Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Kent Jonasen
Read between
February 28 - March 17, 2023
The consequence is simple—everything has to be included in the specialist framework; thus, it ends up being a very complex framework that can, in any case, not survive the test of time.
If you are in a dilemma concerning the number of levels, it is generally easier to start with a smaller number of levels and increase from there rather than establishing a greater number of levels and reducing them to fewer.
The key to success is making sure that there are always significant qualitative differences between the levels.
Start with what is, and then go out into the organization and expand your knowledge of the individual specialist roles.
Stay focused on this question: How does the specialist create value in the role?
The questions for leaders would then be as follows, in relation to this dimension: • What is “the job that needs to get done” by the specialist? • What would you be looking for to assess whether the specialist is operating effectively in this role? • What does good performance look like? • What skills would they need to have to be successful? • Please describe a specialist with high performance versus one with lower performance—what do you see in their everyday work that makes the difference?
The specialist roles are already there. The framework merely visualizes the roles and creates transparency about the roles across the organization.
As always, if the project is not managed wisely, then the upsides can easily turn into downsides: • The pilot unit insists on customizing the concept too much to their specific needs. • Other units may feel alienated from the concept, as they were not part of designing it. • The short-term wins and anecdotal stories are too unit specific and hence not transferable to other units.
At the end of the day, it is the managers of specialists who need to understand how to hold specialists accountable at the right level, what work values and skills to look for when selecting specialists, how to set business objectives at the right level, and how to support the specialist in obtaining the right time application and creating structured development plans that support the specialist even better in performing in their role. In order to get this right, the managers have to be skilled in understanding the key differences in the three specialist roles.
It has been found that during the implementation process, the majority of all managers have difficulty seeing the differentiation. They have a one-way approach to setting goals, and although a specialist is apparently promoted and given a new title, many examples show that the job hasn’t really changed.
it’s important to train the manager on how to develop specialists and how to set goals for specialists at different levels.
Fresh demands are now being placed on you. Perhaps the new requirements are not directly articulated, and there may just be some talk about them. No matter how explicitly they have been stated by your direct manager, you know that when you go from knowledge expert to knowledge leader, something has to be different. You may be wondering what exactly the requirements are for you. This is what makes the vast majority of people vulnerable during the transition phase. You are looking for new paths to success, and if you don’t find them, you are likely to return to the methods you used to succeed in
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the transition consists of three factors, of which work values are the most important, as that factor is often inextricably linked to the other two. No matter how much you train and practice your skills, you will hardly use them if you don’t appreciate the work you can do with those skills.
Your direct manager can tell you what variations there are in the new role as far as work values are concerned and why they are there. It will help somewhat, but for others, it will be experienced as a theoretical conversation in which you don’t really examine the basic mindset needed for the role and how you can tangibly reach it. The talk doesn’t go deep enough and, in many cases, won’t change the specialist’s feelings about what it is they enjoy doing and how they create value.
In any company, there will typically be about 10 percent of the employees who, with only limited support or no support at all, will be able to adapt to the role. If you just give this 10 percent of specialists chapters 3 through 6 from this book, they will learn the rest for themselves. However, the remaining 90 percent need structured support to succeed. So how can you best support them?
when starting to plan a transition for a specialist, it may be wise to initiate and raise awareness of the process for the individual immediately after moving into the new role. But you have to appreciate that they will only adjust work values and time application and build the new skills over time.
the direct manager can be the fundamental problem throughout the transition, but conversely, the direct manager can also be the solution to the majority of the transition challenges.
you can start a development dialogue from the beginning and make it a natural way to communicate.
There are many ways to make early involvement and ongoing dialogue natural. The elegant way as a manager is to say, “Here is a starting point, these are the business targets, and here is ‘how to get it done the right way.’ Look at it, keep it in mind, and then let’s talk about it again in a month or three when you’ve had time to settle better into the job.
A final and very important task is to follow up. As a manager, you have clarified the goals, what is required, and what transition it takes to become successful.
As a specialist, whether you are in the role of knowledge expert, leader, or principal, there are several things you can do to improve the chances of completing a successful transition. The crucial task ahead is seeking feedback.
Another thing you can do is initiate conversations on whether your business objectives are set the right way and at the right level.
A third option you have for influencing your own transition is to contact the person who was in the role before you.
We have also seen examples of a knowledge expert being given, step by step, areas of responsibility that are more characteristic of a knowledge leader. They have thus made a smooth transition to the knowledge leader role. In project organizations in particular, we have found that people can be associated with projects as an extra resource for a period of time to let them get a feel for a different type of role.
But if you look at the people who don’t want managerial careers, you visually get the impression that there aren’t many options—in fact, that there is only one option and that is at the bottom of the organization.
if you move from a people manager role to a knowledge leader or knowledge principal role, or vice versa, you will already be equipped with relevant experience related to creating results through other people.
