Oncken's Monkey Theory

In my work in various organisations I have found many supervisors/leaders struggle to delegate effectively and tend to take on the problems of subordinates instead of equipping them to take full responsibility and accountability for their own problems and work. Some time ago I came across Oncken’s monkey theory and use it as part of the coaching process to successfully assist people to manage subordinate time effectively. It promotes awareness of poor delegation, spoon feeding and the tendency to solve problems for others instead of facilitating that they solve their own problems. The theory is relevant to the management of most relationships as it assists to minimise co-dependency and increase independence.

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In 1974, the time management specialist, William Oncken, outlined his theory as to why managers are typically running out of time while their subordinates are typically running out of work?  He used the analogy of the monkey on the back to illustrate how managers spend much more time solving problems for their subordinates than they are aware of.

Simply put, this theory equates each problem a person is dealing with to a monkey on their back. Unfortunately, many people try to pass their problems over to other people to deal with, for various reasons, including but not limited to, fear of failure or inability to take responsibility.

Let’s apply the theory to the workplace. Imagine a supervisor passing a subordinate in the corridor, each with their own problems, or monkeys, on their back. The subordinate requests assistance with solving a problem (his/her own monkey). The supervisor says, “leave it with me and I will see what I can do”, the monkey leaps from the subordinate’s back to the supervisor’s back, jostling for space and attention with the monkeys already there. The supervisor now has an additional monkey to look after, less time to give each monkey the required care and attention, and added stress which could have been avoided. If, for example, if an employee has a problem and the manager says, "Let me think about that and get back to you," the monkey has just leaped from the subordinate's back and onto to the manager's back.

Oncken and fellow researcher, Wass established 5 rules for working with subordinates (monkeys)

1.     Monkeys should be fed, or shot (detailed instruction, training and development, specific deliverables) or they will starve to death and the manager will waste valuable time on post-mortems or on reviving them.

2.     The monkey population should be kept below the maximum number that the manager has time to feed. No more than 5 to 15minutes to feed properly maintained monkeys.

3.     Monkeys should be fed by appointment only. (staff must take responsibility) The manager should not have to be hunting down starving monkeys and feeding them on a catch-as-you-can-basis.

4.     Monkeys should be fed face-to-face or by telephone, never by e-mail. (clarity of requirements) Documentation can add to, but not take the place of feeding.

5.     Every monkey should have an assigned next feeding time and an agreed resolution outcome and date. (specific deliverables with d-dates and follow-up or monitoring activities) These should never be vague or not definite.

The manager’s goal, says Oncken, is to minimize or eliminate subordinate-imposed work and develop initiative in subordinates. When you learn how to maintain ‘monkeys’ properly you will stop viewing your people as a source of your problems and will start seeing them as a major driving force for your company or team’s growth. Imagining the monkey leaping from back to back is an excellent way for leaders to maintain awareness of not taking on other people problems and practising effective delegation of responsibility  

Following the rules and observing awareness around the monkey on the back will increase time for your own tasks, and foster effective staff development.  

Consider giving it a go in your workplace!

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