Page 62 - Make Work Great

Overtness About Task

More often than not, impacts are subtle. Maybe the written
employee absence policy doesn’t change, but the preferred response
to absences is made more or less severe within existing guidelines.
Perhaps the new product schedule doesn’t change, but marketplace
positioning does. Maybe the next generation design doesn’t change,
but new manufacturing approaches are considered. Placed in the right
hands, every meaningful bit of information represents a question.
Every question has many possible answers, most of which suggest a
change. The easiest and therefore most frequent changes are made
without adjusting formal doctrine or written policies and procedures,
and the quasi-informal communication of such changes only adds to
the complexity and information overload we all face.
Even as changes occur, more new information appears, which
raises more questions. Changes beget new information; new infor-
mation begets changes. As you learn more about your situation,
you share your knowledge; as you share your knowledge, it changes
others’ situations too. In the information network, every person is
both producer and recipient. Tapping into this information as it fl ies
around the network and feeding back the right information in return
are critical parts of nearly every job.
Of course, the information “out there” is only half of the story.
Equally important is the question of whether you have the skills to
do your work. Which skills do you need? The answer changes along
with everything else. And if peering out at the information network
is diffi cult, looking inward at your own strengths and weaknesses can
be nearly impossible. We have been taught by our parents, schools,
interviewers, supervisors, and political leaders that we must always
appear to know exactly what we’re doing. But sometimes we don’t!
The sixth form of overtness, being overt about your capability, is
a way of gaining insight about both the information “out there” and
the skills you have “in here.” To develop this overtness, you must con-
sider both parts of Figure 2.3 and the relationship between them.
First, consider the sensitivities of your summary outputs. What
other people, groups, departments, or divisions can set policies that

51