There is a management principle written more than 80 years ago that I wish more organizations practiced today.
I first learned it when I joined Mobil Oil in 1968 as a marketing representative assigned to Iloilo City.
It is called completed staff work.
In 1942, Colonel Archer J. Lerch of the U.S. Army wrote a memorandum explaining a simple discipline: When you bring a problem to your superior, don’t merely report what went wrong. Study the situation, gather the facts, examine the alternatives and recommend what should be done.
That sounds obvious.
In practice, it is surprisingly rare.
1. Don’t just pass problems upward.
A manager walks into the CEO’s office and says:
“Sir, we have a problem. What should we do?”
My natural response would be:
“What do you think we should do?”
If every difficult issue eventually has to be solved by the person at the top, why have managers?
A manager shouldn’t simply be a messenger carrying problems from one level of the organization to another. Management requires judgment. It means taking responsibility for thinking through the problem before passing it upward.
2. Come prepared with a recommendation.
Completed staff work doesn’t mean you have to know everything or guarantee that your recommendation will be accepted.
It means doing your homework.
Understand the problem. Get the facts. Look at the alternatives. Consider the costs and risks. Then come forward and say:
“This is what I recommend, and this is why.”
The boss can approve it, reject it or modify it. That’s part of leadership.
But at least you have done the thinking instead of simply transferring the problem to someone else.
3. Think like an owner.
The original memo offers an excellent final test: Would you be prepared to put your name and professional reputation behind what you are recommending?
I would add another question:
If this were your business and your own money, would you still recommend it?
That changes the way we think.
Costs suddenly matter more. Details get another look. Risks are taken more seriously. Excuses become harder to justify.
That is the owner’s mindset.
4. Finish the job.
There is another dimension to completed staff work that I strongly believe in.
Don’t stop halfway.
Sending a report doesn’t mean the work is finished. Forwarding an email doesn’t mean the problem has been resolved. Holding a meeting doesn’t mean something has actually been accomplished.
Follow through until there is a conclusion.
In my language:
Close the loop.
Final thoughts
The tools available to us today would have been unimaginable in 1942. We have smartphones, instant communication, Google, spreadsheets and artificial intelligence.
Yet none of these can substitute for ownership, judgment and accountability.
The people who become truly valuable to an organization are those who can be entrusted with a problem and relied upon to think it through.
Don’t come to your boss saying:
“We have a problem. What should we do?”
Come instead with:
“We have a problem. I’ve studied it. These are our options. This is what I recommend. And I’m prepared to take responsibility for getting it done.”
That is completed staff work.
And that is what good management and good leadership look like.
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