“If I want the job done properly then I have to do it myself.”

How often have you heard that one … probably said by a manager, frustrated by the lack of expertise of some staff member?

Image courtesey of Wikimedia Commons

Why, you may wonder, has the worker not got the expertise? Why must the harassed manager carry so much of the burden?

Several years ago I was working for a major international financial organisation when they offered a Time Management course for senior executives. All agreed the course would probably be useful. But attendance was optional and when the day arrived only four, of over forty, of these senior people turned up. The reason? Go on, you know already, don’t you? Yes, they couldn’t spare the time to attend!

Why are staff at all levels – from the most junior to the most senior – so ‘time poor’ in today’s business environment?

Where, it appears, too many people seem to be taking on an inordinate workload … and not handling it well. Could it be that, to use a common modern phrase, rather than working harder they need to work smarter?

Delegating is one of the most challenging skills for new managers.

Too many new (and experienced!) managers struggle to give up work and find themselves stressed and overworked.

Is this you?

Effective delegation is essential for effective management.

In this post I'm going to run through some classic signs of poor delegation and help you overcome them.

If you're struggling with your new management role or want to upskill before making the leap, come on our Management Skills for New Managers course which includes a session on delegation.

A good induction can increase staff retention, reduce the time needed for a new staff member to settle into the workplace and generally make for a happier work force.

Common complaints about induction processes include being bored, being overwhelmed by too much information or inductees just being left to their own devices.

Below I have put together my tips for what makes a good induction process.

Delegation is about letting employees make decisions and work on their own initiative. To be successful, employees must have the resources to complete a delegated task. This may mean providing training, tools and support.

Managers can delegate authority however they cannot delegate responsibility, this is important. Although an employee is responsible for meeting deadlines, goals and objectives, the Manager is still ultimately responsible for the success of the delegated task.

Delegation Benefits

• Employees may do a better job when they feel personally accountable, even though responsibility ultimately rests with the individual who made the delegation.
• Delegation can make an employee's work more varied and therefore motivate the employee.
• Managers have more time to innovate and plan.
• When delegation involves training and mentoring, the organisation will benefit from a more highly skilled workforce.
• Employees will learn to be better decision makers given more responsibility.

Delegation Drawbacks

• Managers may lack the knowledge or motivation to delegate.
• Managers may choose the wrong tasks to delegate.
• Managers may not communicate the task effectively, providing inadequate direction.
• Some managers get stuck in the belief that "if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself."
• Managers may:
  • Lack trust in their employees
  • Fear being seen as lazy
  • Be reluctant to take risks
  • Fear competition

Any of the above may result in incomplete or incorrectly completed tasks.

The manager is ultimately responsible for delegation and must take responsibility for:

• Delegating the wrong task
• Delegating to the wrong person
• Not providing proper guidance.

The employee is ultimately responsible for:

• Doing the task incorrectly when given adequate resources, guidance or training.

Managers who know themselves well and who are aware of their emotions are in a better position to understand and empathise when managing others. This is something emphasised on many of our Management Training Courses.

So an important step to being an effective manager is self-awareness. This means, amongst other things, knowing:

• Your strengths
• Your areas for development
• Your positive and negative qualities
• Your prejudices
• Your feelings
• What effect you have on others

Read More

'He was a wise man who invented (management)'!

It might not seem apparent at first, butManagementandPhilosophygo together likeKant and the Categorical Imperative.

Management, among other things, seeks to provide a structure to get the best from people, to understand business and make people (customers, staff, bosses) happy.

Philosophy, among other things, seeks to provide a structure to get the best from life, to understand the world and make people (society, individuals) happy.

So can managers learn anything from the great philosophers? Certainly.

If you'd like to learn how to be a great manager, why not try ourManagement Skills Courses?

This post will be part of a series called'Management Lessons From Philosophy'we'll start with the ideas of the ancient philosophers from Greece and work our way up to the modern thinkers, exploring everything that can be applied to management along the way.

This week we begin with the man who started it all:Plato.

"The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living"

The Godfather of everything philosophical, Plato isthe manwhen it comes to wise one-liners that make you re-evaluate, well, everything!

With this quote he is arguing that to make the most of life, one really needs to inquire and seek knowledge, both about the world and oneself.

While Google and Microsoft promote openness and strive to make their employees happy, Apple is incredibly secretive and most employees lived in fear of Jobs: but it worked. So how did Steve Jobs achieve such success while ignoring all traditional notions of business management?