Job Analysis via Time Span of Discretion – A Universal Level of Work Measure
By Michelle Malay Carter on February 25, 2009
Titles are Paper Tigers
Relying on titles to compare roles for any purpose is dangerous business.? There is simply too much variation.
Scientifically Validated, Universal Measure
So what is a universal, reliable way to measure the level of work of a role?- time span of discretion, as discovered by Elliott Jaques.? Time span of discretion is one piece of the meta-model, Requisite Organization. At a reader’s request, I’m wading into this discussion.
Within managerial hierarchies, managers get work done through others.? Therefore, it stands to reason that if any given manager’s longest task or deliverable (a what by when)?has a time frame of, say, 2.5 years, any piece of his/her work that s/he delegates to a direct report will have a deliverable with a shorter time frame than 2.5 years.
Length of the Longest Task
Thus, time span of discretion is the targeted completion time of the longest task or task sequence in a role, and time span measures the level of work in a role.? The time span of a role resides in the mind of the manager with the manager-once-removed’s approval.
Ask the Manager
In order to discover the time span of discretion, you must interview the manager to tease out the longest deliverable for which the manager is holding the role accountable.? This can take some practice because managers often have not thought through the roles reporting to them in this manner.
Marketing Example from the PeopleFit Case Files
Just yesterday I was conducting time span interviews with a Marketing Vice President.? When discussing the public relations role that reported to him, he was concentrating on the various PR events and press releases as potential longest tasks.?
These?individual tasks all had completion times under three months which, if these were the longest tasks of the role, would point to the role being a level 1 role.? The manager’s gut was telling him this was a higher level role, and we respect the manager’s gut.
When?I asked him if his PR Manager was accountable for building a local network of media contacts that would ensure frequent coverage of the organization’s “news” and events, the manager’s face lit up as he said, yes!? We plotted this task at 9 months to 1 year which would make the role a high level 2 role.? If the market were bigger or national, this could easily move the role into level 3 with a time span of 1 to 2 years.
See tomorrow’s post for a detailed table that aligns work levels with time span.
Caveat – Nearly Everyone Misses this Subtlety The First Time
Note that time span of discretion can be used as a measure of ROLE complexity.? A role generally will contain multiple tasks.? Time span of discretion cannot be used to measure the complexity level of an INDIVIDUAL TASK.
For example, a CEO task might be to write a 5 year strategic plan.? Writing the plan, which is?a task, might only take a month.? A ROLE with a time span of discretion of one month is a level 1 role.? However, you would not want someone currently operating with level 1 capability writing your 5 year strategic plan.? So the writing of that plan would be one of the CEO’s tasks (and a?very complex one)?but this longest task would likely be the delivery of that plan which has a 5 year time span of discretion.? See?
I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.
Questions?
Filed Under Executive Leadership, Organization Design, Requisite Organization, Work Levels
Comments
2 Responses to “Job Analysis via Time Span of Discretion – A Universal Level of Work Measure”
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Ok, so we can analyze a role based on the longest tasks for which it is held responsible.
But what if we must fill a role requiring a level 3 capable individual and don’t happen to have someone with a demonstrated track record of completing 2-year time span projects on the team waiting for the chance? Are there other ways to tease out their innate capability?
Hi Erik,
Time span of discretion has to do with roles. When it comes to people, we seek to discover their current time horizon – the scale of one’s ability to work into the future. aka current potential capability CPC
This can be done in two ways. (see: http://www.peoplefit.com/Learning-Library/Judging-Current-Potential.html)
The first is the expert method whereby an interviewer engages a person in an arguement building/problem solving interview, and then the structure of their responses is analyzed. Different structures will point to different levels of capability.
The second is a process we use internally in companies (talent pool evaluation, see: http://www.peoplefit.com/Talent-Assessment/Talent-Assessment.html) whereby the managers and managers-once-removed are taken through a facilitated process to make those current potential capability judgments about their direct reports and their direct reports once removed.
First we plot the roles (using time span of discretion) and those become benchmarks. Then we plot people relative to those roles. For the purposes of the talent pool evaluation exercise, we isolate CPC by assuming they have all the knowledge, skills, experience they need. And we assume they have the temperament and the desire for the role.
Regards,
Michelle