Holding your team accountable is the muscle every leader needs to have fully developed to drive business results. Once you have delegated crystal clear expectations to your employees, accountability follows. This is especially important now during the pandemic crisis.
When I receive requests for delegation and accountability training, there’s usually a good reason for it. Sometimes it can be due to your frustration that your team is not getting the results you desire. Sometimes it points to a deeper issue. Either way as a leader, these two competencies are critical. Tapping into the talents of your team may require more work for you initially, but you’ll reap the rewards long term. Effective delegation will free up your time and empower your team to drive results. Preparing your team to execute is essential for your success and their success.
Training leaders in delegation and accountability includes emphasizing the clarity of outcomes. This framing is key. When you’re listening to your team you realize it’s a shared fate. At the heart of all of this is a need for clarity of expected results. If your team knows what you want when you delegate clearly, they hear what the expectations are and can feel more confident about meeting your expectations.
Are you hesitant to delegate? Is it because you think you can do it better? Holding onto projects can be self-limiting. You are ultimately blocking your own opportunities for advancement as a leader, and your staff will not be growing in all the ways they desire to be.
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Meet their team where they are
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Help them understand clear performance outcomes when delegating
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Use accountability for results as a motivating force
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Teach them basic skills or tasks so they can share be successful and you can delegate more to them
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Show them that effective delegation frees them (and you) up for more value-added work and, possibly, a promotion
Here are five steps for managers to take for clear delegation that produces desired results:
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Specify the outcome: What does it look like? Confirm that employees understand by having them repeat it back to you.
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Identify the due date: When, exactly, do you need it?
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Share the context: How does this project fit in, why is it important, why have they been chosen?
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Establish clear, attainable milestones and authority: Meet throughout the project to confirm or redirect the progress.
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Verify employee commitment: Ask your employee if they can do it and will they do it.
If you’re not sure how to delegate most effectively or having difficulty holding your team accountable? Let’s connect.