Have you ever planned a vacation and then became so stressed out about leaving work behind, you wished you had never planned it?
Several years ago, my husband and I planned a 10-day Alaskan cruise, which took several months to plan and, at the time, sounded like a fantastic idea. After all the down payments were made, however, a huge project kicked off and the closer we got to our departure day, the more stressed I became. What was going to happen while I was gone?
The truth is, I hadn’t mastered the fine art of delegation and I find this to be a common issue among the executives I coach.
“Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn’t go to hell if you take a day off,” says Jeffrey Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and author of What Were They Thinking?: Unconventional Wisdom About Management.
Real delegation is assigning responsibility for outcomes along with the authority to do what is needed to produce the desired results. Delegation benefits managers, direct reports, and organizations and is a fundamental managerial trait…” (SHRM https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/delegateeffectively.aspx)
So, how can you better delegate to build team engagement and enjoy your vacations?
Here are three important steps of assigning responsibility for outcomes for your peace of mind and your team’s engagement
These are fairly easy steps to understand, however delegating takes time and mentoring. Start now and enjoy your next vacation with less stress!
About the Author: As an Executive and Team Coach, GerriVereen is an accountability partner for leaders who want to create an outcome-based culture and increase productivity and engagement. If you’re ready to take you and your team to the next level, send her an email at [email protected].
Thank you for signing up with Better Teams. We promise to send you useful and interesting team building activities and resources.