Effective delegation is critical, but feared
Effective delegation means an opportunity to place your trust in others, to provide them an opportunity to build their capability and of course free up time for yourself – to focus more on the things that are important but not urgent. The author and speaker Stephen Covey states this as spending more time in Box 2 of his very effective Time Management matrix. (see below). However there are barriers to achieving this.
The world is moving ever faster. We live in VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) times. Quite simply, leaner organisations are having to adjust ever faster to rapidly changing and complex environments, driven partly by accelerated advances in technology. This is turn, places greater pressure on leaders in business – greater urgency all round. The effect can be an over focus by leaders on the short term (perhaps Box 1 of Covey’s model) and a failure to focus on strategic activity. That failure leads to poor preparation and planning for an ever-changing environment – a vicious circle.
So, a challenge for all leaders: If you were asked to delegate eighty per cent of your work what would you give away? A leader should give away what they love, take on what they hate, make it what they love and then continuously repeat the process. This means that the leader is always in a position of uncertainty. Fear is ever present.
Most people don't delegate because they don't know what they will do if they gave most of their work away. They hang onto all their duties like a security blanket. So, unless you know what your next job is you won't let go.
Spend some time planning what your next job will be. See that it will create even more value to your organisation and yourself than the present role.
Now think about the barriers that are stopping you from making the changes. You will find most of them come from within. Whatever barrier comes up you have the power to fix it. A leader re-engineers their job every two years. Look ten years ahead, if you re-engineer yourself five times what will be your job? Can you describe it? How much could you do now? Why wait ten years?
Step by Step Guide
Step 1. Reflect on your role now and your plans for the next 12 months.
Step 2. Draw up a list of tasks to delegate and allocate whom they could be delegated too and one to two strategies as to HOW they would happen. Ensure you consider the capacity issues with the person who would be delegated those tasks. The attached Delegation tool from Angela Grogan of Best Business Results is a simple method of identifying which tasks can be delegated, why and to whom.
Step 3. Now draw up a list of tasks you can stop doing and the one or two strategies you can take to make that happen
Step 4. Finally draw up a list of new tasks you can take on board that will accelerate the achievement of your goals. List what will be your reward and again the strategies to make it happen
Review the list and using Pareto (80:20 principle) reflect on the 3-4 strategies you will implement first to delegate most effectively.
Result? More time to focus on leadership and strategic activity, develop your own capability and the capability of your team, leading to greater competitiveness in a VUCA world.
Jim Parry at So-Brand Strategic Advisory provides support, facilitation and coaching to business leaders to create market leadership strategy and help leverage it’s full potential with both staff and customer.
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