Do You Delegate?

The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.–Anthea Turner

Is delegating work part of your role as a leader?  We hope so. Effective leaders are effective delegators. Why?

**Delegation frees time and provides an opportunity to  develop others**

As leaders, we frequently spend too much time doing tasks; we are working in the business instead of on the business.   As leaders we need to step back from the tactical work and spend more time on strategic thinking and innovation, and more time coaching and developing others.

There are numerous reasons for not effectively delegating.

The most common are not trusting that the job will get done to our satisfaction, discomfort with assigning a boring task, or feeling guilty that the workload will be too great.

Here are some tips to help:

Plan your delegations – Assess the strengths of your delegate, match the assignment accordingly.

Provide clear, documented instructions and due dates.This prevents misunderstandings and if the task is new to your delegate, they can refer back to your instructions.

The best delegators provide the “what and when”, and leave the “how” to the individual which is more empowering and motivating.

Assess how long the task would take you and build in extra time for your delegate; obtain buy-in that the deliverable date is realistic.

Ensure your delegate has the appropriate resources they need to be successful. Inform staff, co-workers, business partners, etc of your delegated role.

Follow-up and monitor the progress; you may be needed to add clarity to the task or be nothing more than a sounding board.

Acknowledge the contributions of your delegate and provide constructive feedback for areas of growth.

Effective delegation increases morale, builds your talent pool, and strengthens trust within your organization.

Are you an effective delegator?

QWIKTIPS –

Click to read about CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCE

If you delegate authority, you will build leaders.–Craig Groeschel

Average Is Over

What sets successful people apart from everyone else?

PeopleTek’s strategic partner, E-Coach Associates, has produced a series of videos that provide strategies for making us perform at our best.

The first video begins with “Average Is Over”.  Indeed it is. Competition in the workplace is stronger than ever so it’s up to us to understand how we can contribute more and become more successful.

It’s no surprise that it starts with us. We need to be continual learners and we need to consistently build our awareness levels (of ourselves and of others).

Other key points include:

  • Be easy to work with (being competent is a given)
  • Understand the other persons point of view
  • Learn the biases of others (ex. Frustrations, disappointments, etc)
  • Ask others to share THEIR experiences
  • Watch and listen for behavioral preferences (adapt accordingly)
  • Have clear expectations (what do you expect of others/what do they expect of you?)

Don’t be afraid to ask what the #1 expectation is from others (especially your boss!). Don’t assume as you may be surprised!

Have you and your boss ever been “out of alignment” regarding expectations? Let us know how you got back on track.

QWIKTIPS – 

Click to read about LEADERSHIP TOOLS

DISCOVER SUCCESS

5 Types Of Change

There is no getting around change. It happens every day in every type of organization.—Britt Andreatta, Ph.D, author

Change in the workplace. It’s inevitable, so as leaders, what are we doing to reduce the failure rate? Studies show that 50 – 75% of change results in failure, either initially (it is never successfully launched), or that it does not sustain itself due to lack of buy-in across the organization.

Dr. Britt Andreatti, writes about how our brains must be harnessed to help us drive and thrive through change, and has identified 5 types of change in the workplace.

5 Types Of Change – excerpts from WIRED TO RESIST by Britt Andreatta 

  1. Strategic – how the organization will fulfill its mission
  2. Structural – the organization’s internal set-up
  3. Process – how the organization maximizes productivity and workflow
  4. Talent – maximizing employee skill and performance
  5. Cultural – shifting attitudes, values, and behaviors

It’s probably no surprise that the ability to change the mind-set of our people is the most difficult. If we don’t get them on-board, and if they do not support the new vision and core values (or perhaps don’t understand or know HOW to support it), success is unlikely.

Dr. Andreatta feels there are 4 key factors that influence success rates: Disruption, Acclimation, Choice, Desire  

As leaders we need to assess the amount of disruption and the time required for acclimation. We can label them as:

ORANGE – A lot of effort but over quickly

GREEN – Little effort and over quickly

YELLOW – Little effort over a long period

RED – A lot of effort over a long period

Take time to review the level of disruption for each change as that will help with realistic time expectations for acceptance. Equally important is assessing if the change was a choice or a mandate, and whether it was viewed as desirable.

Dr. Andreatta states that humans are “biologically wired to resist change”, and as leaders we MUST acknowledge and manage the emotions of the change curve (shock, denial, anger and fear) before we can expect acceptance and commitment.

As leaders, our challenge it to erase the equation that CHANGE=DANGER.  Are you prepared?

QWIKTIPS –

Click to read about GROWTH, CHANGE, STRESS

Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better. Bill Bradley