GOOD LEADERS FOCUS ON GOALS NOT ACTIVITIES
If you feel that nothing important should be delegated, you will never be able to take your team or your organization to the next level. Being a control freak or a micro manager is not necessary even in projects where accuracy or compliance is required. There is a much better way to get desired results and hold people accountable. You can maintain accuracy and compliance without stifling your team. If you do micromanage you could stifle your company growth, have high turnover, and end up working way too many hours.
Let’s consider an actual example. I have worked with a person owns a business that includes insurance and real estate. He has a dozen employees involved in the process of sales and contracts. Each person has a job title but not a job description. Things change quickly as does the mood of the owner. To make matters worse people are asked to do something and then the owner comes by and says, “stop doing that, I want you to do this.” You won’t be surprised to learn that this company experiences high employee turnover but the owner attributes that to the fact that people don’t want to work. The truth is that no one has been given a job description nor given the latitude to make decisions in their daily work and be held accountable for the results.
Another example concerns a customer service manager. She was previously the best customer service representative and had rave customer reviews. She received a well-deserved promotion. To continue her top customer service rating, she closely monitors all the representatives and sometimes even steps in and says, “Let me take this one. It is complicated and I know the customer.” But she has other duties now. Her boss asks her why the overall customer service rating is remaining low even though she was always received top ratings as an individual.
Let’s be clear. Yes, both people need to have control for the results of their people. For sure they must hold their people accountable. However, here are some of the results that will come from both real examples.
The high turnover does not mean that no one wants to do the work. In all my years in corporate human resources one statement has rung true. People did not leave jobs; they left supervisors.
Micromanaging has caused these problems. Here is what works better than micromanaging. A confident and focused leader who empowers people will create engaged employees which will result loyal customers and a successful company.
Rather than saying, “this is how I want you to perform this job,” try this instead. “Here is the way this has been done in the past. Now if you have a better method of achieving the goal, fine, but just remember that the goal must be achieved.” The employee should be held accountable for the goal. Focus on the goals not the activities! For a similar post on our web site see TAKE DELEGATION TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
Learn to effectively delegate and hold people accountable.
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Business Coach - Strategic Plans - Sales and Marketing Coach
Grant Schneider - Leadership and Business Coach Creating Successful Business Outcomes
President Performance Development Strategies
- Business Performance and Strategic Business Plans
- Organizational Effectiveness
- Time Effectiveness and Organization
914-953-4458, Armonk NY 10504 grant@pdstrategies.com
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