johnson says. “It’s continually getting people to make decisions at levels below yourself.”
After you point employees in a direction, you have to step back and let them shoot for it.
“You can’t grow an organization by trying to do everybody’s job for them,” Johnson says. “You’re never going to have great people unless you empower them to make decisions and do their jobs.”
Without micromanaging, you can — and should — keep an eye on their progress. Johnson lives by President Reagan’s famous comment, “Trust, but verify.”
“While people are allowed to do their jobs, you trust them. But you ask them, ‘How are you going to accomplish [this]?’” Johnson says. “You get into that type of a dialogue with them on a regular basis to understand where they’re going.”
By staying in touch with employees throughout the process, you can act as a coach to keep them on the right path. But even if you’ve encountered a similar situation before, your challenge is to guide them to a solution without demanding your way.
“Have you thought about this perspective?” Johnson asks employees. “You challenge them with different ideas versus telling them, ‘I wouldn’t do it that way; I’d do it this way.’ You’ve got to lead them through the process.”
Even after their decisions are made, you have a pool of coaching opportunities. By discussing their performance in hindsight, you can hone employees’ insight for making better decisions in the future.
So Johnson meets with employees to debrief the highs and lows of certain decisions, discussing what went well and what could improve their performance next time.
“It’s that communication that empowers people to make decisions,” he says.
