Marcelo López, the seller, has just been informed that the top managers of Public Metals, a company whose orders can allow his company to overcome the crisis it is going through, have just arrived at reception.
In turn, notify the Commercial Director because the quality and importance of visitors requires the presence of a senior manager to receive them.
When the Commercial Director goes to join Jorge, his secretary informs him that the General Director requires his presence in the workshop. With insistence.
Annoyed, the Commercial Director renounces to duly attend to these important clients to satisfy the unjustified call of its General Director.
In the end they end up losing the sale and the customer.
Time is power
Several of you may have seen this scene in the movie "Who Killed the Sale."
This impressive training film, made in the 1960s, highlights the mistakes made by an entire company to lose a sale, without anyone actually feeling more guilty than anyone else.
I have chosen to focus on this scene because few things have changed in this aspect since the 1960s: time is power.
Which of the managers of a company or a department, when a concern arises, does not immediately summon the collaborators who could clarify it, or if a "great idea" arises, does not immediately improvise a meeting to discuss it.
And the collaborators act in the same way with their own collaborators, without anyone really worrying about whether it is going to disorganize the collective work of the organization.
There is an implicit recognition, and therefore never restated, that the work of a hierarchical superior is always more important than that of his collaborators and, therefore, that his time is more precious.
Freely having the time of your collaborators is clearly affirming your own importance and power.
Although it is not aware, although good justifications for this cannibalism of the time of others are found, it is still the symptom of an organization completely upturned and focused on hierarchical centralization. And we already know that they are not necessarily the most effective.
In the book "General Motors: The Bitter Awakening" Mary Ann Keller explained, referring to the parking spaces reserved for managers, that there is no way to tell some employees that they are more important to the company without telling others that they are less so. I wonder if there is a way to tell them that our time is more important without clearly telling them that theirs is not so important.
Power and counter power
Bosses are not the only ones who can have the time of others. In the name of a policy of permanent availability and an open door, some managers are overwhelmed by the interruptions of their collaborators at any time.
Does an employee have a question about how to solve a problem? immediately go to your boss for a resolution. And as it does, the cycle is reproduced and some managers complain that "they have not let me do anything today."
Whether or not granting your organization time when requested is also an expression of power.
- Maria, could you stay an hour to help us finish this project today?
- Sorry Sir, today I have arranged for xyz, You know that the company owes me two days of vacation last year. Today it is impossible for me, sorry.
Just as being in a position to demand it is also a manifestation of power.
- I'm sorry, Maria, but you will have to cancel your engagement. (authoritarianism).
- Sorry Maria, you know how important this project is. I know that your sacrifice would not go unnoticed above, I would not like to have to say that you refused. (blackmail).
Horizontal power
The relationship between time and power is also evident at the horizontal level of the organization. The ability of one to get something from a colleague or other department with priority or preference (we understand repeatedly, not exceptionally), is a manifestation of his power: the power that someone else usually renounces his priorities to satisfy that of the plaintiff.
It may be a greater indicator of a person's true power than the official hierarchical level. In fact, there are people in the organization who are more or less systematically dedicated to disorganizing the planning of others, in the name of a greater interest, a requirement that "you know, comes from above", or any other good reason.
But at the end of the day, consciously or unconsciously, with or without explicit will, having the time of others is an act of POWER.
How to avoid disorganizing others
Although it may seem like evidence, the first answer is to organize yourself. It is very convenient to use others to fill our own planning deficiencies.
When we have this "cool idea" or this "urgent question," we must learn to give up using the comfort path. Let's take note and reflect; Let us try to find an answer for ourselves; Let's put off the urgency, because except for maybe firefighters who can't plan fires, there's always a way to plan for responses to emergencies. In fact, organization interruptions are almost never emergencies. They are comforts; when you don't show our power over others.
When a Director improvises a meeting of eight middle managers, he is disorganizing the work of eight people, but at the same time, he is giving the model that these eight people can, should they, disorganize the work of thirty or forty employees, spurring impromptu meetings in your own department to provide the urgent response.
How to Avoid Time Cannibals
If we are that boss of the open door, we should remember that by solving the problems of others ourselves, we make them more dependent (whoops, this feeling of power again, right?). If we want to fight against centralization and upward delegation, we must ensure that our collaborators are able to solve their problems; and doing them for them is not exactly the best way to achieve it.
Imagine a moment that you are the coach of a tennis player. This one has a service fault, too short, too slow. What would I do? Take the racket and take it out instead? "Hey Coach, I'm going back on the scoreboard, could you go out and get it for me?" However, this is what many bosses do in companies.
Where's the power?
It is interesting to ask ourselves where power really is in companies. Statutory power, we have no doubt. Natural authority, understood as the ability to have followers, is already more debatable. But what about the power to run the organization? And where is the power to satisfy customers, to gain efficiency, to achieve objectives, to maintain a cohesive group? Who has this power?
I leave you with the question. This answer may also be common to many other questions.
