Management by agreement and management by exception include these elements:
- The manager and employee have agreements about what work is to be done and how and when it is to be done. Often, these agreements are expressed in documented business systems.
- Any changes in the work requirements are made only after mutual agreement between the manager and the employee.
The employee takes full accountability for performing the work and achieving the results as agreed, and the manager is accountable for providing the employee with the resources and guidance needed.
Exceptions are reported immediately. The employee is accountable for notifying the manager, and any other affected people, in writing if the work will not be performed or the results will not be achieved as agreed. The manager also notifies the employee if commitments made by the manager cannot be achieved.
The manager can assume the work is being performed as agreed unless otherwise notified.
Periodic check-ins between the employee and manager, called "reporting loops", are the main vehicle for keeping each other informed about how work is progressing.
Failure to notify of exceptions or missed dues dates - in other words, silence - is not acceptable.
Relationships built on trust are developed as managers and employees keep their commitments and successful results are achieved.
Guidelines for Working Interactions
The guidelines for working interactions are a set of operating procedures that establish standards for interpersonal communication at work so that people can achieve results without conflicts or ambiguity.
The type of organizational relationship you're in with another person, line or staff, will guide your working interactions.
Directives should only come from your manager. Directives are any information, requests or delegations that would cause you to take action or change the course of your actions.
If a directive is given to you by someone other than your manager that feels inappropriate or intrusive, or would cause you to be unable to meet a prior agreement, you should refer the person to your manager.
Everyone in the company has one, and only one, primary manager.
Owners who work in the business must assume positions on the organization chart and act according to the line and staff relationships defined by those positions.
Everyone will respect each other's time, space, and need for concentration. Socializing will not impede anyone's work activities.
When a manager is absent from the workplace, temporary authority for his or her reporting employees goes to the next higher position in the "line".
Service relationships do not supersede, conflict with, or comprise line relationships. Service systems will be developed and used to manage service relationships effectively.
Guidelines for Effective Delegation
Identify work or result you want to delegate and determine to whom you'll delegate it.
Put the delegation in writing, with the due date.
Discuss the delegations with the employee whenever possible.
Get the employee's agreement.
Guidelines for Effective Regulation
Use periodic reporting loops to review work.
Give quick, clear, and direct feedback and instruction.
Communicate with each other in writing.
Avoid under-regulating, over-regulating, reverse delegation, and unnecessary meetings.
