ASSESSING READINESS

WHY ASSESS READINESS?

The key to effective leadership is matching your style to the needs of others. How do you determine these needs? Instinct and intuition can help, but there is no substitute for doing your homework. In order to choose the right leadership style, you must know the specific ability and willingness of the people you are trying to influence.

Remember, in its simplest form, readiness can be described by four distinct levels, R1 through R4.

Many leaders fail to take the time to assess readiness. They act without first determining the specific needs of those they are attempting to influence. For instance, they delegate tasks for which people are not ready, or they continue to direct those who know what to do.

Assessing readiness has a number of benefits. First, it clarifies the strengths and weaknesses of the people you work with. Second, it will give you the information you need to develop others. Third, it helps you define potential people problems before they occur. Fourth, it will save you time. With so many benefits, why don't more of us do it?

The primary reason for not diagnosing readiness can be found within ourselves, Our own readiness to assess others may not be fully developed. Some of us feel we have not had adequate experience in assessing others. Others may feel unable or even unwilling to take the time to carefully evaluate each person's readiness for each situation. In other words, we are not all R4's. Accurate assessment, however, demands that you stay close to your people.

WHAT TO DO

To develop sound management practices you have to make a commitment. You have to consciously set aside the time to assess readiness. If you don't, it won't get done. Is it worth the effort? Is there something in it for you? The benefits would certainly suggest it.

Having established the objective of assessing readiness of those with whom you work, the next step is to develop a strategy and a plan of action. It is not necessary to diagnose every person on every single task. Pareto's 80/20 rule applies well here. Roughly 20% of all tasks account for 80% of results. Where will you get the most mileage from diagnosing readiness? There are always key tasks and situations where it is more important to assess others to ensure the best possible match of your style with their needs. This means deciding when to assess readiness, with whom, and on what tasks.

Here is where making a list for analyzing your people on their key tasks is helpful. On a sheet of paper construct three columns and place one person's name on the top of the sheet. Title the first column -Key Tasks. In this column list the most critical technical tasks and management tasks which the person is responsible.

Care in defining the tasks on your list is essential. These definitions will affect the quality of your assessments. The most common mistake in defining tasks is being too general. Often what we define are the broader goals and objectives people have rather than the specific tasks needed to achieve them. These goals should be broken down into their component tasks. Otherwise, we find ourselves assessing part of a person's responsibilities where more than one level of readiness is possible.

If a person can be diagnosed as having more than one readiness level, you have defined more than one task. Always ask yourself, Is there any part of this task where ability may be higher or lower than with other parts? and, Is there any part of this task where willingness may be higher or lower? If the answer is yes to even one of these questions, your task definition is too broad for the person on this specific task. When the answer is no to both questions you have arrived at a useful definition of the task.

Title the second column on your list - Ability, and the third - Willingness. Construct a similar sheet for each person with whom you work. In completing your assessment of readiness for each key task, consider the following components of task-specific ability and task specific willingness.

Without considering the individual components of ability and willingness it is easy to overestimate readiness.

HOW TO DO IT

There are two basic ways to gather information about a person's readiness. The first is through observation. Watching people provides a wealth of information about their ability and willingness. Your best gauge of someone's readiness is their behavior. What people do is more important than what they say they do. Get out and see what's going on firsthand. Look for specific evidence of knowledge, skill, desire, and confidence.

In addition to relying on what you see, a second way to assess readiness is through conversations with the person. Such discussions provide valuable insights about readiness.

Start with questions relating to the key components of ability. Talk specifically about a person's experience, training, and understanding of current priorities. A simple question like, How would you do this? can be a gold mine of information. Other questions that are useful to ask are, How often have you done this?...What training have you received?...What priority do you give?... and, What results do you feel are expected? When people respond to these questions they invariably provide useful information concerning ability.

In listening to others talk about their experiences, people usually also communicate information about their desire, confidence, and what incentives they see in performing a task. How a person responds often tells us as much as the content of their response. After questioning for ability, you can check on willingness more directly by asking such questions as, Do you want to do this?...How confident are you in doing this?...and, What do you see are the incentives for you by doing this? Having a sound questioning routine is a good way to increase your understanding for other people's readiness.

Before applying these tools with others, the place to start is with yourself. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I possess the necessary knowledge and skill needed to assess others?...Am I willing to do it?...What's in it for me? Be honest with yourself. What will it take to incorporate the assessment of readiness in your own day-to-day leadership?

Remember, your ultimate goal is to arrive at a mutual understanding of task-specific readiness. Reaching this understanding is really a give-and-take proposition. People may assess their own ability and willingness as higher than they actually are. Just as likely, they can underestimate their readiness on certain tasks. You also are not immune for over- and under-assessing readiness.

The important thing is to make readiness assessments an acceptable topic for discussion. Your assessments are a starting point for developing others. Their current readiness provides a baseline on which to build. As a leader, your efforts should be directed toward helping others achieve their full potential.

Using the components of readiness as a framework for observing and listening to others will increase your ability and power to influence them.

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