Authority and responsibility go hand in hand.When someone is delegated the responsibility for a certain task, they must also receive the necessary authority to complete the task well. In other words, they must be seen by everybody to have the corresponding authority. Some managers have made the mistake of giving people extra responsibilities without really giving them the extra authority required. This leads naturally to frustration. It is also important to
communicate to others concerned that a certain person has been given extra authority.
Perhaps a small team meeting is in order.
Delegated tasks need to be clearly defined.Spell out accurately what you are delegating - in detail. Define what the responsibility is, what authority goes with the assignment and how success will be measured. It is important that someone with authority knows the level of performance
expected of them.
Rewards need to be provided.Extra responsibility should really make a person's job more interesting and satisfying and lead to such rewards as greater recognition, more pay, or increased chances of promotion. Those who seem unwilling to accept extra responsibility might
really be saying one of two things to their manager: "The extra work you are trying to
give me isn't interesting" or "The rewards you are offering aren't good enough." As a
manager you too have two options: To raise the bar and offer better rewards, or to find
someone within the team who equally capable of doing the task and who is happy with
the rewards you are happy to provide.
Training, guidance and follow-up are always needed.People need clear guidance on what is required of them and adequate training for
the job. No one should be simply "dropped into it".
It is also vital that those who havedelegated a job follow up to see how it is going.Don't just delegate the lousy jobs.It is unwise to always delegate the mundane or boring tasks. This can lead to
frustration and resentment in people who feel they are "always landed with the bum
jobs".
Delegate in order to motivate.Those who delegate still retain the ultimate responsibility.While you might have delegated a particular area of work, you can't just wash your hands of the whole thing.
Those who delegate are still responsible for the wisdom of their delegation.Select people carefully.Skilful managers know their staff.
They know who will accept extra responsibility and who won't, and the reasons why.
They also know that delegating managerial responsibility is different from delegating technical responsibility.They realise that technical competence does not necessarily imply managerial competence.Keep communicating.It is easy to believe in communication. It is another thing to practise it.
Effective delegation depends on good communication, clear and full instructions, plenty of scope
for feedback and patient listening.
Interestingly, delegation also helps foster a feeling of teamwork.
It is unusual to note that many groups which work in a business environment are not considered to be teams.
Many organisations seem content with group performance. Perhaps in this circumstance, managers have not thought beyond current accomplishments to what might be achieved under different circumstances.
If we can establish a culture where people are willing to give their best and work together in teams we can often dramatically improve productivity and job satisfaction.So, we have communicated our company goals, delegated some duties and
motivation is slowly kicking in among staff.
Perhaps it is now time to instigate a team environment. There will generally be four stages involved with setting up a team.
Stage One-Formation:- When a team first starts, members are excited about belonging but concerned about where they fit in.
- Their roles have yet to be defined. Normally someone is in charge at this point and defines what the team goals and objectives are to be.
- A direct leadership style is okay at this stage as we need to create a common vision.
- Team members are usually quite enthusiastic about the task at hand. Productivity is low but morale is high.
Stage Two-Frustration:This is a stage many people with experience on committees are familiar with.
- Behaviour might include competition for power and attention, negative reactions towards leaders and other members, confusion, frustration with team members or a realisation that the task is more complicated than first thought.
- Some might think meetings are a place where you take minutes and waste hours.
- Like human adolescence, there does not seem to be any way to avoid team adolescence. It is usually the most uncomfortable stage of a group as people are jostling for position, morale is lower, and the goal seems much harder than it first seemed.
Some groups never make it past this stage.
- To move on, the team leader needs to work through the issues inherent in this stage.
- People need to be encouraged to constructively express their feelings of frustration and confusion so they can be resolved.
- Allowing people to mentally withdraw and clam up to avoid disagreement prevents the team from moving to the next stage.
Stage Three - Resolution:- At this stage the group is learning to work together to resolve differences and develop confidence and cohesion.
- Productivity improves, morale increases and the leader's role starts to change from that of controller and provider of information to that of facilitator, helping the group control their own content and process.
Stage Four-Results:Once the group reaches the results stage, they are truly a team.They have it all together, enjoy each other and the work and the group can manage itself.
At this stage the manager's role is that of an educator. Control is hardly necessary.
Signs that the group has become a team are enthusiasm, cooperation, confidence, shared leadership, high performance and a positive feeling that the task is being completed.
One way to understand which stage a team is at and how to best help them perform is to sit back and observe, if only for a while. Look at what the team is working on and how they are working on it.
While we are socialised to take note of the content of group interaction, it is equally important for a good leader to look at how the team functions
- interaction between team members, power struggles, communication and how decisions are being made. If we ignore the process, teams meetings will happen outside the meeting, in hallways, car parks and restrooms.
Essentially, an effective team builder will:
- Select employees who can meet job requirements as well as work with others.
- Give employees a sense of ownership by involving them in goal setting,problem solving and productivity improvement activities.
- Try to provide team spirit by encouraging people to work together and to support one another on related activities.
- Talk with people openly and honestly and encourage the same kind of communication in return.
- Keep agreements with people because their trust is essential to the success of the team leader's success.
- Help people get to know each other so they can learn to trust, respect and appreciate individual talent and ability.
- Ensure employees have the training to do their jobs and know how it is to be applied.
- Understand that conflict within groups is normal, but work to resolve it quickly and fairly before it can become destructive.
- Believe people will perform as a team when they know what is expected and what the benefits are.
- Be willing to replace members who cannot or will not meet reasonable standards after appropriate coaching.
Communication is often named as the biggest problem in most organisations, relationships and communities. What is so difficult?
There are a few things which leaders should understand.
- Firstly, words have different meanings to different people.
- Second, non-verbal communication can affect the message.
- Third, people have their own "red light words" which cause an emotional reaction, thereby distorting the message.
- And finally, barriers to communication exist and are not always detected. It is no wonder we sometimes get confused, particularly when our intentions as leaders are well meaning.
Half the battle is understanding what those barriers to communication are.
Poor use of language is perhaps being used by the sender, feedback is not allowed, memos are
being used when verbal communication is needed, employees are being stuck with
information overload, poor listening technique is being employed by both leaders and
employees, or the leader is making unfair assumptions or evaluations.
Excessive niceness can also be a problem, there might be a bad atmosphere or cultural differences might not be respected.
Whatever the barrier, understanding helps us change our approach, try a different
technique or poach feedback from employees on what the problem might be.
We can sometimes be surprised by the difference between what we think motivates people in
our team and what actually does motivate them. Effective communication helps us judge personalities, understand their needs and apply motivational techniques which
will help improve productivity.
Contrary to popular belief, money is often not the major motivator for most people.
Rather, feelings of being valued or effectively utilised often come first in surveys.
( Sorry TJ - im still learning... )
Effective teamwork knows no level.
It is just as important among top executives as it is among middle managers, frontline managers or among the workforce.
The absence of teamwork at any level, or between levels, will limit organisational effectiveness and can eventually kill an organisation.
