Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.”
Exodus 18:17-18
The health of an organization or institution depends on attending to several key factors. Many books, articles, and opinions provide ample and helpful considerations. I’ve read some; perhaps you have, too. However, my experience and the material I’ve read sparked this article, which focuses on one critical factor: employee engagement.
To show how to engage employees well and cultivate a healthy environment, we’ll consider three key aspects:
Information. Responsibility. Authority.
Below is a Venn diagram pictorially representing my thoughts. I’ll describe each segment below.
Information
This aspect is the pre-determined dissemination of information. Here, you’re answering the following questions.
- How much information is too much, and how much is appropriate for each position within the organization?
- Who is (are) the filter(s) and gatekeeper(s) of information?
- What is the strategy to share the information?
Authority
This aspect is the pre-determined distribution of authority. In this area, you’re answering the following questions.
- What is the level of authority given to each position?
- How long is authority maintained?
- What causes authority to be increased or decreased?
Responsibility
This aspect concerns the pre-determined delegation of responsibility. The following questions must be addressed in this element.
- What is each position responsible for stewarding?
- When does responsibility increase or decrease?
- How is responsibility held accountable?
Summarizing
Problems arise when these three elements are out of balance. For instance, as the chart above represents:
- Information and responsibility without authority lead to busyness.
- Information and authority without responsibility lead to frustration.
- Responsibility and authority without information lead to misguidance.
The leader must seek to balance these three elements to cultivate health in the organization.
How does that happen?
Stay tuned.
— January 29, 2025