Are We Setting People Up to Fail?

Regardless of the size of the organization, the rules are the same. In my years of working in and consulting for small and large organizations, I have noticed one trap that catches people over and over again: responsibility without authority.

This happens when managers are assigned outcomes without being given the tools, resources, or decision making necessary for success. It often occurs when there is a shortage of staff, when employees become thin, or when workplace culture becomes unclear, informal or dull. Even with top performance and the best intentions, the results can lead to frustration, burnout, and misguided failure.

Consider an employee with oversight of the guest experience, but given no real authority over the reception area, often the first personal connection with customers, business partners and community leaders. Without authority, that responsibility is hollow. The manager cannot train, reward or correct front-line staff. They cannot improve the workspace, update systems or invest in education that would make the job easier or more effective.

Yet when problems arise, the same manager is expected to explain what went wrong without sounding defensive or ungrateful. This dynamic is an efficient way to lose both the manager and the employees on the front line.

I have also seen workplace cultures where “everyone is responsible” for certain tasks – keeping shared spaces clean, acknowledging customers, creating a positive environment, maintaining company vehicles or behaving professionally as a representative of the organization.

If these expectations don't appear in job descriptions, onboarding or a clearly defined culture, why should we be surprised if “everyone” doesn't follow?

Regardless of the size of the organization, the rules are the same. People need clarity about expectations and the resources to meet them – time, funding, access to information and equipment, collaboration across departments and the authority to act.

Human resources can be the secret sauce behind innovation, reputation, quality control, profitability, customer experience and employee satisfaction. But when that sauce gets messy, we can't expect “everyone”—or even “someone”—to clean it up without the structure, authority, and support to do so. FBN

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Bonnie Stevens is the editor of FBN. She is a career journalist and public relations consultant. She can be reached at bonnie.stevens@gmail.com.