A riddle

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it,
Five in the middle is seen;
First of all letters and first of all numbers,
Take up their stations between.
Join all together, and then you will bring
Before you the name of an eminent king. 

Answer at the bottom of this column

 Investors in People "Compare and Learn"   

Those of you using the Investors in People (IIP) standard will be interested to know that Investors in People now provide a benchmarking and improvement tool - "Compare and Learn".

This enables you to access recent and future assessment results on-line, compare these with other Investors in People organizations and access various good practices. It is also a convenient way for organizations to keep information in one place and stay updated about everything linked to Investors in People.  

It is free of charge to people using the IIP standard, although you will first need to register with Investors in People (unless you already have an account). Normally the IIP assessor will agree one person from your organization to have access to Compare and Learn, but more users can be added if required.  

Lack of delegation shows lack of trust, which has a corrosive effect on employee morale and motivation, leading to a downward spiral of frustration for managers and business owners, who need to take on more and more as employees become increasingly demotivated and afraid of initiating any ideas or actions themselves. If you or your managers are stressed, over worked and have difficulty meeting deadlines and/or a tendency to postpone holidays, then it is likely your organization has problems with delegation.

There are clear benefits of effective delegation to an organization, such as

• better use of resources
• better teamwork
• more professionalism
• increased productivity

The modern tendency for organizations to move away from "vertical" hierarchical team structures towards more "flat" structures has actually increased the need for good delegation skills. Team members may need to delegate responsibility for certain actions to their equals or even senior colleagues. In order to do this effectively they need to have self-confidence built on solid delegation techniques.

Delegation is not simply task assignment. It is the passing of authority for decision making from one level or part of the organization to another one. Effective delegation requires time and patience. It involves the person who has delegated the task standing back and allowing the person to whom it has been delegated to get on with it without interference, including allowing them space to find and correct their own mistakes. It also might involve coaching people so they can develop the skills they need to get the job done.  

Here are some tips for effective delegation

• to improve engagement and motivation, involve employees in exercises in goal setting, problem solving and productivity improvement activities
• place your emphasis as a manager on planning, organizing, motivating and controlling rather than doing tasks that others could do
• always view delegation as a positive opportunity for your employees to develop knowledge and skills.
• put some thought into choosing to whom you are going to assign responsibility for a particular task. Do they have the right skills? Is any training required? Is this a good opportunity to satisfy a development need?
• make sure, when you do delegate something, that all relevant people know who has authority and why
• ensure people are actually qualified to take on the responsibility asked of them, providing appropriate training and/or encouraging them to work toward recognized qualifications
• ask the people you delegate to for ideas on how to achieve each task before making a suggestion of how you would do it
• set clear expectations for the outcome of an assignment and take time to brief fully on the details (without prescribing exactly how it should be completed)
• don't set tasks without the appropriate resources or rights to act and make decisions: communicate boundaries and budgetary considerations
• monitor progress by listening to people and encouraging open and honest appraisal of failure, helping them find their own solutions to problems and mistakes by allowing them some space to work it out before intervening
• reward people with praise and recognition, or other promised incentive, when they do succeed in their assignment