The Art of Delegation
The number one thing that new managers struggle with is delegation. Is this surprising?
Think about it, as an IC (individual contributor) you’re often praised for your ability to get your work done; to execute efficiently, seamlessly, and effectively. You’re given a task, a goal, or a challenge and you do it. Again and again. At some point, a promotion to management may be the reward for your hard work. You earned it! But, in some cases, no one tells you that what made you successful as an IC is not what will make you successful as a people manager.
This is exactly why the talented IC to disempowering micromanager pipeline is real.
It’s real because some newly promoted managers think that good management requires an insane focus on the minutiae of their team’s work. They also believe that good management requires working directly on the things that their direct reports are working on. It doesn’t.
Unlearning this behavior requires a major mindset shift. Good managers craft a clearly defined strategy, set a vision for their teams, and inspire and motivate their employees to deliver high quality work that aligns with their overarching strategy and team vision. Don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely be a sounding board or a thought partner for your team on some of the details. But the real key to good management is mastery of the art of delegation.
A few months ago, I spoke to Success Magazine about effective strategies for executing a Total Responsibility Transfer and how to set your team members up for success when delegating. I’ll be sharing my favorite snippets and takeaways from the article below, along with highlighting some micromanagement red flags. Let’s jump in!
What’s a Total Responsibility Transfer?
Delegating is a bit of an art form, one that takes practice and persistence, boundaries and motivation. When it goes well, all is right in work-life balance. When it doesn’t, it can feel like one more disaster on your plate to handle.
Emily Oster, economist, Brown University professor and author of popular newsletter ParentData, recently published a newsletter on total responsibility transfer, or TRT. It’s a term she credits to author Thomas Phelan, who found that if we are going to delegate, we need to delegate completely and totally. Whether we are giving our partner a task on our plate that’s just too much, or asking another colleague to take over a project, we can’t have our hand in parts of it after that transfer.
You might be thinking “all of that sounds nice, but what are some signs that I’m not delegating effectively?”. You’re in luck - read on for the deets.
How *not* to delegate effectively
The article does a great job of outlining what to do! But I wanted to share a different perspective here based on my experiences. I’ve noticed that it can be challenging to notice signs of micromanagement in yourself. So let’s talk about what micromanagement looks like as a manager so that you can course correct if you see these behaviors in your day to day.
😬 Micromanagers don’t set clear expectations or success criteria. This can look like:
Micromanagers do things like delegating a project or task without giving clear direction or success criteria to their team members, leading to misunderstandings. This can look like:
Not sharing what success looks like, then getting frustrated when your team member doesn’t meet your expectations (things like: Is there a set budget? Is there a set timeframe for completion? Should a certain set of stakeholders be consulted and informed as part of the project? Is the final product a presentation, an excel spreadsheet, a written report?). Our job as managers is to set our team members up for success first and foremost, clearly communicating your expectations is part of the deal.
Completing parts of the task themselves without informing their team member because they’re not pleased with what the team member produced so far. Yikes!
😖Micromanagers are not open to other perspectives or approaches for getting the work done. This can look like:
Neglecting to relinquish control of the task and doing things like giving unsolicited feedback on *how* the task is completed (if it has no impact to the final result, *how* the task is completed is inconsequential!)
Being overly directive. They don’t encourage exploration or task/project ownership. They may also resist deviations from their processes, which prevents the team from being adaptable and responding effectively to issues as the project unfolds
Exhibiting a resistance to feedback from their team members. Some managers assume they know best. This lack of openness can be a disservice to the team, preventing them from continuing to improve upon processes in the short and long-term.
😰Micromanagers schedule excessive check-ins. This can look like:
Struggling with letting go. They may request frequent updates or check-ins, which slows down progress. Checking in too frequently is a productivity killer and the enemy of efficiency.
🥺Micromanagers overemphasize their team’s flaws. This one is self explanatory.
No one is perfect. Let me repeat it. No one is perfect! Micromanagers tend to focus on pointing out mistakes or flaws in execution rather than acknowledging their team members’ successes.
If you find yourself slipping into any of these patterns, don’t beat yourself up. The first step in fixing the problem is self awareness.
How to recover from micromanaging your team
If the first step is self awareness, the second step is taking a step back. Take a second to re-center yourself and focus on your objective as a manager: empowering your team to complete the projects or tasks assigned to them successfully. Once you do that, use my 4 C framework for delegating effectively.
Context: Have you provided your teammate with the right context for your ask? Have you communicated what the project is and why it’s important? Have you provided them with an opportunity to ask questions and confirm that they understand what you’ve asked of them?
Criteria: Have you outlined what the success criteria is for the project? Have you told them what “complete” looks like? For example:
If the project is report on how a business segment is performing, do you just want them to produce the data analysis? Or are their insights about the data a requirement for the project as well?
If the project is designing a logo for a new product. Did you want them to produce three logo designs for you to choose from? Or did you want them to present you with the best option, based on their expertise, with a detailed explanation of their process and why they chose the design?
👀 Do you see how these things could be interpreted differently by your direct report without specifying your definition of what successfully completing the task looks like?
Communication: Don’t go crazy here, we just discussed how too many check-ins is micromanagement. Plan 1-2 check-ins and set expectations for how you want them to communicate with you on their progress. Would you like to check-in with them at the mid-point? Put it on the calendar. Do you want for them to update you on their progress on a weekly basis? Tell them and hold them accountable to doing so.
Celebration: Work is work but don’t be boring. No one wants to work with or work for the person who doesn’t know how to make work fun, occasionally. You know what feels great? Celebrating your team members’ accomplishments after you’ve done your part to set them up for success.
Remember, being a psychic and a mind reader weren’t bullet points on your team members’ job descriptions. So guess what? You shouldn’t make those skills a requirement on the job. Good luck!
About me
I’m Ashley, a Performance Coach & Leadership Consultant. I work with founders and HR leaders to implement high-quality leadership development programming - leading to increased retention, better engagement, and ultimately improved business outcomes. As a coach at Reworkit, I also work with individuals throughout their career journeys; helping them find meaning in their career journeys.
I love this work and chose this path because after spending a decade in tech, successfully navigating fast-paced work environment and climbing the corporate ladder — I realized that my passion is helping others do the same.
Shoot me a line at hello@workwithashleyr.com if you think we should be in touch.