Category: Soft Skills

How to overcome your barriers to delegating

Delegation: dishing out the jobs, assigning people to tasks, entrusting a task to someone else where you remain accountable. Everyone seems to agree that delegation can be extremely beneficial for all concerned: the delegator, the delegatee and your organisation. Not only does it improve the efficiency and productivity of your team, it significantly expands the flexibility of operations leading to higher profitability.

So, having established that, why don’t we do it? During training, I usually ask 2 questions: who, in their current role, has the opportunity to delegate tasks (many hands raised)? And who actually does it (not so many hands this time)?

Why the reluctance?

Let’s take a look at some classic get-out clauses offered up when you know you should be delegating:

I can do it quicker myself

If true, it’s a very short-term truth. How does anybody learn to do anything? Given the opportunity to practice, the new skill becomes embedded and we pick up the pace.

I can do it better than you

Nice try! As above, with practice and repetition, not only will someone’s speed increase, but also the level of quality.

You might do it better than me

Some people are terrified of being embarrassed, but who cares who gets the job done, as long as it’s done well? It’s a team effort isn’t it? Identifying someone better than you to do it just makes you a good delegator.

It’s risky – you might do it wrong

Do we delegate the task, then abandon the staff member? No, we just need to agree on the monitoring/review process. Shall we meet up once a day for 5 minutes, to see how you’re doing? Agree on the process and stick to it. That way we can minimise the potential for disaster or catastrophe.

I won’t be needed any more

Some people believe they can delegate their way out of their job. Will their boss think they’re not needed anymore if they delegate all their tasks?

Which leads to an important question – should we try to delegate every item on our to do list? Of course not – the theory is to delegate everything that can be, so we can focus on those tasks which cannot. This includes anything for a manager’s eyes only, like who gets promoted, who gets a pay rise, planning, disciplinary matters, setting goals etc.

I’ll be unpopular – only dishing out the dull jobs

Dull according to whom? Usually the manager, who has had to do the job every 10 minutes for the last 3 years and is sick of it. Don’t assume too much here – your team may be keen to try some new jobs, so always have the conversation and discuss possibilities.

Conclusion

If you were feeling like the most reluctant delegator ever, you might give the above reasons to justify your lack of delegation. But all these arguments can be overcome by adopting a different, more positive perspective.

Overall, and if done correctly, the process of delegation can be extremely beneficial for everyone involved. Give delegating a chance, and you will see productivity wins immediately!

 

 

How to make your appraisal process more efficient

 

So you’ve had a great year? Prove it!

Performance management is an ongoing cycle of formal and informal conversations throughout the year. Everyone needs the feedback necessary to improve productivity and stimulate personal and professional growth.  It helps people be the best they can be.

Having a well thought-through and structured performance management system avoids misunderstandings, under performance, demotivated team members and accountability issues.

Your appraisal process should be designed to:

• keep employees on track,
• promote engagement,
• uncover skills gaps,
• provide scope for reward,
• identify your future leaders and key players
• optimise productivity.

At the informal end of the conversation spectrum regular one to ones give staff and managers a chance to catch up and find out how they are getting on. On the formal side, let’s talk about the annual appraisal.

Annual Appraisals usually culminate in looking to the past, then to the future. Agreeing upon the achievements of the past year, then agreeing goals for the following one.

The Golden Rules

The appraisal should hold no surprises, and should be conducted regularly on a one to one basis throughout the year, meaning that any issues are dealt with immediately before they culminate in a bigger problem. Let’s focus on the first part – a look at the past year.

Looking to the Past: How efficient planning and preparation can solve problems before they arise.

A few weeks before the appraisal, both appraiser and appraisee begin preparing. In many organisations, this discussion awards the appraisee with a yearly rating. For example 1 means they have failed to meet expectations (poor performer), and 5 means they have exceeded all expectations. In some companies, the score awarded is linked to your pay review.

A Difference of Opinion

A score of 3 means you’re doing a good job. When conducting appraisals, I have often gone in thinking of someone as a solid 3, whereas they think they’re worth at least a 4! How does either side justify their position? It’s all about preparation. Nobody just turns up claiming they’ve had a great year, so where’s my 5?

Throughout the year, we should gather factual evidence of performance and achievements, which is used during the appraisal to support our position.

Evidence underpins Planning

I had a folder on my computer called ‘appraisal stuff’, where I used to store information like this. Every time I received an email thanking me for my efforts, it would go into that folder to be used at my appraisal to help secure the score I deserved.

I also kept a folder for each team member, which helped enormously when preparing their appraisals. Oh, you were thinking 5? I was thinking 3, let’s talk about it… However, I’m not the Oracle and I might have missed something. If you think you deserve a 4, but I’m thinking 3, and you’ve got the evidence to back it up, I’m all ears.

A note of caution

Over the years, I have met many managers who are desperate to be liked by their teams. Not only does this mean they cannot deliver difficult messages, it also means that during appraisals they are overly liberal in awarding 5’s.

This causes problems across the organisation because some managers are conducting appraisals objectively, using evidence to agree scores, whereas others are not.

The last Word

In the end, regular feedback has been proven to stimulate performance across the board. Don’t forget to keep a folder to back up your own or others achievements, keep to an agreed standard and encourage open communication.

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The performance management course is a part of our range of organisational training London courses.