Exercise · Managing Processes and Resources: Unconventional Solutions
Control Map
Build control of your own task in advance and without the typical mistakes: total, hidden or "occasional" control.
Time25 minutes
ParticipantsIndividually, then pairs
MaterialsParticipant workbook
From the trainingManaging Processes and Resources: Unconventional Solutions
Why this exercise
Control is neither punishment nor distrust, but a way of noticing a deviation in time. The earlier the control, the cheaper it is: checking understanding when the task is set costs a minute; redoing a finished report costs a day. Agreed checkpoints relieve both the manager's anxiety and the employee's irritation: both know when the check will happen.
How to run it
- Briefly explain the three types of control (preliminary, ongoing, final) and the six typical mistakes: occasional, total, hidden, control of a favorite area, control of the process only, attention to trivia.
- 12 minutes, individually: for your own task, fill in the map — stages, who is responsible, checkpoints, tool (conversation, report, observation, metric), what counts as a deviation.
- 10 minutes in pairs: the partner checks the map for mistakes — is there total control, is the result being controlled and not just the process, is there preliminary control?
- General round: one finding from each pair.
Debrief questions
- Which control mistake did you find in yourself?
- Where in your map is there no preliminary control?
Tips for the facilitator
- If someone says "without total control nothing gets done here", ask about the employees' readiness levels: for newcomers, frequent control is appropriate; if everyone needs it, that is a question about task setting and hiring.
- If someone says "control means distrust", answer: distrust is hidden and unexpected control. Agreed checkpoints are the opposite — trust.
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