Tag: delegating

Listen. It’s Worth It

Post author By jrlsage
Post date September 22, 2016

Delegating requires you to manage your soft skills.

You rely on people, so you want them at their best.

Their best requires you to listen.

Why?

Think about the last time you felt no one listened to you. How many times did you recycle that conversation in your head? If it was important to you, how much of a grudge did you hold afterwards?

Thoughts like those take mental overhead which drives away focus from work.

When we lead, it’s far easier to tell people how to “think.” No matter how much authority you have over someone, if they don’t feel listened to, they can’t give 100%. It succeeds for a little while, and then the pendulum swings the other way.

It’s an impossible ask. They aren’t robots.

Neither are you.

So, listen up. Every minute you hear people out, consider it an investment into your people’s best work.

And hey, you might learn something, too.

Tags delegating, listen, soft skills, worth it

Blog Post

Let’s Get Coffee

Post author By jrlsage
Post date September 17, 2016

Use coffee to delegate better

I never understood coffee in the past.

Not the drink, but the event. It’s two people sitting down and talking about everything but work.

I thought about results. I didn’t think about culture. It led to this.

I ran a bad startup culture. Then, I worked in a better corporate one. The difference was the coffee meeting.

The coffee meeting doesn’t need context. It’s acceptable to talk about anything during coffee.

During coffee, people let their guard down and talk about problems in an open way.

This background, getting to know people, is critical, especially when delegating tasks.

This time is how you build intuition about your team. The freedom here gives both you and the other person room to discuss goals and tactics. This conversation helps both of you grow.

The best part is, unlike lunch or dinner, there is no expectation on time. If nothing happens, leaving after a few minutes isn’t the end of the world.

I avoided this connection. It led to withdrawal in both a startup and corporate culture, which let me know how important it is, regardless of the context of “where” you work.

When you aren’t connected, you lose impact. With no impact, you become irrelevant, no matter how good your work is.

So, let’s get coffee.

Tags background, coffee, culture, delegating

Blog Post

Call in a Point Man to Keep Things on Track

Post author By jrlsage
Post date September 16, 2016

Secure the Landing Zone (LZ)

When delegating a project, it’s easy to let things “take their course.”

This structure can work if the team has worked together and the members have self-selected roles.

In most circumstances, ad hoc groups (especially in startup and complex corporate structures) don’t get things done.

Projects are full of little decisions. After a certain point, dealing with these decisions lead to confusion.

That’s where a point man is valuable.

The point man isn’t the leader, per se. She/he creates the structure for how things work, makes sure the meetings happen, and connect and gather resources. In bigger organizations, this is a project manager type role. In smaller groups, it makes sense to have a senior person do this.

This role, clearly defined, gives people room to do their job. It also gives you, as the delegating person, one point of contact to be responsible for the project’s entire scope.

If the leader’s job is to clear the landing zone, it’s the point man’s job to secure it.

Tags delegating, LZ, make, pointman, roles, secure