How a steering team can take a wrong turn

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Is your organization using a steering committee to direct its quality improvement effort? Has the steering team run into problems? Are members frustrated? If so, you're not alone. Many organizations have created steering teams and although they seem like a logical idea, they can steer the quality initiative right off a cliff if their role is misunderstood.

If you aren't familiar with the term "steering committee," here's a description: A mixed group of 6 to 10 managers and employees representing different levels and departments. Often the union is represented on the committee. This cross-section of people is charged with directing the quality improvement effort for an organization.

So how do they get off track? Here are some common ways steering committees spin their wheels:

·        Occasionally, the steering committee becomes a forum for individual employees with their own private agenda. This format is perfect for the idealistic employee who can finally get management's ear and tell them everything they're doing wrong (with little personal sense of responsibility for helping with the solutions). This is particularly true when volunteers for the steering team are allowed to self-select.

·        Sometimes it becomes a forum for employees to complain to the top manager about their own bosses (particularly if middle managers are left out of the process).

·        In other cases, it's a way for the senior member to get input or communicate information to employees who might not be hearing it from their own managers. The frustrated executive realizes that middle managers aren't taking responsibility for leading the changes so this is a way to by-pass them and force the communication. Unfortunately, this can lead to a big division between the steering team and the management group. Management gets more resistant as the steering team gets more vocal.

·        Sometimes the steering team becomes a working group and they tackle a policy or workplace issue. But this is often a prescription for frustration. Because they are a cross functional group, the only issues they all have in common are big, cross-departmental issues that affect every department. These issues are usually very political. Often, they are complex or beyond the control of the group and therefore difficult to fix.

·        Frequently, the solutions generated by the steering committee are too general ("improve communication") because they really don't have the authority to get down to the nuts and bolts of solving the problem. As a result, solutions tend to be broad efforts (such as creating a newsletter to solve all the communications problems) rather than specific tactics involving many individuals.

·        Often, steering team members who have been at it awhile begin to feel pressure from their fellow employees. Their peers begin demanding changes and they ask why nothing seems to be happening. "Gee, you spend hours in those meetings while the rest of us are back here doing your job..." Ironically, the employee members of the steering team begin to feel much like the managers who's employees are cynically sitting back waiting for "change."

·        In addition, when the work environment lacks trust, well-meaning employees are often intimidated by others in the group. They fear ridicule or peer pressure from their fellow employees on the committee if they speak out or appear to take what seems to be a "management" view.

·        Finally, the steering team becomes a committee that doesn't communicate with their respective constituencies. As a result, the steering committee gets out ahead of the rest of the workers and there is no alignment among employees.

So what's the solution? Steering team members and the managers should spend time upfront discussing their respective roles and responsibilities. Leading the change effort cannot be delegated to the steering team. Steering teams do well when they act as advisors to the management group-instead of replacing them. The key thing to remember is this: No steering team can do what the managers will not do. To think otherwise is to kid yourself.

Would you like to bridge the commitment gap with your employees?   We provide management consulting, executive coaching and customized, skills-based training for managers and supervisors, that changes behavior, creates a healthy culture and builds a customer-focused team.  Call us today at (800) 348-1944.