Recently my friend Lindsey Pollak came out with a new book called Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders. Since she’s an expert on Millennial generation career and workplace issues, much of the advice is related directly to that generation.
However, Lindsey had some great nuggets of wisdom regarding “Delegating Without Being a Dictator” that are of value to any generation. Here are three of the five:
Create an “Only I” List: Lindsey recommends that you write down the things that you personally need to do for your team to succeed and then delegate everything else. This will keep you focused on what’s most important and allow you to delegate early and often instead of only delegating when you get overwhelmed.
Spend More Time Upfront: Delegating ironically takes more time at first. But Lindsey points out that the more time you spend teaching and setting expectations, the better your results will be. Typically the amount of time you spend initially making sure that you’re clear, you’ll save in not having mistakes or confusion on the backend.
Set Clear Deadlines and Regular Check-Ins: Most of us know that deadlines are essential. But many manager overlook the fact that check-ins are also an important part of the delegation process. Lindsey shared the idea that when you assign a task, you should also communicate date-specific check-in points. Then put those on your calendar as a to-do item so that you make sure that your staff is on track along the way–before it’s the deadline and becomes a big issue.
If you’re interested in the rest of the delegation tips or are a Millennial looking for advice on how to manage, I recommend you check out her book.
About Real Life E®
Elizabeth Grace Saunders is the founder and CEO of Real Life E® a time coaching and training company that empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished through an exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. She is an expert on achieving more success with less stress. Real Life E® also increases employee productivity, satisfaction and work/life balance through custom training programs.
McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Elizabeth contributes to blogs like Lifehacker, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the 99U blog on productivity for creative professionals. She was selected as one of the Top 25 Amazing Women of the Year by Stiletto Woman.
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