Sight line

Line of sight (LoS) refers to the understanding of how the work, roles and responsibilities affect the success of the company. Enables companies to introduce appropriate changes at the right time and in the right way to achieve sustainable and high levels of business performance

Benefits for organizations and employees

LoS increases job satisfaction, attachment to the organization, and employee retention. Positively referred to commitment and loyalty, and negatively to turnover intentions. Employees has a goal and both understands and believes in personal contributions and their role in the organization. Enable managers to identify blockers and goals at risk

The Big Picture

Three bricklayers were asked on one construction site: What are you doing here? The first replied: "I'm laying bricks." The other man replied: "I'm building a wall". But the third, LoS's man, said with enthusiasm and pride: "Who me? Why I am building the most beautiful cathedral in the world.

To increase productivity, organizations need more employees who understand not only that they are building a wall, but that they are building a cathedral.

Assumptions of LoS

Elements of the Line of Sight approach:

• Clear definition and explanation of goals and priorities,
• Creation of goal measures, and steps necessary to accomplish these goals,
• Adaptation of the organization to specific and measurable goals and objectives,
• Implementation of tools to monitor compliance with the goals,
• Creating awareness and skills necessary to identify gaps, trends, and deviations from course,
• Providing skills and a system to manage those improvements to completion,
• Feedback system, allowing rapid capture and correction of deviations, available to all managers and stakeholders - lessons learned.

Examples of Sight line

• Line of Sight is the ability to understand how individual tasks, roles and responsibilities contribute to the company’s overall goals. It requires employees to understand how their individual tasks are linked to the company’s bigger picture. For example, the sales team may need to understand how their sales performance contributes to the company’s overall financial health.
• Line of Sight is also important in terms of leadership. A leader needs to be able to understand how their decisions and actions affect the team and the company’s overall success. For example, a manager needs to understand how their decisions on team structure and resource allocation will affect the team’s productivity and the company’s bottom line.
• Line of Sight is also important in terms of customer experience. It requires employees to understand how their individual tasks and responsibilities affect the customer’s experience. For example, a customer service representative needs to understand how their customer service affects the customer experience, and how that affects the company’s reputation.
• Line of Sight is also important in terms of measuring success. It requires employees to understand how their individual performance is linked to the company’s success. For example, a marketing team may need to understand how their marketing efforts are linked to increased website traffic, or how their social media campaigns are linked to higher conversion rates.

Limitations of Sight line

Line of sight (LoS) is a concept that enables employees to understand how their work, roles, and responsibilities impact the success of the company. However, there are certain limitations to this concept such as:

• Lack of clarity in goals and objectives - Often, the goals and objectives of an organization are unclear or not communicated effectively, making it difficult for employees to understand how their work contributes to the bottom line.
• Limited incentive structure - Without an incentive structure in place, employees may lack motivation to achieve their goals.
• Lack of alignment between departments - If departments within an organization are not properly aligned, it can create a disconnect between their goals and objectives, leading to confusion and lack of clarity.
• Overly complex processes - If processes are too complex or difficult to understand, it can be difficult for employees to connect their work to the company's goals.
• Poor communication - Poor communication between departments or between employees and management can lead to a lack of understanding of the big-picture objectives of the organization.

Other approaches related to Sight line

Line of sight is an important concept for understanding how work, roles and responsibilities affect the success of a company. Other approaches related to this include:

• Strategic Alignment: Ensuring that the objectives of the company and its various stakeholders are aligned to ensure success.
• Goal Setting and Tracking: Setting specific and measurable goals to keep track of progress and ensure that the company is achieving them.
• Process Mapping: Understanding the various processes and how they interact to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
• Resource Allocation: Deciding how resources are allocated to ensure that the right people are in the right places and that the right tasks are being completed.

Overall, line of sight is a key approach to understanding how the work, roles and responsibilities affect the success of a company. By understanding other related approaches, such as strategic alignment, goal setting, process mapping and resource allocation, companies can ensure they are on track to achieving their goals.

Footnotes

Sight line — recommended articles

Classification of goals and functions — Job scope — Development and organizational balance — Objective setting — Quality policy — Success criteria examples — Sales objective — Management by culture — Goals of organization

References

• Anderson M., (2014), Bottom-Line Organization Development, Routledge, Feb 18, 2004
• Berard J., (2013), Accelerating Leadership Development: Practical Solutions for Building Your Organization's Potential, John Wiley & Sons, Aug 26, 2013
• Boswell R. W., Boudreau w. J., (2001) Boswell Employee Line of Sight to the Organization’sStrategic Objectives - What it is, How it can be Enhanced, and What it Makes Happen" Management Decision, Vol. 39, No. 10, 2001
• Carter N. M., Galinsky E.,(2008), Leaders in a Global Economy: Talent Management in European cultures,Catalyst, Families and Work Institute, Nov 15, 2008
• Covey R. S.,(2013), The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness,Simon and Schuster, Jan 8, 2013
• Lawler E. E., Worley G. C., (2011), Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness, John Wiley & Sons, Feb 17, 2011
• Longuski J., (2007,) The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like a Rocket Scientist, Springer Science & Business Media, May 26, 2007
• Shalloway A., Beaver G., Trott R. J., (2009) Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility, Pearson Education, Oct 22, 2009
• Wilcox M.,(2018) Effective Talent Management: Aligning Strategy, People and Performance,Routledge, Jun 10, 2016

Author: Agnieszka Katarzyna Sikora

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