The Units of Work

I read a great quote this week by Ram Charan from an article entitled, "Conquering a Culture of Indecision" (Harvard Business Review, April 2001). Charan is the co-author of the business best-seller, "Execution: The Disciple of Getting Things Done". I am looking forward to adding his latest book to my library: "Know How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don't".

In Charan's HBR article, he writes about the processes we use for making important decisions, and highlights the need for effective communication. Here is the quote: "Dialogue is the basic unit of work in an organization. The quality of the dialogue determines how people gather and process information, how they make decisions, and how they feel about one another and about the outcome of these decisions."

The concept of dialogue as a unit of work really struck a chord with me. Too many leaders attempt to lead with a monologue, disregarding, or not even thinking to consider, the feedback of the people often most affected by their decisions. Great decisions are made in the context of a quality dialogue, and great leaders know how to facilitate this dialogue. They can gain the trust of the key stakeholders in a decision, gather their input, and avoid countless pitfalls in the process.

I remember my freshman chemistry professor at university driving home the point every day that none of the calculations we were doing had any relevance unless we considered and included the appropriate units in our work. Charan's reference to the "basic unit of work" drives home this point for me: there is really little relevance to the decisions I attempt to implement at work unless I consider and include the appropriate units of my work - that is, quality dialogue to ensure quality decisions.

Light it up...

Rob