|
Author: Ed Sykes Article source: http://www.netterweb.com/. Used with author's permission.
On the first season of the television reality show, The
Apprentice, Donald Trump would give the ultimate winner
the dream job of working for him, running one of his
divisions and earning $250,000 per year. On the final
episode, the choice came down to two candidates, Bill
Rancic and Kwame Jackson, for the "ultimate" job. Both
were very qualified. Bill Rancic was the owner of a
successful Internet cigar business grossing over one million
dollars a year, and Kwame Jackson was a graduate of
Harvard Business School and most recently worked for the
prestigious Wall Street investment house, Goldman Sachs,
as an Investment Manager.
In my opinion, the decision on who would receive the job
came down to one thing…delegation. Both Bill and Kwame
delegated tasks to their "team members" and achieved
success. However, Kwame was asked several questions by
Mr. Trump relating to how Kwame handled one team
member, Omarosa Manigult-Stallworth. Mr. Trump
wondered why Kwame let Omarosa get away with lying to
him and not working with the other team members to make
the project successful. Kwame responded to Mr. Trump that
he didn't know he could fire Omarosa. Mr. Trump stated that
Kwame should have asked if he could fire Omarosa.
Bill Rancic got the job. This drives home the point…learn
how to delegate to accelerate success both for you, your
organization, and your team.
If we know it is an important key for our success, why don't
we delegate? Here are some of the excuses I routinely hear:
* No Time - I have no time to teach a team member the
tasks.
* No Energy - It takes a lot of energy to follow-up and
keep team members on task for success.
* I Can Do It Better - I know what needs to be done and
can do it better and faster so I'll just do it.
* Why Should I? - Why should I train someone to do my
job?
Why? If you are in a leadership position, your job is to take
the time and the energy to train others to do more so that the
you, your team, and your organization are more successful.
Well, what are the benefits of quality delegation?
1. You multiply yourself - The more you delegate, the more
you create team members that can accomplish much more
in much less time. You are known as someone who gets
things done with self-directed teams.
2. You create a motivated group - The more you delegate,
the more your team members are motivated because they
see you as someone who trusts them and their abilities to
get things accomplished. Because your team is motivated,
they take more initiative to create solutions, be more
creative, and are willing to take on more responsibilities.
3. You master stress and time management skills - You are
forced to prioritize your tasks and realize that there are
tasks that you do not need to do, yet would be perfect
tasks to develop your team members. By learning how to
prioritize your tasks for delegation, you will be less
stressed during the workday and go home at the end of the
day satisfied that you accomplished more.
4. You are known as a person who develops people - The
more you delegate, the more you will be known within the
organization as a person who develops people. Remember,
even when you think no one is watching, someone is
always watching the way you achieve success by
developing your people. Whether it's management, other
teams, departments or divisions, someone is watching.
The word will spread about how well you develop people.
The results, management will see you as a developer of
people; and other employees, both inside and outside of
your organization, will fight to work for you because they
know you have a motivated, creative working environment.
5. You create opportunities for yourself and others - By
delegating tasks to others, you can then take on more
advanced tasks that will prepare you for future
opportunities when they become available. This is the
main reason why the excuse "if I delegate my tasks to my
employees, then they can take my job" doesn't fly in my
book. Another reason why you delegate tasks is so that
you can develop yourself for future promotions, monetary,
and career opportunities. For example, if you want to
become vice president for your organization and you know
that skills B, M, Z are required by all vice presidents, then
delegate any management tasks that you have already
mastered to your team members so that you can then ask
for more "vice presidential" tasks. When that position is
available within or outside of the organization, who do you
think will have the inside track? You will! Because you
can say you already have the skills of a vice president,
while developing the people behind you to fill the void
when you are promoted. Also, as a leader, you never want
your team members to be with you in the same position
forever. Thus, delegating tasks continuously prepares
them for opportunities that may come their way.
So how do we successfully delegate tasks? Here are my
seven steps to delegating tasks to achieve success. These
tips can not only be used in your organization for more
success, but in every aspect of your life to accomplish more.
1. Understand the Task
Make sure you understand the task so that you can clearly
communicate the task to the person undertaking the task.
You must also understand what barriers and resources are
required to succeed.
Also, you must understand what tools you have to make the
task successful. Along with resources needed, if the person
isn't progressing on the task, what options do you have as a
leader and manager to make it successful? Questions you
can ask is, "Can I provide additional training?" or "Can I
acquire additional tools?" Or if they are not suited for the
task, ask these questions, "Can I reassign them?" or if they
turn out to be detrimental to the project or team, "What
actions can I take to alleviate this situation?"
Make sure you click on the "Delegation Checklist" link at the
end of this article to receive your f*r*e*e copy of this
important tool that will give you the tools to make the best
decisions when delegating tasks.
2. Find the Right Person
Find the person who is motivated to take on the task. You
may have someone who has the skills to do the task but is
not motivated to do it. This situation will not work.
However, if you have someone that doesn't have the skills,
but is highly motivated to learn and is excited about the
opportunity, then this is a good candidate for delegation.
The person must also be motivated to take on this task for
the good of the group as well as his/her own motivations.
You might ask, "How does this assignment help you achieve
your career goals?" It also helps the person has good
communications skills to express any concerns.
3. Communicate the Task
Take the time to clearly communicate the task. Communicate
the expectations of the task. And most importantly,
communicate the ownership of the task. What I mean is that
the person assigned to the task will be ultimately responsible
for the success of the task. When communicating
responsibility for the task, let the person know the
consequences of not completing the task and the rewards of
completing the task. For example, you might say something
like this:
"Mike, this report to justify the new computer system is
important because if it is not done on time our division will
not have the tools to meet our customer's needs. By putting
together the report by the June 15th deadline we will qualify
for the new computer system which will allow our division to
exceed customer service expectations, increase our
organization's bottom line and earn you a bigger bonus and
positive exposure for future opportunities. I know you will
do what it takes to make this happen."
Note: If possible, show the employee how to do the task.
Telling and showing the person delegated the task enhances
the probability of his/her understanding and being confident
with the task.
4. Provide Resources, Remove Barriers
Now is our opportunity to make sure that the person we are
delegating the task to has the resources. Whether it is the
time, people, or technology, it is our responsibility to find
out after understanding the task, picking the right person,
and communicating the task to provide the resources for
success. I have seen time and time again in a variety of
organizations where the person delegated the task has the
ownership for its success but doesn't have the resources to
be successful. Take the time to ask the following question,
"What resources will you need to be successful?"
Also find out what barriers might be in the way to successful
completion of the task and eliminate them. This could be
people, organizational restrictions, or lack of knowledge. For
example, with people, the task you assign might require the
person assigned the task to work with someone who has a
"challenging personality." Knowing this, you could make
sure that this person with the "challenging personality"
understands the importance of this task so that he/she does
not hinder the success of the task.
Note: Let the person delegated know that you have an open
door should he/she have any questions concerning the task.
Open communication is important for this arrangement to
work.
When you provide resources and remove barriers for the
person delegated the task, you are ensuring complete
ownership for the success of the task.
5. Guarantee Understanding
Make sure when the person leaves the meeting, that he/she
understands exactly what is expected. The typical
interaction between a manager or supervisor and the
employee is the manager asks, "Do you understand
everything we discussed?" and the employee of course
says, "Yes." Then a week later the manager is disappointed
with the results of the task and asks, "What happened?" and
the employee says, "I didn't understand what I was
supposed to do." We set that employee up for failure by not
taking the time to make sure he/she understood what was
expected to make this task successful.
By asking the question, "Mike, do you understand the task
at hand?" you receive a closed-ended, or yes or no, answer.
It doesn't give you one ounce of information on whether the
person understands the project.
By asking an open-ended question, "Mike, please share with
me your understanding of what is required to make this task
successful?" the person giving the answer is required to
give a comprehensive answer detailing his/her thoughts on
the task at hand. The answer will give you an indication as
to whether the task is understood or not. Also, at this point,
the employee may give you in the answer a totally different
and better way to accomplish the task.
6. Encourage Success
Let the person delegated the task know that you have
confidence in him/her. Remember, in most cases, this task is
new to him/her and by communicating that you have
confidence that he/she will be successful gives the
confidence to succeed. You might say something like:
"Mike, I'm glad we had the time to go over this task today
and you understand what is required to be successful. I am
excited and confident that you will make this task your own
and put your unique spin on it. I look forward to hearing
about your progress on this task and the successes along
the way to its completion. Thank you for undertaking this
very important task."
7. Followup, Reward, Followup, Reward
This is where I go back to The Apprentice. Kwame's follow-
up, or lack of appropriate follow-up with Omarosa, could
have led to his team's failing and morale going down. It did
lead to Kwame not getting his dream job.
Here are some tips for good follow-up:
* Make sure you know the level of follow-up required. One
factor is the person you are delegating the task to and
his/her level of knowledge and confidence concerning the
task. Ask! Some people may want much follow-up, while
other may require little follow-up. It also depends on how
difficult the task is to complete.
* Make sure you have scheduled follow-ups. Before you
leave the first meeting, make sure you schedule your first
follow-up; whether it is one day or week, schedule that first
follow-up.
* Reward progress at each follow-up meeting and in public
if possible. Show appreciation (Read my article,
"Appreciate to Motivate") in the meeting and, if possible,
in public so that everyone is motivated to do more.
* Correct to get back on track. In most cases it may be as
simple as showing the correct way of doing the task or
brainstorming so that the person responsible for the task
will come up with the solution. This will keep the person
and your team motivated toward the end result. Or, in
Omarosa's case, what steps do you need to take to get the
project back on track? Possibly retrain, reassign, minimize,
provide corrective action or the ultimate action…terminate
the person if he/she are knowingly disregarding your
organization's policies and procedures. Believe me,
"Omarosas" are rare if you have taken the necessary steps
along the way to pick the right person.
If you follow the steps mentioned, you will be well on the
way to enjoying a successful career, business, and life and
accomplishing far more in less time. Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and leading
expert in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress
management, customer service, and team building. You can
e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at
(757) 427-7032. Go to his web site,
http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter,
OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Empowerment and
Stress Secrets for the Busy Professional."
How to Use a Home Equity Line of Credit Calculator
There is luckily a very helpful tool that will take the guess work out of home equity loans. Before you commit to anything, you should play around with a home e...
Exercise Bikes - Reviews and Advice
Two types of exercise bikes are available. The design of the upright bike resembles that of a typical road bike but they are stationary. The pedals are position...
Negotiate Your Way Out Of Debt
Eliminating your debt is a daunting task. What can you do to get out of debt fast? Believe it or not, negotiation along with proper financial responsibility i...
Trust - The Most Vital Component in Leadership
Trust is the foundation for every successful leader's accomplishments. When people don't trust the leader, they won't follow very far. How do you get it? What...
Suicide - An Eternal Pain
Suicide affects people all over the world. This poem depicts the loss and grief suffered after a death caused by suicide.
10 Items of the Well-Stocked Diaper Bag
Does your diaper bag have everything you need in it? Of course, you have the basic items: diapers, wipes, bottles, etc. But are you equipped for any "baby situa...
Poker Fashion
Just like any other media driven sport in the world, poker has its own fashion and its own distinct look. But what exactly is the 'poker look'?
What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?
The next time you find yourself relaxing on the couch, having popped some corn and about to watch the "Sopranos", instead, pose this $1,000,000 lottery question...
5 Good Reasons a Self-Employed Professional Should Take Vacation
So you think you're not justified in taking time away from your business because you're self-employed? Here are five great reasons why you should definitely tak...
Christmas Mourning
Christmas sales, decorations, advertisements -everyone seems so happy and cheerful - it's easy to feel alone.
How (NOT) to Buy Mutual Funds
When it comes to mutual funds, there is a lot more to success than just finding a good one. Sad investment stories like the following are all too common. I hope...
Failure or Tempory Defeat You Decide
This article is about having a winners mindset, getting up after your down, brushing yourself off & keep fighting to achieve your goal no matter what it takes.
Term Life Insurance - Save Money the Smart Way
Term life insurance is not the answer to all life insurance requirements, but it should be part of a sound plan for every person's financial future.
Creating Demand With Email Newsletters
You've launched your web site. You've implemented a public relations campaign and spent oodles of money advertising in trade journals, magazines and newspapers....
How to Find a Cheap Debt Consolidation Loan
If you're shopping around for a cheap debt consolidation loan, then you're going to want to try to find the one that has the lowest interest rate that you can g...
Five Reasons You Should Write to Help Your Business
Most business owners are overwhelmed with the day to day running of their businesses that they dont have time to put into business promotion. I encourage you to...
Advertising on Your Site - Google Onsite Advertiser
Google Adsense has just become more powerful overnight. As if it wasn't enough that Google now gives you $100 for every successful referral to their Adsense pro...
The Mystery of the Magical Keyword Density Formula
Keyword density. When it comes to SEO copywriting, this has to be one of the most talked about subjects. Why? Because keywords are the very foundation of sea...
Bringing Your Individuality to Work: Brilliant or Taboo?
Here's a career secret--our uniqueness is now called "personal branding" and it's what distinguishes you from everyone else in the organization. Are you ready t...
Start Small and Your Wealth Will Get Bigger
We've all heard the phrase, "You have to start somewhere." Nothing could be truer of creating wealth and prosperity in your life. Sometimes the idea of becoming...
Factors Influencing a Currency Pair Exchange Rate
A country's exchange rate is typically affected by the supply and demand for that country's currency in international exchange markets. The exchange rate refer...
The Omega Zone Diet and Fish Oil
Is high-dose fish oil the magic pill? Dr. Barry Sears claims that Zone diet, combined with daily supplements of high-dose fish oil ("pharmaceutical grade"), ant...
Personal Life Coaching And How It Can Help You
Coaching is an effective process used to support individuals in creating something new for themselves. See how it could help you.
Discovering The Art of Bending Your Mindset And Manifesting Your Multiple Intelligences
How a Doctor transcended from a Foot Surgeon-Podiatrist to mastering the art of selling real estate. It ain't easy going from a public perceived profession of s...
|
Print this page