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The Manager’s New Year Resolution

       Several things are true about beliefs, 1) they drive our behavior, 2) they are rooted in our past, and 3) they are often incorrect. One belief many of us hold is, “You can’t have it all.” As we begin the New Year, this is perhaps, one belief that is worth challenging. This is particularly true when it comes to the perceived choice between achieving professional success and having a personal life. Through our experience, and sometimes by what we are told by employers, colleagues or our boss, we believe we have to choose one or the other. I, for one, believe we can have both.

       We can achieve professional success and reclaim our personal lives. The trick is to maximize our productivity and efficiency. But more important we have to maximize the productivity and efficiency of those who work for us. We do this through a skill called effective delegation. Not just delegation, effective delegation. Anyone can delegate. But unless you do so effectively, you will not reap the immense benefits that effective delegation can offer.

      Some of these benefits include having more time, helping you focus on what’s most important, helping your staff grow in capability and confidence, giving you tools to develop, coach and mentor your people, creating opportunities to provide recognition, allowing clear documentation of poor performance and ensuring successful outcomes. The major benefit, of course, is what we first talked about -- achieving professional success and reclaiming your personal life.

       So what exactly is effective delegation? How can know if you are delegating effectively? How do you know if you’re not delegating effectively? It’s pretty simple really. How stressed are you? How stressed is your staff? How productive is your department? How efficient is your department? If the answers to these questions aren’t as pleasant as you’d like, you have the answer -- you’re not delegating effectively. Conversely, teams and departments led by managers who delegate effectively are firing on all cylinders. They get things done right the first time, every time. They are eager to take on more challenges. They are growing professionally. They aren’t looking in the want ads for their next job. Instead, they are invested in the department and the company they work for.

       How can you create such an atmosphere with your department? First, increase productivity and efficiency by ensuring that every delegated task is done right the first time. This means clarifying and communicating the critical features of the task. Make sure to clarify when the task is due and the level of authority the employee has to take specific actions or to include others with respect to the task. Ask your delegatee to paraphrase back what he heard so you can check his understanding.

      Periodically check in to see that the task is being done right. Checking in gives you the opportunity to correct any problems, provide necessary guidance, and ensure the results will be successful.

      When the task has been completed, hold a debriefing on how things went. This step provides the closure needed to continuously build upon the learning in a way that creates even greater efficiency and productivity.

      Once delegated tasks are being done right the first time, you can look at the different responsibilities of your job and delegate all but the critical few. Delegating elements of your job allows you to develop your staff in areas they need to learn and grow in order to achieve their professional goals.

     Delegating effectively frees up your time so you can focus on what is truly important versus getting bogged down in minutia or fighting day-to-day fires. And that is how you achieve professional success and reclaim your personal life!

Donna M. Genett, Ph.D., is president of GenCorp Consulting, and author of If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself! The Power of Effective Delegation (Quill Driver Books, 800-497-4909, www.WantItDoneRight.com)