(Read in 3 minutes)

Let’s start with the first question mentioned last week. A manager friend asked, “My subordinates rarely take the initiative to report their work. I want to know more about the progress of their work, but I have to constantly chase and ask them. I have already told everyone clearly not to be afraid to ask questions, but it still doesn’t work. How can I make my subordinates more motivated and actively give feedback?”

This question is a classic one, as to how to make subordinates take the initiative to report. Ordinary people’s solutions may be to give their subordinates advice, guidance, or even requests, but that’s not enough. When we recruit people, we look for those who are particularly proactive.

However, structured managers don’t think so. This question seems simple, but it needs to be viewed in two layers. The first level is a sense of security issues. What does that mean?

In fact, many times, we hope that our team members can ask for instructions early and report late. It may not be necessary, but we hope to have a sense of security. It’s best for subordinates to come to me for counseling often so that I feel that I have found my own sense of existence.

But in fact, only when the “not active enough” really affects the team’s results is it a real problem worth solving. Therefore, whenever you feel that your subordinates are not proactive enough, don’t rush to solve the subordinate’s problems, but reflect first on whether you are caught in the problem of your own sense of security.

If not, this is the second level: how to do a good job in structured management. That is, problems cannot be solved by simply asking for instructions and reporting. That is a low-efficiency and high-risk management method. A manager with a framework will grasp key actions. What are the key moves? Three will do the dashboard, the project sheet, and the weekly meeting.

The first is the dashboard. When you think about the various data indicators displayed behind the steering wheel when the driver is driving, that is the driver’s dashboard. Each instrument tells the driver a piece of information: the speed of the car, the remaining fuel, and so on. With this information, the driver can make various judgments while driving and drive steadily to the destination.

Putting it into work, the task of managers is to define their own dashboards, which are the quantitative indicators of the team. As long as these indicators are operating within the normal value and can achieve the overall goal of the team, this is a qualified dashboard. Once abnormalities and exceptions occur, the signals can be clearly seen on the dashboard, and managers know how to make targeted adjustments.

A professional and senior head of human resources said that in their company, they disassembled the HR module to obtain more than 180 indicators. From these more than 180 indicators, select 30 indicators and check them every month. Among them, there are 5 core indicators that are used to rank each team. If the quantitative indicators are not met, then focus on understanding the subordinates. This is called catching the big and letting go of the small.

The second action is to grasp the project schedule. It is to list the key projects and key actions of the team and only focus on the key nodes of the project-who, by what deadline, and what to complete.

Regarding the project schedule, there are many mature tools in management, such as Gantt charts and so on. But in the practice of structured managers, the key is not what tools you use but to ensure that the tools you use are well-trained in the entire team. In other words, everyone can read and use them. As long as this can be guaranteed, it doesn’t matter if you use an Excel form.

With the dashboard to see the data, ensure that the direction does not deviate; with the project table sheet to see the progress, ensure that the action is planned. Finally, how can we ensure that subordinates can implement it?

This requires the third action: holding weekly meetings. What happens at the weekly meeting is the “Dashboard Indicator Progress” and “Project Progress”. So, do three things:

First, on indicators and data: mark the abnormal data and focus on how to solve it.

Second, on progress: everyone should briefly report on the completion of the previous week and the plan for this week.

Third, check the key points: where is the push point? Where are the potential risks? What support is needed?

Therefore, I strongly suggest that you check yourself according to the above three actions now, and see if you have dashboards, project lists, and weekly meetings in your busy work.

Through this method for a few rounds, you will gradually find that 80% of the problems that your subordinates need you to solve are actually common problems. Structured management is discovering common problems through mechanisms, and then establishing systems, norms, and standards. Gradually, the team can have a consensus on 80% of the problems and know how to solve them.

At this time, managers only need to spend energy to solve 20% of the special problems. They no longer need to worry about how to make their subordinates more motivated and actively give feedback. It’s called leveraging your own management work.