Top Tips for Managers - Delegating the Work!

It's difficult getting other humans to do stuff!

As a Manager, setting and assigning tasks is one of the key differences between being the boss and not being the boss. So, why is it so hard?

For me it was about going from being an expert at something, being measured on my expertise and personal productivity, to being measured on the personal productivity of half a dozen other people... that didn't do the task the way that I did. God forbid, they had their own way of doing the same task!

I found it very stressful relying on others to do things right. To do things to the standard I expect of myself (let's be honest, we do tend to walk around with an inflated version of the standards of our work compared to others), and most importantly to do things to a standard that would not damage my personal brand.

In the 2nd post aiming at helping Managers get the people stuff right, my learning along the way has led to a few tips that can help Managers delegate the work in an effective way. You'll find they're all fully in your control:

Top Tips for Managers No. 2 - Delegating the Work

1. Get Over Yourself

This was a big one for me. It was in between my ears to activate this in the positive! 
Your way is not the only way. As my Mum used to say "there's more than one way to skin a cat". If you think that your way is the only way, it is very easy to become the dreaded micro-manager! Constantly on people's shoulder checking up. This is not effective use of your time and sets morale on a deadly downward spiral. People don't (generally) come to work to do a bad job. Give them the space to do a good job, and give good quality feedback (see point 3).

If you can't get to the point of accepting other approaches it will inevitably lead to either being a micro-manager or getting back on the tools instead of managing - I've seen both happen over the years and it's never pretty.

The positive outcomes here include:

• Learning other ways to do tasks - possibly innovating on process and getting better team outcomes.
• Better use of your time.
• More empowered team members .
• Happier team members - happier customers (because the two are inextricably interlinked, don't kid yourself that they're not).

2. Build Trust

Trust is a two-way street. We spend a lot of time trying to gain trust from our team members. So they trust our intentions, strategies and plans (particularly during change), but how much effort do we put in to 'Us' trusting our team members.

If you've already fallen into the micro-manager spiral, learning to trust your team can be difficult, so don't just think you can flick a switch and it will all change. Take baby steps. 

Firstly, consider that it's easy to have a negative filter on. All we remember are the times somebody screwed up. Usually because we had to go in and put out the fire. 

So, the opportunity here is to delegate tasks in bite size form to start. Set your team member up to demonstrate themselves at their best. Most importantly, notice the successes and start filtering for the positive outcomes. Let these be the things that you think of when considering your team member's 'trustability'.

Again, this one is in the mind. It's all within our own control here. Give people the space to get things right. Every now and then they will stumble, but don't let it cloud your judgement of them. Whatever the outcome always ensure that you give good quality feedback (see point 3).

3. Give Good Quality Feedback

We got there - this is the linchpin to the whole idea of getting really good at delegating. If you maintain a coaching mindset to how you work with your team, it's a no-brainer that you must build a culture of quality feedback within the team. Quality feedback leads to skill development, a positive approach to solutions and improved team output.

This starts with the feedback that you provide - you can be the role model. Whether it's positive or negative, the same model below can help to keep feedback future focused and action based, not personality based:

Example of Recognition - in the 'Recognition' box you can even seek out ideas for additional improvements:

Example of Alternative - in the 'stop doing' box, coach the team member with a question rather than tell, tell, tell:

Summary

Three quick and easy tips to get you on track to being the master of delegation. Delegating with emotional intelligence and purpose, which is all I've really written about here leads to increased engagement and better outcomes. Pop it in your toolkit and prosper!

“Connect with me at www.remarkablelearningsolutions.com to talk about more ways to help managers get the people stuff right!”