Determining how much information to share and not share is a necessity of context setting for work. How as a manager do you determine the “just right” amount of context that is needed for on-time, on-budget, on-quality completion of goals and tasks? Contact Mike to develop team processes and managerial-leadership systems that will increase productivity and completion of great work.
The context of the work and the managers necessity to frame the context of the Team Project for teams and /or the individual tasks for work that can be completed individually and / or for themselves in reference to their own work and the context of their manager is the essence of great Managerial-Leadership and High Performance Teamwork.
It’s this context that provides the setting in which you can complete your work, and collaborate with others, using your judgment to make decisions and solve problems, confident knowing the overarching context of the work that has been established.
Psychologically this is a tricky thing to get right. Understanding for yourself and your manager and subordinates just how much information about the work and the proper fit of how the work fits into a larger Goal has to be “just right”. This “just right” is like Goldilocks and the Three Bear – neither “too narrow” nor “too broad”, for either will lead to frustration of the team, manager and you.
If the context is set “too narrow” you will feel constrained, restricted, tightly controlled, frustrated by a micro-manager who is breathing down your neck.
If the context is set “too broad” you will feel unorganized, lost and confused, directionless, like a plastic bag flying in the breeze, worried because the manager is too far removed, leaves you unclear about where and when the team / your work / their work is headed, and expects you just to know too much.
What do you think?
If you are a manager what is the “just right” context of the work to set? How do you know? Have you ever worked with a team and manager who set the proper context for you to accomplish your work? How can you communicate better to those around you what is “just right” in the information you need to complete your work?