As a programmer I burnt the midnight lamp and stayed in the office late. When I got promoted to being a manager, I struggled with delegation. I was unable to trust anyone else to do the work as efficiently and effectively as I did. Every day, I tried to grapple with my “managerial” duties unable to let go the practice of doing things myself as I was doing till now. In fact I was hating my promotions. If only promotions were not considered as another rung in the ladder of success! If only promotions did not mean more money and therefore a more comfortable life!
As we go up the ladder, we have other responsibilities and it becomes quite stressful to do the work ourselves. How can we develop a mindset of delegation. Here are my 10 Vishesh Tippanis*, Finally, the onus of successful delegation lies solely with the manager!
1. Ensure that the person you delegate to, has the necessary skills and capabilities. Provide the training necessary.
2. Have them prepare a plan for you to review and approve. They have to own and execute the plan and periodically review the plan to make the necessary changes.
3. Set milestone reviews in the plan. Do a cursory review periodically. At milestones, physically review the progress made on the deliverable.
4. Give them the confidence to come to you for help, should they need it. Many people see asking for help as a sign of weakness, which they don’t want to own up to.
5. Give them the courage to come to you if things go wrong, without them struggling and delaying the work consequently.
6. Provide constructive feedback during review meetings. Appreciate and gently nudge to take the next step confidently.
7. Do not scold or criticise. These behaviours don’t work effectively with anyone – your team members as well as your children and/ or siblings at home. Moreover, consistent scolding and criticising, is harmful to your own wellbeing.
8. Actively listen to your team members. Is there something they are unable to communicate? Is there something you need to read between the lines?
9. Are they eating well and getting adequate rest? Are they emotionally or mentally disturbed? Their overall wellbeing will impact their productivity and therefore, the quality and timeliness of the deliverable.
10. Celebrate the successful completion of the project/ assignment with the team. Take sole responsibility of any failures.
*Vishesh Tippani: Tippani in the Indian language of Hindi means comment. Vishesh means special. So, these are my special comments to help you manoeuvre the corporate landscape - based on my personal experience.
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