After managing teams and people for a couple of decades, I have occasionally had to have the “barge and tugboat” talk.
WHEN A BARGE IS PULLED BY A TUGBOAT up the river, it is an arduous process. The tugboat slowly heads upstream. The coiled slack in the towrope between the two craft stretches out as the slack goes away.
Eventually, the rope becomes taut, and the tugboat starts pulling the barge upstream. At this point, they are moving at the same pace, always at the speed of the tugboat and with the tugboat expending all of the energy to keep them moving.
Now, if the tugboat stops pulling, the barge keeps going for a while because of momentum, but slowly it comes to a halt.
Do you work with someone who is a barge? As a manager, do you have to keep checking on others and prodding them to hit their objectives? What an expenditure of energy and responsibility that tugboat has — it has to move itself and the barge.
THE OPPOSITE IS THE FIRE-AND-FORGET MISSILE. In World War II, bombs were “dumb.” A bomber with a target often had to drop its bombs, then confirm that the target was hit before flying away. That was dangerous, as the extended presence in enemy territory gave the enemy a chance to shoot back.
Later, “smart” missiles were created, also called “fire and forget” missiles, using guidance systems such as those guided by lasers. The pilot released the missile with the utmost of confidence that it would hit the target. After releasing the missile, the pilot was able to turn around and move on to the next objective.
I encourage my team members to strive to be that fire-and-forget missile. The manager gives a direct report an objective and moves on to the next task, fully confident they will deliver. What a difference in energy and confidence compared to the team member acting as the barge.
Be a fire-and-forget missile kind of manager, not a tugboat.
Start your Lean journey here with insights from Prime Vector:
Photos by Clark Gu on Unsplash, and Samrendra Singh on Unsplash.
Comments