Tag Archives: Delegation
August 9, 2012 The Most Important Leadership Quality
A recent article published in the Harvard Business Review claims that one quality rises above the rest when it comes to great leadership: self-awareness. In the article, titled “How Leaders Become Self-Aware”, author Anthony Tjan poses a question to help us understand what is meant by self-awareness: “What motivates you and your decision making?”
Are you prepared to respond? Unless you have already made practice in self awareness part of your everyday and you’ve taken the assessments and consulted with others, you may struggle to answer Tjan’s question.
Tjan outlines three steps that all of us can take to become better leader in our life. Because I do a lot of work with self-awareness as an Insights Practitioner, I’m always combing through new resources for my coaching when it comes to self-awareness. I thought Tjan’s pointers were spot on and provided some great ideas for improving effectiveness and interactions.
Test and Know Yourself Better
This translates simply to take a personality test. I know it sounds simple (and the process can be as simple as answering questions about yourself for half an hour online, in the case of Insights Discovery), but this quick gesture, when given reflection, can transform the way you work and your relationships with others. Tjan advocates self-assessments because “they facilitate self-reflection, which leads to better self-awareness.”
Watch Yourself and Learn
This step plays out on a more long term scale, but can have big takeaways when done correctly. The process of this step is simple: when making a big decision, always record your reasons for that decision and then revisit these reasons 9-12 months later. What panned out and what didn’t? Tjan labels this practice as feedback analysis and explains that its effectiveness is found in two steps: “a) codify rationale and motivators and b) reflect and assess outcomes.”
Be Aware of Others, Too
Self-awareness is no good if you live alone on an island—the real power of this knowledge reveals itself when you interact with others on a team. “Knowing your natural strengths and weaknesses makes you a better recruiter and allocator of talent,” says Tjan. But this knowledge is most effective when you’re aware of the strengths of those around you, because this results in a group of people who both “understand and complement each other.” A strong team is founded on the diverse approaches and skills of its members, and because these members approach tasks differently, this promotes learning and feedback within the group—it leads to innovation.
Have questions about self-awareness? Feel free to contact me for answers.
Tags: Career Coach Advice, Delegation, How to Change Your Life, Improving Relationships, Insights Discovery
June 6, 2012 Creative Ways to Say “No”
By Margaret Smith, UXL:
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
In life, there is one fact that is without a doubt true: your time is priceless. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that time is spent on the things most important to you and your long-term priorities. Are you using your time in a way that reflects your values and skills?
In order to help you make sure that you use your time meaningfully, I’ve compiled a list of creative ways to suavely decline the requests of others. Although it’s important to offer your time and support to those around you, whether at work or in your personal life, it’s also paramount that you say “no” for your own goals (and sanity!).
13 Ways to Artfully Decline
“I’m really not the best fit for __________.” “This sounds like a great opportunity, but my schedule is packed.” “Thanks for thinking of me, but I’m sorry, I can’t.” “I really can’t do that right now, but have you considered __________?” “I’m sorry, but I’m only taking on work related to _________ right now.” “I’d like to help you, but my schedule won’t allow any new projects.” “It’s against my personal policy to __________.” “Thanks for asking, but I really can’t.” “I can’t take this on for personal reasons.” “I have other commitments.” “I can’t take on another project at this time.” “I know you would like my help with __________, but I won’t be able to do so unless/until __________.” “I wish I could, but as a rule I don’t __________.”I hope that these easy responses help you to take more control of your time and your schedule. Remember, you shouldn’t consider saying “yes” unless you’re enthusiastic about the project and the way that it aligns to your values and priorities.
Tags: Career Coach Advice, Delegation, How to Change Your Life, How to Get a Life, How to Say No
November 30, 2011 How to DO LESS and Improve Your Career
By Margaret Smith
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
Contrary to what you may expect, promoting the talents of others can actually help to showcase your own skills and strengthen your brand. This magical habit is called delegation, and it’s an essential tool to propelling your own career, improving results, developing your personal brand, and keeping your workload under control.
Let’s all start by taking a moment to acknowledge the often-ignored fact: There is only a limited amount you can do, no matter how hard you work. Because we are not super-humans, it’s essential that we learn to let go sometimes.
This having been said, there is a way to get it all done, and done well: delegation. Often, delegation gets overlooked as a viable tool because it is a lot of work upfront. Instead of doing the task yourself, delegation requires you to share your insights, know-how, and expectations with others.
To Delegate, or Not to Delegate: That is the Question
When faced with a new task, don’t just jump into it right away. Instead, ask yourself, “Would this task be a worthy use of my time?” If you continue to accept projects that don’t align to, or properly utilize, your skills, you’re diluting your brand. Perhaps there is someone else who has the skills to do the task better, or who would be eager to develop skills that the task would involve?
Strategically delegating tasks to others allows you to focus on the tasks that reinforce your real skills—those you want to be known for as part of your personal brand. (If you haven’t yet considered what your personal brand is, now is the time to start!)
How to Handle the “Who?”
When considering who to delegate to, take into account the following questions:
- What are this person’s skills and knowledge?
- Does this person currently have space in their workload?
- What is this person’s preferred work style?
Once you have decided on the best candidate, don’t forget to document the process. When practicing delegation, it’s extremely important to keep track of your processes to save time in the future and develop best practices that promote clarity and efficiency. Just as you, say, develop practices that keep your house clean—washing dishes after meals, placing laundry in a hamper, etc—creating processes for sharing tasks at work will cut down on confusion and clutter, not to mention saving time and preventing mistakes.
Your Challenge:
Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by your workload, fight the urge to dive headfirst into your pile of tasks. Instead, assess these projects and consider whether or not some of them can be delegated to another member of your team instead.
Do you have any helpful tips about delegating effectively? Please share!
Interested in having a helping hand effecting change in your life, finding success in your job hunt or your career? Contact UXL Today!
Tags: Delegation, How to Work Less, Margaret Smith, Personal Branding, UXL, Who to Delegate to
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