Our Processes

Managing Involvement

Good leaders make effective choices about who they involve in resolving work issues and how they are involved. They adjust their behavior to the situation, choosing from behaviors that range from autocratic to consultative to participative, depending on a given situation. Our Managing Involvement process is a tool that enhances leadership skills by providing a process for determining how best to lead in any situation.

Managing Involvement is a systematic, question-based approach comprised of three steps that help leaders select effective behavior.

Define the situation asks, what is the issue to be resolved and the end result to be achieved?

Assess the variables poses a series of questions. Is a superior solution needed? Is information needed? What level of commitment of others is required? Is there agreement about goals? Is there conflict about alternatives?

Selecting the appropriate behavior is a question-based approach that provides guidelines for selecting appropriate behaviors. Consideration is given to effective use of time and the ability to meet long-term goals.

To solve problems and make decisions effectively, leaders must know who to involve and when, and how best to lead. The right involvement can help generate ideas, form consensus, and smooth the way for implementing action plans. When used in combination with our problem solving, decision making, and project management processes, Managing Involvement is a powerful tool for effecting change.

Managing Involvement is critical to effective decision making. By involving the right people in the decision making process, decision makers gain access to information and support for the decision.

Managing People in Projects is a specific application of Managing Involvement for project managers. This methodology helps project managers get the right people involved in their projects, set expectations, track and analyze performance, provide feedback, and systematically improve the success of projects. Learn more about Kepner-Tregoe training for Managing People in Projects.

Client Results with Managing Involvement

When engineers, vendors, and machine operators were involved in resolving difficult issues at a factory, the operators began to understand the impact process variables had on production. They gained vital technical information and used it to improve machine performance. In addition, engineers began considering “human issues” such as scheduling, reliability, and safety. In just six months, the plant saved over $250,000 in labor costs.

A manager was required to reduce the size of his work teams by year-end. He began by educating teams on best practices in the industry and then involving the workers in reconfiguring teams to meet requirements. Despite existing labor issues, the new teams were accepted without incident.