When new managers step into their role, there is so much to do, so much to make happen, and so much to learn. On top of all this, they now have people depending on them for their development and growth!

How are these first-time managers going to make all this happen? How are they to remain focused on their own priorities, responsibilities, and to-do’s while simultaneously building the capacity of their team?

Enter delegation.

Perhaps not the sexiest of solves, but by far, the one that will merit them (and those who work with/for them) the best results.

Consider the data: a recent study by Gallup revealed that businesses with leaders who were “high in delegator talent” grew 112 percent faster than those without. If you want to be successful as a manager, learning how to effectively delegate is going to be an essential part of long-term success for you and your team.

John C. Maxwell, prolific leadership author, says, “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.”

He’s absolutely right.

But, here’s where it gets a bit messy: few leaders, let alone new ones, are clear on what delegation actually means, what it looks like, and how to make it happen.

A common misunderstanding among leaders — both new and those who have been managing for decades — is that delegation is about giving away the tasks we don’t want to do.

At Fierce, we call this dele-dumping.

Sure, it’s articulated far differently depending on your place of work. But, the most common one we hear is, “This will be a great development opportunity for you!”

Here’s the thing though… people are not deceived. Direct reports are smart! They are aware that their manager is offloading tasks that are definitely not their favorites.

So yes, the manager or leader has technically “delegated,” but they’ve accomplished little-to-nothing related to improving engagement, bettering relationships, and building emotional capital — which is one of the most important aspects of their job.

So, let’s clear up this misunderstanding by really understanding what delegation is all about: development, development, development. 

Below are three best practices to help train new managers and leaders on how to have successful delegation conversations:

1. Manage to-do lists.

Anthea Turner, British media personality, said, “The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.”

She’s right.

But, it’s far easier said than done — especially for new managers. These new leaders are deeply committed to proving their worth, to making sure that their hire or promotion meets and exceeds all expectations.

One of the predominant ways this shows up, to their detriment, is that they are unwilling to let things go — to delegate — to loosen the reins. The risk just feels too great!

As their learning leader, help them out! Sit down with a new manager or leader and ask them to pull out their to-do list. Chances are high they’ve got some things on there that they admittedly love doing, and other things that they’ve determined no one else knows how to do (at least as well as they do).

The next step, no matter how hard this might be, is asking them whether or not this particular item is central to achieving their goals and supporting their team. If their answer is “no,” then it’s no longer the best use of their time.

Yep — no matter how much they love it or how good they are at it.

Now, look at their to-do list with them again. To whom can they delegate some of these things?

If they need a bit more incentive to give up a task they love or believe no one else can do better than themselves, help them do the math.

How much time will they free up if they let someone else take ownership of this particular responsibility? What else can they do with that time? And what would the benefits be if they could devote energy to other priorities?

Remind them of this: Imagine how much more productive (and fulfilled) you will be when you can focus that much time on things that are the best use of you AND meet your goals!

Once you’ve done the above exercise, encourage new managers to schedule intentional conversations with their direct reports. Invite them to set aside time to let their people know that they want to delegate some new responsibilities.

New managers can then ask: “Are you interested in growing in this area?” The goal is to be curious, to ask even more questions, to get a sense of how the direct report want to develop in their role.

When new leaders are reminded (and learn) to really ask and really listen, they’ll begin to see and understand which of their current responsibilities could be better served by delegating them for another’s development. A gift to them — and to others!

2. Create a common language.

When we teach delegation in the Fierce classroom, we use the analogy of a tree to represent four levels of delegation and decision-making authority: leaf, branch, trunk, and root.

At leaf level, there is full autonomy to make decisions and act on them. That autonomy decreases with each level — but not in a pejorative way. Instead, at root level, for example, the manager delegates a responsibility that still needs her/his input and final decision-making expertise.

At trunk, the direct report makes the decision and the implementation plan but checks in with their manager before taking any next steps. And at branch, the direct report makes the decision, implements the plan, and only keeps the manager in the loop.

These levels provide a common language so that there is a mutual understanding of the decision-making process on any given project or responsibility.

Even more, it mitigates what new leaders too often default to as an excuse for not delegating: the delegatee is not quite ready yet.

What if, instead of not delegating at all, a direct report was given the ability to start delegating to others at trunk-level. This would provide the person the autonomy to do the work in a bound amount of time and with the assurance of the manager’s ongoing expertise until they are ready for more.

Above and beyond mitigating risk, shared language maximizes reward. When people are delegated to effectively — and at levels that are unique to them as individuals — they feel seen and heard, engagement and productivity increase, retention goes up, relationships thrive, and the new manager grows and develops in powerful and relevant ways alongside their direct reports.

If you wandered through our office space at Fierce HQ, you’d overhear conversations that take full advantage of this shared language: “Hey, Ronna! Can you take this on at leaf-level?” Or, “Mike, given that this is within your area of passion, I’d love for you to facilitate this project at branch-level.” Or, “Rose, I know this has been given to me at trunk-level and I really feel like I’m ready to have it at branch. Can we talk about that together?”

Because we understand each other and the level of decision-making authority/autonomy being given, we are able to work together in better and more productive ways.

We have successful, productive conversations because we have a vocabulary that everyone knows and speaks. Even more, it provides new leaders with a framework that teaches them how to delegate and develop their people. Truly, it makes all the difference!

3. Help teams partner up.

As a new leader, it can be tempting to want to be the go-to person for everything. It’s a lofty ideal, but completely unsustainable.

One more relevant quote? “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.

Let’s take his thinking one step further and develop those new leaders even more.

Help new managers understand ways in which their team members can empower each other! Have them create accountability partnerships, triads, or groups that are designed to keep each other on-track with time-management and deadlines.

They can help their people create check-ins with one another and share their progress. At the end of the day, everyone is encouraged, everyone develops, everyone grows. Including that new manager!

Now, let’s return to where we started. Is delegation the sexiest management technique ever?  Nope. But it IS one that goes far deeper than often understood or practiced. We don’t want our new leaders to be deceived by its seeming-simplicity.

Delegation requires intentionality, skill, and persistence. By teaching new managers to use these three best practices, it will free up their time, maximizes their results, and develops their people. That’s being a Fierce leader, to be sure!

In today’s fast-paced environment where innovation is no longer a luxury, it’s no surprise that in my conversations with leaders, the pace of change in organizations and the marketplace is often a focus.

They’re asking questions like: How do I make sure our people have what they need to adapt quicker than ever? What if they fall behind? How do I need to adjust my leadership to make all of the change possible?

One way to ensure that your leaders and teams will succeed is by creating an environment to challenge the status quo. After all, real change starts with you. You must give yourself permission to question the status quo of your organization and invite your team to join you.

Unfortunately, challenging the status quo isn’t something leaders like to do. According to Harvard Business Review, 72 percent of leaders say they never or rarely challenge their status quo, nor do they encourage employees to think outside the box.

If you want to make sure your employees are set up for success and create real, sustainable growth for your organization, you must constantly think about how you can adapt and change. 

Organizations develop a status quo for many reasons. They range from leaders feeling pressured for time, to the struggle to prioritize, to a more systematic issue of an “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” culture.

WHY THE STATUS QUO IS PROBLEMATIC

It’s important to realize status quo is a bias. It’s a preference that things stay the same. In a sense, it’s an aversion to change. Adhering to this bias is problematic, especially in business, because growth requires change.

Companies and their cultures are living, breathing entities that change with the people who inhabit them. Policies that worked for one generation of employees might fall on deaf ears to the next. Training that was successful for the employees of a mid-size company may no longer be ideal once the organization grows.

Status quo can be comforting because it’s easy —  it doesn’t require us to challenge ourselves or each other. It doesn’t require us to take risks or potentially be wrong with the changes made. Yet, when you follow the status quo, over time, your success will stall because individuals, teams, leaders, and companies will miss out on opportunities for growth, and stagnation becomes the mode of operation.

This is when it’s time to challenge the way it’s been and think about what it can become.

WHAT YOU GAIN FROM SHAKING THINGS UP

Don’t get me wrong, challenging (and changing) the status quo can be scary. It often requires courage and a willingness to go against the grain, while potentially butting heads with others who are less open to new ideas.

Keep in mind that challenging the status quo doesn’t have to mean that something isn’t operating well or that something needs to change. People often have the idea that something has to be wrong before suggesting improvements. Sometimes challenging the status quo simply means proposing a new idea that may be worth exploring — perhaps it’s already great, and is there a way it can be even better?

It’s leadership’s responsibility to create a culture where challenging the status quo is encouraged. Leaders need to have a forward-thinking, growth mindset — a state of mind that doesn’t settle for an attitude of the bare minimum and instead looks to their teams for insights on how things can be improved.

The most successful leaders set out to support new values, policies, and ideas.

A leader also can’t create this kind of culture without action. By asking your team to share their perspectives, you not only build emotional capital with your employees, but you also help build a more productive workforce.

Below are three easy steps to start having these conversations with your team organically so you can start creating something new and say goodbye to your status quo:

1. Invite all perspectives.

As a leader, you may think that certain training or policies are working because no one is saying differently. Have you really asked, though?

If you haven’t, now is the time. Invite differing perspectives from within your organization to examine issues and be thoughtful about whose perspectives can really lend a fresh new point-of-view. The goal should be to get the people who are affected by specific policies and training in the room.

At Fierce, we use the TEAM MODEL to help companies have these types of conversations. The goal is for multiple people to work through an opportunity and challenge, so multiple views can be heard.

2. Ask more questions.

When an employee comes to you and has an issue with the current status quo for the team, company, or a product, take this opportunity to get curious with them and ask these questions:

• Is there something that isn’t working?
• Why isn’t it working?
• How can we fix it?
• Where do you see opportunities for improvement?

Maybe a major overhaul isn’t even in order, and it’s just a simple adjustment that can make everyone more engaged. These one-on-one opportunities with your team are great ways to, little by little, shift away from the current state of affairs towards something more meaningful.

3. Be ready to help the change.

If a team member brings a new idea to the table, keep an open mind. If your default response is one of resistance, and you’re quick to say no, the other person may feel dismissed. This is where you may miss a real opportunity to make an improvement that could benefit the entire company.

Consider all variables, including the resources you have available to implement the idea and explore all avenues you can to make a positive change possible.

PUTTING IDEAS TO ACTION

As a small business leader, I consistently grapple with challenging the status quo. I believe one of my fundamental jobs is to make sure we are focused on the right objectives as an organization, and that our brilliant, capable team has the resources needed to accomplish what we have set out to do.

I think most leaders would agree that this is a central function. However, the rubber really hits the road when my team members bring me ideas or comments about shifting focus or resources. This is the dance of challenging the status quo and taking action.

Here’s a great example:  Our short term strategy has been to improve our core offerings rather than focus on developing net new products. When a leader or team member comes to me with an amazing idea to build X or Y product, it could be easy for me to say, “This doesn’t fit with our strategy.” The issue with that response is that it shuts down further exploration of the status quo of our strategy.

Instead of me responding that way, I remind myself to ask questions and get curious. In a growing and changing business, it’s dangerous to believe that all strategies and focuses are 100 percent spot on, so it’s necessary to invite conversations and get curious.

In the end, at times it has been deemed that the focus should be to stick with the strategy, and other times, the question or recommendation shifted the strategy for the better. I actively thank our Fiercelings for engaging in conversations with me about what’s working and not working so they know their perspectives matter to our organization as a whole.

It’s a constant journey to challenge the status quo, and it’s the essential job of a leader to interrogate reality  — to get clear on what’s truly happening and be open to learning and shifting perspective.

Gone are the days that the President or CEO has all the answers. The job of all leaders is to seek answers, ask good questions, and be a place where fierce conversations can happen.

As a leader, you’ve ideally built a relationship with each of your team members. You’ve likely swapped stories about your families, collaborated on successful work projects, and built the emotional capital necessary to have a successful team.

However, being a leader means that sometimes you are confronted with the challenge of how to best handle delicate situations, such as addressing a performance issue among your team.

Even great teams, for one reason or another, don’t perform to the expected standard. You may try to avoid the situation and hope it goes away on its own. The reality, though, is that the problem does exist, and the longer it goes on without being talked about, the worse it will get.

On a company level, the performance of each individual team impacts the organization’s overall production and revenue goals. As a leader, you are accountable for your team’s performance, and it’s critical to take direct action to prevent even bigger problems down the road.

Below are 4 actionable steps to help your team move past their performance issue and achieve success.

Step #1: Make sure the right people are in the room.

Depending on the issue at hand, you’ll need to determine who is accountable for the outcome and make sure the right people have been invited to the table.

Don’t, for example, host a team meeting if your issue is about one individual team member. Most importantly, you don’t want to put this person on the spot in front of others, and likewise, you shouldn’t use team meetings to make sweeping statements about the team if it is actually an individual issue. Honor your team’s time by addressing issues that are relevant to the team as a whole and save individual conversations for later.

Step #2: Present the issue to your team.

When you gather your team together and acknowledge openly that there is an issue, it’s like flipping on a light switch in a dark room. By providing feedback and creating awareness, you’re letting your team in on important information that they need to know in order to make improvements and course correct.

It’s equally important as a leader to avoid making assumptions about the root cause of the issue or jumping to conclusions about what should be done in order to resolve it. Instead, keep it high level—for example, inform them that the team is not meeting their monthly quota, or bring up the fact that a deadline was missed on an important team project.

Step #3: Open up the dialogue.

After you call out the issue, allow each employee’s perspectives to be heard.Your goal is to facilitate this conversation by listening and helping your team solve the current challenges.

In the FIERCE TEAM PROGRAM, we teach how to conduct a Beach Ball meeting. We call it a Beach Ball meeting because we view each employee on a team as a stripe of color, where each stripe represents a different perspective.

This type of meeting allows you, the leader, to create a setting where you come to the table with your team and address an issue collaboratively. This is a great way to tackle a subject like team performance, because it removes the punitive feeling that is associated with this topic and encourages the team to come to a solution together.

Enter this conversation with curiosity, and make sure all perspectives are heard. Be open to discovering completely new and valuable information, including new awareness about other issues that you didn’t even know existed. Don’t immediately dismiss an excuse or complaint—it likely contains a nugget of truth that can help better inform a solution.

To move things in a positive direction and keep the conversation on track, ask:

Given everything we’ve discussed, what can we do to achieve our team’s goals? What will help us move forward?

Step #4: Create an action plan.

The final step is to create an action plan. Ask your team:

Knowing what you know now, what is everyone committing to do over the next week, month, and year?

Get specific! Assign responsibilities and schedule a time for everyone to reconnect on progress.

If one meeting isn’t enough to tackle the issue and you don’t have time to get to this critical step, schedule the next meeting right then so it doesn’t get placed on the back burner. It’s also possible that some of your team members might have individual issues that don’t apply to the team as a whole. Address their concerns by setting up a time to meet with them one-on-one and create specific next steps for them.

Addressing an issue like performance is a hard, yet necessary, component of leadership. In the end, addressing an issue in an open and honest manner strengthens the relationship and sets your team, as well as your company, up for the greatest amount of success.