How To Delegate for Fun and Profit
Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to some people. But others ? you know who you are ? would rather undergo a double root canal than hand over a task and walk away from it. The good news is that this is a disease you can recover from. And the better news is that when you choose to give up control you benefit along with the delegatee. As with most things in my life this knowledge was hard come by for me. I had just received a huge promotion to a project which was mind-numbingly large. The first day on the job I asked the assistant of the woman I had replaced why he thought she had had difficulty. He said that she had been unable to delegate; had given him virtually nothing to do and had only emerged from under her staggering workload to complain about how overwhelmed she was. This was sobering news for me as this was also my M.O. at the time. I figured I needed to change ? and fast. At that time I believed that if I wanted a thing done well I absolutely had to do it myself. Or micromanage it to death. Unfortunately events sometimes proved me right. This only encouraged me. Every once in a while I would loosen my death grip a little and delegate to someone who did a half-assed job. This just reinforced my belief system that I was the only one I could rely on. What I didn't realize was that by excluding my staff I was slowly diminishing the possibility that I would ever get any quality assistance I didn't think I was arrogant. That would have been bad. I thought I was a perfectionist. Which is good, right? Well. Yes and no. I've now come around to the idea that perfectionists are not God's gift to business. Except in their own alternative universe. I didn't think that I mistrusted other people - only that I had great intuition about them. And I didn't realize that my constantly telling myself that I was the only one who could be trusted to do a good job was fueling my view of an untrustworthy Universe. It wasn't the case that I couldn't trust my staff to do work well. It was the case that I didn't trust them to do well. My problem ? not theirs. Eventually I came to love delegating. I relished the free time it gave me. My staff thrived on the added responsibility and appreciated my faith in them. After a while they were bugging me for more work; asking what else they could do and how could they help me. Here's how it can work for you. First. Drop the attitude. Your staff knows you're a control freak and they know you don't trust them to do a good job. You may think you're in the closet on this. You're the only one who thinks it's a secret. Get familiar with Chunking. Don't start by delegating an entire project. Certain psychologists believe that anyone can learn to do anything by Chunking. Chunking is when you break down a large task into smaller pieces which are more easily mastered and remembered. Chunking also has psychological advantages. Instead of focusing on the larger outcome ,which might be far away and overwhelming, you are focused on the more immediate goal. So don't delegate an entire task. Delegate a part of it which is within the skills and time constraints of your employees. Better to have several people working on different parts of a project and have one of them get into trouble than have one person dealing with everything and self-destructing. Delegate according to strengths. Everybody is good at something. If not ? then why are they working for you in the first place? Take some time to find your employee's competencies. For example if you need a customer service follow-up choose someone on your staff with a personable phone manner. Preferably someone who is well-liked by your customers. For research - choose an employee who has a good eye for detail and who always needs to know the reasoning behind your decisions. Give clear instructions and structure. Set your staff up to succeed. Never give an open-ended task and tell them to bring it back when it's done. Give them a time frame so that they can pace themselves and their other tasks accordingly. If they have a clear idea of when they need to be completed they will get an early heads-up if they're not running to schedule. Set a date and a time when they will report to you on their progress. If you are particularly control-challenged or if the task is really important you can even make it a daily progress report. For Heaven's sakes leave them alone in between reports. Don't ask them how it's going. Try and put yourself in your dad's position. Remember when you would be in the back seat on family vacations whining "Are we there yet" every few miles. Ever wonder why he blew up? Don't hover. Make it clear, though, that you or someone else is always available for questions in between reports. Give them the tools to succeed. Give them checklists, punch lists, computer time, sample reports or forms to copy. Ask them if there is anything they would need or like in order to organize the task their way. Let them organize the tasks their way. People learn and work differently. Some are visual; some are intuitive; some need daily "to do" lists. Concentrate on the outcome and not the process. If you give free reign over the process - chances are good you will get the outcome you want. If possible delegate tasks to the same people on a consistent basis. In a work situation familiarity often breeds confidence. It also facilitates ownership and pride. I once had several different janitors on my staff who cleaned a very large multi-story building every day. There was no organization or structure to their work. They just showed up and all started at the same place at the same time and went on cleaning whatever was in their path until they were done. I can think of nothing more draining than doing a good job cleaning the same bathrooms and floors and elevators each day only to have them messed up overnight and have to come back and clean them all over again the next day. I felt bad for them and wanted to make their job a little more bearable ? but who likes cleaning? I hit on the idea of assigning one floor to each janitor so that now they had their own territories. Because they had the same area each day they had pride in their floor. They also got to know the people on that floor so the element of relationship became a factor in their day. They even grew to be competitive with each other as to whose floor was the cleanest. This system also helped me. I could tell right away when I walked off each elevator who was slacking off and who was working. Don't forget to say thank you. Say thank you when they give you the work back and then go back later and pick out one particular detail which you appreciated. Maybe it was the way the work was organized or laid out; the fact that it was turned in early etc. Let your employee know that you noticed and appreciated it. Finally, remember that martyrdom is not an attractive quality. You didn't list it as an attribute on your resume and you wouldn't hire anyone who did. Mary Rosendale is a Coach who specializes in Life Design. Her background is Business and Buddhist psychology and she uses this to design and construct daily structures and action plans for her clients to enable them to make decisions in line with their core values.She is a writer and speaker and can be found on the web at http://www.TheConstructedLife.com where you can sign up for her free newsletter or check out her funky blog http:theconstructedlife.blogs.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Build Your Business (On A Shoestring): Hire a College Intern
Starting up a new venture or business can be one of the most exciting times of your life. It can also be one of the most stressful. In the early months, or even early years of your business, cash flow is often not what you would like it to be. If you're a solo entrepreneur, you're wearing many hats ? in fact, you're probably wearing all of them.
Just The Facts
Attitudes are more important than facts.
Why Businesses Need to Start Nurturing Collective Wisdom
COLLECTIVE WISDOM CAN BE AN effective tool for solving the problem of knowledge deficit, or the underutilization of organizational knowledge. If you are a small, medium or large business, and you don't have a method in place for harnessing and managing your organization's collective knowledge, you may be losing opportunities for significant revenue enhancement. According to a study by the Delphi Group, less than 20 percent of knowledge available to an enterprise is actually used. Furthermore,
Motivation - You Get What You Reward
There's a programme currently running on BBC Television in
the UK called - "Little Angels." It's a series that offers
help and advice to parents who're experiencing behaviour
difficulties with their children. I'm sure there are similar
programmes in other parts of the world. The children are
often out of control, won't do what they're told and
generally dominate the family.
Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees
Managing for Best Performance
Innovation Management ? Selecting Good Ideas
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.
Managing YOUR Expectations
I sit on the board of an organization and at the last meeting found myself speaking with another board member named Standolyn Robertson. Standolyn is also a business owner and our conversation was about managing expectations ? both ours and our clients. She said something that is very true--'It is about using our knowledge and expertise to foresee and side-step roadblocks, revise unrealistic timelines and debunk myths.' And I couldn't agree more.
Lower the Bar
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Understanding How Change Has Changed
There seems to be an assumption that change is a single traumatic event that is thrust upon us and over which we have no control.
Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy?
"Must Project Managers be technically savvy?" This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product.
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Organizational Structure of Our Growing Business
This article relates to the organizational structure competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It shows how structural concerns can affect the typical employee workday, as well as feelings towards your organization's management hierarchy and reporting structure. A healthy organizational structure is one that arranges the activities of the enterprise in such a way that they contribute to the goals of the organization. Specifically, this competency looks to see if your employees clearly understand who they report to, as well as measure their sense of accountability to the organization. Evaluating this competency can be especially useful if your organization has recently experienced an organizational restructuring or might be considering one in the future.
Forecasting Support Costs
Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80% of the overall product cost? Well, it does! And while most project managers are fairly good at sizing new product features, many are terrible at estimating the effort required to support a product once it becomes generally available. As a result, maintenance projects are inadequately staffed, companies can't respond to customer requests in a timely manner, and products never reach payback.
Hire Winners: Avoid These 10 Interview No-No?s
Have you ever hired someone who did not live up to expectations? I'm sure many of us have at one time. The purpose of the interview is to obtain good information about an applicant to make a wise selection decision. It may sound simple but then why are there so many poor hires? The reason is that many hiring managers make 10 key interviewing errors that prevent them from hiring the best people.
Joint Accountability: Another Key for Your Effectiveness
I once was part of a group of management professors who often taught in executive development seminars. Other non-management professors in the school ran these. Occasionally these non-management professors would approach someone else in the management group to express their concerns about our teaching - they wouldn't approach the person who had taught for them.
The Compliance Officers Killer Application
It used to be that only the largest multi-nationals needed a Compliance Officer. Today most practices, regardless of size, would be wise to charge someone within their organisation with the responsibility of keeping abreast and managing the compliance process.Take as an example European employment law that has been introduced over the last few years that has changed the face of European businesses. Small businesses in particular are finding that a casual and informal approach to employment issues can now result in statutory fines that have no bearing on the financial health of the individual company and could, without as much as a by your leave, directly result in the demise of a company.Small to medium businesses do not often have the luxury of employing a full time Compliance Officer and although larger organisations can afford a dedicated person they are finding that with compliance issues mushrooming the Compliance Officer now has a team, a department and if not already, how long before compliance becomes a division? Regardless of size, the first step in compliance for any organisation requires them to identify the areas of compliance that are applicable to them. Rules and regulations are being introduced monthly on a local, regional, national and international level, covering everything from data protection and freedom of information, anti-money laundering to environmental waste control, race relations to health and safety; with ignorance being no defence there is a requirement on the individual businesses to know their responsibilities, and fines for those that wait to be told. Having identified the areas of compliance the company then needs to understand what they need to do to ensure they comply. It is becoming conceivable that with the shear volume of compliancy issues that companies who can show a good faith effort in complying will, even when they fall short, reduce the risks of fines.Having identified and understood the compliance issues the Compliance Officer needs to define and implement policy and disseminate the information throughout the organisation.It is important for the Compliance Officer that they do not inadvertently become the company's patsy. Senior managers are not averse to ignoring the internal memos they receive advising them of their responsibilities. Compliance Officers need to deliver their messages up and down the corporate food chain and record that their advice and directives have been received and more importantly understood.The Compliance Officer has to avoid becoming the company scapegoat. This won't happen by itself, a sales team that has a long history of success though a relaxed attitude to selling is not going to willingly adopt new, and what they will see as restrictive, practices without a fight. 'I didn't get the memo', 'I didn't understand it', 'I thought it meant something else', 'I thought these were only guidelines' are likely to be stock replies, along with the one or two old timers that didn't think compliance issues applied to them. It used to be a safe bet to blame IT, blame Compliance is rapidly taking its place.One valuable tool in the Compliance Officer's tool box is the online survey and questionnaire.The online survey can deliver a message internally to the individual; it can be informative like a memo and educational by referencing detailed policy. Importantly it can become a valuable self registering record that confirms that the information has been properly disseminated and understood.A single survey question can achieve all these objectives at the same time.Take an example:-Are you aware that section 45 of the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 imposes an obligation on directors of certain companies to prepare statements on their company's compliance with its relevant obligations? (Click here for a summary of Company's Policy on Compliance Reporting Obligations)YesNoFor those Directors that have not read the policy the survey will give an opportunity to view the company's policy online (using an embedded live HTML link). Should Directors answer 'No' the Compliance Officer knows who to target.The survey also records the manager's response and shifts the responsibility away from the Compliance Officer to the individual manager where the responsibility needs rest for a company to meet its compliance obligations.Using an online website such http://www.surveygalaxy.com where multiple surveys can be managed, easily modified, updated and re-issued on a periodic basis across an organisation online surveys can be the Compliance Officer's killer application.Through the regular use of online surveys the Compliance Officer will be in the driving seat, leading and not chasing compliance issues, not only circulating the information on a one to one basis but also monitoring and recording the level of awareness throughout the organisation.The Compliance Officer's role is a difficult one, like a parent keeping a wayward child on the straight and narrow, most employers, let alone their employees, often do not fully understand the true consequence of their, often innocent, minor discretions. Assigning a Compliance Officer is a start but enabling them to fulfil their remit will be the difference between a company being fully compliant and one that risks suffering the consequences for having let compliance take a back seat.
Get Down With OCP: Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World
Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was a
straightforward process. You'd ask candidates 200 or so technical questions. If they
got 100 correct answers, you knew they'd been around the block; 150 or more and
you knew you were on to superior talent. But once the Oracle Certification Program
(OCP) became popular in the late 90s, the traditional tech interview lost its
effectiveness. These days, candidates can answer 180 questions correctly and you
still won't know whether they're talking from experience or simply regurgitating
what they memorized at OCP a few weeks earlier. Although it has become
increasingly difficult to determine whether you've found a seasoned, highly qualified
DBA or a newly minted OCP Graduate, there are ways.
What is the Most Difficult Part of an Improvement Program?
Answer: Starting one.
Do You Hear That?
I read a report in the Toronto Star stated that 70% of workplace errors happen because of communication breakdown and that many of them directly relate to a lack of listening skills.
Interviewing Candidates: 3 Ways to Avoid Snap Judgments
Have you ever hired the wrong person? If so, perhaps you are an emotional interviewer?
Train Me -- But Follow Through
My mechanic has me trained. When I take my car in for an oil change, he places a sticker in the upper left hand corner of my windshield to remind me what date and mileage I should have my next maintenance completed. But every once in a while, he forgets to put the sticker on the window. Then I have to remember the date and mileage details.
|
