You will never be an effective leader until you can be comfortable being responsible for what other people do.
This issue’s great advice comes from one of my favorite CEO’s – Rick Frost of LP (Louisiana-Pacific Corporation). I heard Rick address a group of his mid- and upper-level managers and executives on the topic of delegation, and this is what he told them:
“You will never be an effective leader until you can be comfortable being responsible for what other people do.”
He told this audience of leaders, “As CEO, I am ultimately responsible for everything that is done in this company by its employees.” It was a stark reminder of the tremendous responsibility of leadership!
This is one of the main reasons why delegation is a challenge – no matter who you assign the work, ultimately YOU are still responsible for the outcome! It’s why many managers become MICRO managers when they delegate – they “over-supervise” because they fear their team member will not produce an acceptable outcome.
There are a couple of things you can do to dial down your anxiety when you delegate.
First, be sure your team member understands CLEARLY what outcome you want.
Two of the most common things that derail successful delegation are CONFUSION and MISUNDERSTANDING. Confusion is caused by managers who don’t give clear instructions. Misunderstanding is caused when the person receiving the assignment misinterprets the instructions.
It’s the manager’s responsibility to ensure clear understanding when giving assignments.
How do you do that????
Many managers ask the following clarification question when they finish giving instructions to a subordinate: “Do you understand?” Here’s the irony: Most experienced managers know that a “yes” answer does not guarantee clear understanding! Here’s a better approach: When you have finished giving your instructions, tell your subordinate
“Now tell me what you’re going to do.”
Author Ferdinand Fournies calls this “mind reading.” It’s a sure-fire way to find out if your team member is clear on their marching orders. When they feed back your instructions in their own words, you will be able to spot any confusion or misunderstanding immediately.
The second thing you can do to get better results when you delegate is to build “check-in” times into your assignment.
Check-ins are clear, specific, agreed-upon times when you are going to inspect the progress of the assignment with your subordinate.
Clear, specific—“I will be checking in with you on Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning.”
NOT vague, general—“I will be checking in with you from time-to-time.”
And this is the important part: get clear agreement on those check-in times. When you build these moments into the assignment at the outset, it feels less like micromanagement to your subordinate when you show up at the agreed-upon time to discuss their progress.
You can also use this technique when you are working with a colleague on an agreed-upon deadline!
If you are having to collaborate with a colleague who has trouble fulfilling their promise or delivering on their agreed-upon deadlines, you can use this same technique to help you gain more dependable performance from them!
Just remember this:
Check-ins are an OPTIONAL tool for managing assignments—only use check-ins if you need them.
If you are giving an assignment to a subordinate or colleague who has demonstrated consistent reliability, you don’t need to use check-ins! That would be insulting, demeaning, and demotivating to a hard-working, reliable employee!
There are many more things we can help you with when it comes to delegation… How to:
- fit the assignment to the right person
- gain greater buy-in and worker engagement
- get super-high productivity
- manage risk more effectively
- delegate authority with clarity and effectiveness.
So…stay tuned to this blog and get the tools and techniques you need to excel at delegating and assigning work!
Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ helping you to BE a better boss and to HAVE a better boss!
