As a leader or manager, you are probably super busy and will get stuck if you cannot offload a lot of what you have to do.
If you are a leader/manager, one key to your success is that you need to get out of doing everything that you can delegate to someone else. I have never been worried about giving all my work away and having nothing to do. My experience is that you will always find something new to work on that is a better use of your time.
Some engineers and architects who have become managers because they were good engineers or architects really struggle with this. Those who struggle either think they can do a better job than anyone else at something or don’t want to invest the time it takes to train someone else. So they get onto the virtual hamster wheel of not having enough time to do what they have to do and because of that not having the time they need to train someone else, either.
That said, I’m going to contradict myself now. Sometimes you need to do work that is way below your pay grade just to show your people that you are willing to do so. Trash needs to be emptied – no problem. Toilet unclogged – you can do it. Drawing needs to be fixed – done. You are setting an example. It’s just that you don’t want to be doing this sort of thing all of the time. The key is to only do it sporadically to demonstrate you aren’t above doing real work. It helps break down the communication barriers between you and everyone else, and this is critical to your ability to lead.
No doubt, proper delegation does take some finesse that only comes from practice. I don’t have any secrets there. I’m inclined to give someone an assignment with a date and answer any questions they may have and tell them to “go to it.” I would also say, “If you have problems or other questions just ask. But otherwise, I am counting on you to get this done.”
Those who prove they can get done what I asked them to do will be asked to do it again. Those who don’t may never be asked again. Just depends on the situation.
You can find a lot of instruction on proper delegation techniques online. Most of the time I think they are making it harder than it has to be. Smart people will figure out how to get things done if they know that’s what you want.
No matter what your tendencies as a leader and manager are, you are probably super busy, and going to be stuck if you cannot offload a lot of what you have to do. What do you all think about this subject?
Mark Zweig is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.