A Simple Management Model – the Tripod of Work

By / January 17, 2023

A Simple Management Model – the Tripod of Work

Paul Leibowitz
Director
Bioss South Africa

Despite the title of this blog, management is anything but simple;  it is complex, multifaceted, and difficult.

To be successful, managers should be able to do many or most of the following:

  • Deliver performance through others and themselves
  • Take accountability for others
  • Task, guide, support, delegate, trust and monitor
  • Provide positive as well as constructive negative feedback
  • Create healthy work environments
  • Manage performance
  • Ensure growth and development
  • Coach
  • Empathise whilst balancing task execution
  • Motivate and encourage
  • Manage team dynamics / conflict

Very few managers will be effective at all of the above. In fact, many managers are promoted into management positions as a result of their technical prowess, but have no understanding of what management, let alone goodmanagement, actually requires. What makes it even more complex is that there is not one management model / approach that is guaranteed to work in all situations with all employees, so managers need to be flexible and mature with how they approach management in general.

The Tripod of Work

Whilst management development will always be, and should be, a big focus in organisations, there are some simple management models that managers can utilise to help them be more effective. At Bioss we make use of one such model called the Tripod of Work, which has emerged from listening to tens of thousands of people around the work talk about the conditions that were and weren’t present that enabled them to do their work effectively.  The model focuses on three key conditions that most employees need and want to exist at work:,

  1. To be clear about what is expected of them
  2. To feel that what they are doing is important and valuable
  3. To be allowed to decide for themselves how to get the work done

According to the Tripod of Work, managers therefore need to be able to perform the three Tripod of Work management activities effectively. These activities are:

  1. Tasking – Explaining what needs to be done, by when, to what standard.
  2. Trusting – Entrusting someone with the purposes of the organisation, and then trusting them to use their skill and judgement to do the work.
  3. Tending – Monitoring without interference: attending to what unfolds over time, checking resources, priorities and progress, and picking up early signs of opportunity and risk.

Managers who execute these activities effectively can create the following positive outcomes:

  • Effective employee judgement
  • A sense of coherence and that effective review is taking place
  • Creating the optimal conditions for flow and engagement
  • Employee empowerment, autonomy, control and self-confidence
  • Increased employee willingness to go the extra mile
  • Improved management culture and employee experience
  • Enhanced employee performance and well-being
  • Improved ability to manage in an agile work environment

When implemented effectively, the Tripod of Work is a simple yet powerful model that helps managers to manage effectively.

The original version of this post can be found here.

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