George, an executive at a large local corporation, recently asked me to work with his team of staff members and managers. The focus
We All (Seem to) Love “Employee Ownership”
If you Google “Employees Taking Ownership”, you’ll find thousands of articles extolling the benefits of employees taking on personal accountability for their work. “Six Steps to Help Your Employees Take Ownership and Responsibility”, “Ten Ways to Encourage Employees to Take Ownership in Their Work,” “Six Disciplines of Leadership that Inspire Ownership” The list goes on. “Ownership” is the Holy Grail. if we could just get them to take ownership of their work, life would be great.
So what happens to the staff person who takes this advice seriously when given the assignment to write an email, a report, a letter, or a proposal? He toils at his writing. He researches. He plans. He drafts. He revises. At last, he turns the document in, thinking he has truly taken ownership and done his best work.
What happens?
Multiple levels of managers review and revise the document. Some of their changes are substantive and necessary; some are just a way for the managers to get a sense of ownership about the document and make it sound like themselves
After the managers revise it, the document is sent back to the staff member for final edits. He looks at it and barely recognizes it. He feels like he has sent his car to be detailed and gotten it back in a different color. He feels that his precious work has been defiled. He also feels a bit betrayed, because he’d been told to take responsibility for the work, and then when he did so, others ripped it apart.
The next day, his manager gives him another writing project to work on. How do you think he feels? Does he want to do his best work?
This scenario plays out daily in organizations that require layers of managerial review.
How Can You Create a Document Review Process that Works for Everyone?
In working with the corporation I mentioned above and with other clients, we convened focus groups and designed training for both staff and management to make the process more efficient. Here’s what we learned:
Manage Expectations
Remind writers that although they are individual authors of their work, they are part of a larger team. The team’s goal is to create the best document for the organization’s purposes, which may require changes to the individual person’s writing. Point out the distinction between collaboration and ownership The owner focuses on himself; the collaborator is focused on the team’s results.
Share the Big Picture When You Assign the Task
When instructing a staff member to write, share the Three P’s: purpose, person, and point. Tell him:
· The purpose of the document
· The person who will read the document, and that person’s hot buttons and inner questions
· The main point of the document
Tell the reader how much detail the audience requires. The proposal to a technical expert will contain far more detail than the one directed to a bottom-line focused executive.
If policy issues or organizational factors may impact the document, clue the writer in. Let him integrate those issues into the draft rather than tacking them on as part of the review process.
Giving the writer a 30,000-foot view of the document guides him throughout the drafting process.
Explain Changes
Few experiences are as demoralizing as receiving a document bleeding with red marks, deletions, and corrections. This experience is exacerbated when the changes are simply slashed into the draft with no explanation. When marking a correction, give a brief explanation:
| Brief Comment | Brief Suggestion |
| “Seems trite” | “Rephrase” |
| “Long sentence” | “Rework” |
| “Too technical” | “Simplify” |
Changes will be easier for the writer to accept when he understands why they were necessary.
Let the Author Do the Revisions
Explain your changes, but don’t implement them. Let the person who wrote the document fix his own mistakes. This practice carries multiple benefits:
- You don’t have to do the revision.
- The writer will retain his sense of ownership of the document.
- The writer will be less likely to make the same mistakes in future documents.
“Writing is rewriting what has already been rewritten.”
In the engagement described above, managers decided to hold scoping meetings at which George would explain the big picture to everyone involved in the document, including the person who was going to write it. They also decided to hold review meetings at which all managers would simultaneously review the document instead of having managers work on it independently and change one another’s edits. They managed expectations by clearly informing all staff members that the revision process is part of the writing process. They also committed to explaining their changes.
Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.
One of the dividends of revamping the document-review process is that when managers explain their changes and the writers implement those changes themselves, the writers are less likely to repeat the same mistakes.
Redesigning the process also yields bonuses in productivity and morale as people once again revel in taking ownership of their work – while recognizing that the collaborative aspect of the process requires that they will receive revisions. As a key member of George’s staff said to me after we completed our project, “Now I really want to do my best.” ©2019 Elizabeth Danziger All rights reserved
BOOK YOUR CONSULTATION NOW Communication woes drag down productivity and morale. Book your free 30-minute “communications audit” consultation with Elizabeth Danziger. She will listen to your situation and suggest ways to improve communication in your organization right away. Contact her at lizd@worktalk.com or 310.396.8303.
What does Worktalk do?
When communication is clear, business flows. When it is murky, the whole organization suffers. Worktalk enables businesses to harness the power of communication.
Our training programs support you in creating better business results through better writing. Employees learn to communicate clearly, purposefully, and correctly.We offer customized training programs in business writing and effective email. Courses may be delivered in person or online. Visit www.worktalk.com for more information, or contact Elizabeth Danziger at lizd@worktalk.com or (310) 396-8303.