Big Idea

What is the big idea?
Everyday organizations are “working backwards” using hard managerial skills to empower those on the front lines of operations. Essentially giving them the tools to help them ask/answer for themselves the all-important question “How are we doing?” Why not do the same for softer leadership skills? Giving front-line managers a tool/activity for leading relationships by developing a secondary customer feedback through “asking” and sharing the answers to “How are we doing?” The empowerment movement blossomed with TQM, even changing the structures of enterprises, so more than ever we need to compliment and balance it, not necessarily change it, with a form of TQL.

What is the creative spark?
Managers, on the front lines of operations, frustrated both professionally and emotionally by the seemingly inevitable caught-in-the-middle syndrome. Having been promoted for their abilities and comprehension of “what” needed to be done from Management, yet looking in everyday operations for parallel solutions and actions for the “how”. Often the principal source of support coming through the same channels as the “what”, in the form of programs and procedures. Problem being, in daily operations, it’s hard to keep team members interested, motivated, participating, learning and focused on a continual stream of such directives, even when disguised.

Managing (What)	Leading (How)
Planning and budgeting	Setting a direction
Organizing and staffing	Aligning people
Controlling and problem solving	Motivating and inspiring

Why is the idea compelling?
Realizing that managers on the front lines must have activities to lead relationships that are basic and simple enough to address the needs of a workforce diverse in values, education and situations. One leading element we all have in common (even in the workplace) is our human experience. One such experience, the process of “asking” (not always verbal or even directed to others) works here! For from the time we were all first able to communicate we have used "asking" to learn, participate, demonstrate intentions, assess, get feedback, focus, and even take ownership – when you ask the question you own the answer!

Why did the idea spread?
Not a new concept but one that got lost in the hierarchical growth of corporate pyramids. The missing links for connecting the “how” back to the “what”. Demonstrated by a mentor who had used the process of asking to span both time and growth as a tool to grow an enterprise from start to almost two thousand operational teams over a quarter century. Understanding that the organization’s “ends” must become the “means” for the front lines to execute daily operations. For example, for an organization to realize Customer Focus the front-line manager must have the leadership activities to create ‘focus’ (as a verb or action) and then direct it towards customers.