Illusory Management: I

Among the many goals of managers is controlling organizational performance. The people of the organization, for the most part, hope and believe that their managers will effectively guide the organization through or around the difficulties the organization faces on the way to achieving its objectives. To help managers accomplish this feat, the people the managers manage keep their managers informed about the status of their activities. And managers provide the people they manage with resources and information to help them do their jobs. Managers don't tell their people everything they know, of course. But managers do tell their people what they believe their people need to know. Resources and information provide all the tools managers need to control the organization's course to reaching its objectives.

Or so goes the story we tell ourselves about the roles of managers. The truth can be rather different.

To fully appreciate the depth of the gulf between the stories we tell ourselves and the reality of Management's limited capabilities, consider the factors over which Management has relatively little control.

Laws of Nature

We aren't usually aware of the constraints Nature imposes on our work, until Nature makes ignoring Nature impossible. For example, we cannot have more people on a team than the space we occupy can support. Or we cannot display more people on a video call than our screen size will support. Or we cannot control the time difference between Mumbai and Singapore.

Laws of Nature The gulf between the stories we tell
ourselves and the reality of management's
limited capabilities is deep and wideconstrain, among other things, how fast we can do our work. For example, if the closed-loop communication time between two sites of a virtual team is 18 hours, exchanging information between them will be slow.

Laws and regulations affecting organizational activities

Local and national laws and regulations in jurisdictions in which the organization operates can affect organizational performance. The usual effect is hindrance, rather than advancement. Management can control how well and how quickly it understands and responds to these effects, but its control over the laws and regulations can be somewhat limited.

Consider, for example, the need to file financial reports by certain dates, usually quarterly or annually. These activities impose periodic load spikes on the finance department workforce, as one might expect. But they also bias decisions that have financial impact. The bias is in favor of decisions that have positive effects on short-term financial performance. Those decisions might not be well aligned with the long-term health of the organization.

Cost of solving problems

The scales of resources expended on solving problems are difficult for Management to predict or control. The problem-solving teams usually do a better job of predicting these quantities.

Management would be wise to rely on the expert opinions of the problem-solving teams. Too often, though, Management allows its wished-for projections to influence its judgment of the validity of the projections experts provide. And this bias creates pressure on the problem-solving teams to deliver projections that are consistent with management preferences.

The personal lives of the people of the organization

The inability of Management to control laws of nature, laws and regulations of governments, or the costs of solving problems can lead to an urge to compensate by imposing on the lives of the organization's people. These compensations take the form of extended work hours, limited compensation and benefits, forced relocations, inadequate equipment or software, and crowded, dangerous, or unhealthy working conditions.

Although these compensation tactics seem to be effective in the short run, they lead inevitably to increased workforce volatility, organized resistance, compromised output quality, and legal tangles. The costs associated with these effects can exceed the saving sought by employing the tactics that cause them.

Clearly there is much about the organization that is beyond Management's ability to control. Why then is our regard for their ability to control the organization so wrong? One part of the answer is a cognitive bias known as the illusion of control. But as we'll see next time, that cognitive bias is just one element of a complex array of devices that cause us to overestimate our own — or anyone else's — ability to control organizational performance.   Next issue in this series   Top    Next Issue

Is your organization embroiled in Change? Are you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt? Read 101 Tips for Managing Change to learn how to survive, how to plan and how to execute change efforts to inspire real, passionate support. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Cognitive Biases at Work:

Effects of Shared Information Bias: II

Shared information bias is widely recognized as a cause of bad decisions. But over time, it can also erode a group's ability to assess reality accurately. That can lead to a widening gap between reality and the group's perceptions of reality.

The Stupidity Attribution Error

In workplace debates, we sometimes conclude erroneously that only stupidity can explain why our debate partners fail to grasp the elegance or importance of our arguments. There are many other possibilities.

Cognitive Biases at Work

Cognitive biases can lead us to misunderstand situations, overlook options, and make decisions we regret. The patterns of thinking that lead to cognitive biases provide speed and economy advantages, but we must manage the risks that come along with them.

Seven Planning Pitfalls: II

Plans are well known for working out differently from what we intended. Sometimes, the unintended outcome is due to external factors over which the planning team has little control. Two examples are priming effects and widely held but inapplicable beliefs.

Additive bias…or Not: II

Additive bias is a cognitive bias that many believe contributes to bloat of commercial products. When we change products to make them more capable, additive bias might not play a role, because economic considerations sometimes favor additive approaches.

See also Cognitive Biases at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming July 9: On Being Seriously Funny at Work

Humor is such a valuable tool at work that it ought to be recognized as an official contribution by team members who provide the laughs that keep some teams from auto-destructing. Even if you're not known for bringing the funny, there are a few simple techniques that can change your image. Available here and by RSS on July 9.

And on July 16: Responding to Unwelcome Events

Unwelcome events have two kinds of effects on decision-makers. One set of effects appears as we respond to events that have actually occurred. Another set manifests itself as we prepare for unwelcome events that haven't yet occurred, but which might occur. Making a wrong decision in either case can be costly. Available here and by RSS on July 16.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info