There are many managers in BPO and IT outsourcing projects. To name a few: client executives, sales directors, delivery managers, transition managers, contract managers, finance managers, etc. etc.
There are many good managers, a few excellent managers and unfortunately also a number of immature managers.
There are also many Management Maturity Models. None of them are as simple and straightforward as the model featured in the picture below.
It shows a maturity model that was developed many years ago by Max van Sonderen and my dear friend Jean-Pierre Buuron.
It shows four levels:
· LTL (“Lot to Learn”)
· Immature manager
· Mature manager
· Outperformer
An LTL manager needs to be informed about issues that have arisen within their area of responsibility.
An immature manager, at the next level, may raise issues but fails to propose any solutions to address them.
Moving up to the mature manager level, we find individuals who not only identify problems but also provide options for resolution. These managers thoroughly assess and present the pros and cons of each option and express their preferred choice. They actively seek input from leadership to make the most informed decision.
At the highest level, the outperformer, managers take proactive measures and inform leadership afterwards about issues that have recently occurred. They outline how they successfully resolved the problems, ensuring that leadership is aware in case further inquiries arise.
Let me give an example of a manager at the LTL level.
In one of my projects we had an IT manager who implemented an IVR (Interactive voice response) system for our front office services. He forgot to check what requirements and legal limitations were set for the implementation. In so doing, client calls were recorded without an upfront warning message and opt-out possibility. Once we found out, and in order to comply with GDPR, we had to hire an expert company for approx. $75k to purge the personal data that was collected over a period of a few months. And we had to manage the fallout of the reputational damage with the client. Not to mention the endless hours of effort we had to spend on solving the matter.
At the immature level there are loads of examples of managers who seem to be only capable of raising issues. While better than the LTL managers, this is not the behavior that is expected of a manager (nor in line with their remuneration). I have learned that effective managers do not come with problems but rather with solutions. As simple as it sounds, this simple approach is often forgotten.
What I am used to say to my direct reports is that “they are not just hired for their hands (to type emails) but also for their brains (to present solutions, options, alternatives)”.
The outperformers are the leadership’s favorites. Problems will always exist in outsourcing projects. How great is it when you are a leader and you are informed by your direct report that a sticky problem was solved recently without the need for your involvement?
You do want to know about it, because you might be questioned by clients or other stakeholders.
One caveat: these outperformers do need to check in with leadership every now and then about certain guardrails. If their solutions are too creative or wild they might create a new problem in addition to solving the old problem. They also need to be conscious of resources (time and money). Finding a solution with unlimited resources is not too difficult, but that is not what is expected of a mature manager.
Note: maturity in a management role is potentially dependent on more factors than the approach taken in this model, such as industry knowledge, experience, and adaptability. However, one could argue that a manager might be an outperformer even if s/he has little industry experience. Such a manager would simply surround him / herself with experts who can fill such gaps in the skill set of the manager. Remember: an outperformer solves an issue herself and then reports about it. So if the issue is lack of industry knowledge he will know how to acquire that.
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