Welcome to Issue # 6 of The Leading Edge, a bimonthly e-letter from Leadership Development Services. In the last issue we focused on Feedback. This month, we explore delegation because to lead effectively it matters a great deal.
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Leadership In Action
Successful leaders learn that delegation is a leadership competency - as important to their own development as to the people around them. We offer two case studies to highlight the challenges of effective delegation.
Janna, a manager in a large manufacturing company, reported that Liz, one of her staff constantly asked for more responsibility. Janna, however, had little confidence in Liz and had resented her ambition.
Janna decided to set her up for failure by assigning her a project that Janna perceived as too complex and too difficult for Liz's over-inflated skill set. However, much to Janna's surprise, Liz not only succeeded, but, far surpassed her expectations. Janna learned two lessons: (1) she discovered that Liz was a far greater asset than she had realized, and (2) that Janna's own views may have been limiting Liz's development. She realized , as manager, she had to set up her employees for success. In a nutshell, she had to delegate more often.
John, too, learned the value of delegation. He traditionally involved himself in the entire manufacturing process of a customer's order. He believed himself indispensible. John arrived before 6 am and left after 7pm: much longer hours than his job description had stipulated. He was constantly exhausted, but told himself (and others) that there was no other way to ensure the quality of the product. It was no wonder that John was burned out. He became bitter, angry and resentful of others. When John's boss mandated that John delegate some of the oversight, John complained that he didn't have time to stop and train someone. John had created his own catch 22! He had to delegate or jeopardize his position and his health.
Delegation mattered to both Janna and John. Janna learned how important it is to grow others by assigning them challenging work. John learned he had to relinquish control and trust others in order to save himself.
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The Art of Delegation |
There is a give and a get to delegation. Leaders give authority, responsibility and accountability to their direct reports. Leaders get commitment, acceptance and understanding. Both sides are critical to a successful outcome. This is a difficult process that requires leaders to trust themselves and to trust others.
Give |
Get |
Responsibility |
Commitment |
Authority |
Acceptance |
Accountability |
Understanding |
Follow these eight steps to ensure a successful delegation process that supports the needs of both the "giver" (the person doing the delegating) and the "getter" (the person to whom work is being delegated): Eight Steps - Choose the responsibility that you wish to delegate to someone else.
- Identify the person to whom you are delegating and why you are choosing this person.
- Clearly outline the specific tasks to be done.
- Define expectations and performance standards.
- Allow the person to perform the task.
- Establish checkpoints to monitor progress.
- Provide feedback.
- Recognize the person for a job well done.
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Something To Think About
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Blaine Lee, founding vice president of Franklin Covey Company, once observed, "The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players." As you learn to delegate more effectively to your orchestra, consider:
- Could someone do your current task better?
- What on your plate do you not have time to work on?
- Can you create a development opportunity by assigning another increased responsibility? task?
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What's Coming In January 2011:
Leading Effective
Blog #1 -Meetings from Hell: What's wrong with meetings and what you can do about it.
Blog #2 - Preparing for a Meeting: 8 Must-Cover Items
Blog #3 - Moving right along: Pointers for Maintaining Focus
Blog#4 - Meeting Busters: How to Manage Difficult Participants
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Mentoring: Raising the Bar on Performance
Attend our February 10, 2011 Workshop in Phoenix, AZThe Center for Mentoring Excellence is offering a full day workshop focused on helping you raise the bar on your mentoring performance. Don't miss this opportunity to learn with authors Dr. Lois Zachary and Lory Fischler as they take you through a dynamic interactive process to guide your thinking and development as a mentoring partner.
Click here for more information
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About Leadership Development ServicesWe help individuals and organizations achieve excellence through leadership development. To do this, we provide customized training, facilitation, consultation, and coaching services (on-site and virtual) that improve the quality of leadership and mentoring. We partner with clients to create sustainable mentoring support structures and processes and roadmaps for creating a mentoring culture. We offer innovative and comprehensive leadership development programs to enhance individual and organizational learning and accountability. Our long-standing relationships with clients around the world are testimony to our ability to facilitate results that matter.
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Check back with our blog every Wednesday for these upcoming topics
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