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The
Manager’s New Year Resolution
Several things are true about beliefs, 1) they drive our
behavior, 2) they are rooted in our past, and 3) they are often
incorrect. One belief many of us hold is, “You can’t have it all.”
As we begin the New Year, this is perhaps, one belief that is worth
challenging. This is particularly true when it comes to the
perceived choice between achieving professional success and having a
personal life. Through our experience, and sometimes by what we are
told by employers, colleagues or our boss, we believe we have to
choose one or the other. I, for one, believe we can have both.
We can achieve professional success and reclaim our personal
lives. The trick is to maximize our productivity and efficiency. But
more important we have to maximize the productivity and efficiency
of those who work for us. We do this through a skill called
effective delegation. Not just delegation, effective delegation.
Anyone can delegate. But unless you do so effectively, you will not
reap the immense benefits that effective delegation can offer.
Some of these benefits include having more time, helping you
focus on what’s most important, helping your staff grow in
capability and confidence, giving you tools to develop, coach and
mentor your people, creating opportunities to provide recognition,
allowing clear documentation of poor performance and ensuring
successful outcomes. The major benefit, of course, is what we first
talked about -- achieving professional success and reclaiming your
personal life.
So what exactly is effective delegation? How can know if you
are delegating effectively? How do you know if you’re not delegating
effectively? It’s pretty simple really. How stressed are you? How
stressed is your staff? How productive is your department? How
efficient is your department? If the answers to these questions
aren’t as pleasant as you’d like, you have the answer -- you’re not
delegating effectively. Conversely, teams and departments led by
managers who delegate effectively are firing on all cylinders. They
get things done right the first time, every time. They are eager to
take on more challenges. They are growing professionally. They
aren’t looking in the want ads for their next job. Instead, they are
invested in the department and the company they work for.
How can you create such an atmosphere with your department?
First, increase productivity and efficiency by ensuring that every
delegated task is done right the first time. This means clarifying
and communicating the critical features of the task. Make sure to
clarify when the task is due and the level of authority the employee
has to take specific actions or to include others with respect to
the task. Ask your delegatee to paraphrase back what he heard so you
can check his understanding.
Periodically check in to see that the task is being done
right. Checking in gives you the opportunity to correct any
problems, provide necessary guidance, and ensure the results will be
successful.
When the task has been completed, hold a debriefing on how
things went. This step provides the closure needed to continuously
build upon the learning in a way that creates even greater
efficiency and productivity.
Once delegated tasks are being done right the first time, you
can look at the different responsibilities of your job and delegate
all but the critical few. Delegating elements of your job allows you
to develop your staff in areas they need to learn and grow in order
to achieve their professional goals.
Delegating effectively frees up your time so you can focus on
what is truly important versus getting bogged down in minutia or
fighting day-to-day fires. And that is how you achieve professional
success and reclaim your personal life!
Donna M. Genett, Ph.D., is president of GenCorp Consulting, and
author of If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It
Yourself! The Power of Effective Delegation
(Quill Driver Books,
800-497-4909, www.WantItDoneRight.com)
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