To be an effective team leader, learn to delegate

The good news is that you have been promoted to management! You are now the leader for a talented team of tech professionals. But you are likely to soon find that the work ethic that earned you the promotion -your technical skills, razor-sharp focus and persistence until the job is done- are not a lot of help in managing a team. In fact, those qualities are a detriment to leading a team effectively. Instead, you must learn the art of delegating.

As Jesse Sostrin, Global Head of People Leadership Development at Salesforce, noted in a Harvard Business Review article, you must learn to embrace the leadership paradox: to be more essential, and less involved. You are essential because you are the one who communicates the significance of your project in such a way that your team is inspired and empowered to contribute their best work. You are less involved because any tendency to hold on to a project or to lead simply by dictating orders will backfire.

What if you weren't there?

The most direct way to approach delegating is to ask yourself a question: If you were away for a week, how would your project advance in your absence? If you are not confident that work would progress, you can bet that you are over-involved in the nitty-gritty of your project, and you need to improve your delegation skills.

Have a clear strategy of how to engage and delegate

Salesforce’s Sostrin points to four strategies that lead to effective engagement and delegation:

1. Start with your big picture

Provide your team with the big picture – what’s at stake, and how this project is an opportunity to deliver a significant contribution to your customers and your company. State these priorities not just as a business justification, but also as your personal goal and expectation- you can’t motivate somebody to care about a project unless you can express why it matters to you. Make sure you have this talk with the team at the git-go, to ensure engagement and to increase personal relevance.

2. Inspire commitment

Make clear the scope of work for each team member and how it aligns with their capabilities. People engage and commit only when they understand how their role is essential to making it happen. Confirm their interpretation face-to-face or at least voice-to-voice – emails are impersonal and can be ignored or misinterpreted.

3. Engage at the right level

Engagement is a balancing act: Too involved, and you could consciously or inadvertently micromanage your teammates; too hands-off, and you could miss critical moments where a supportive comment or constructive feedback would move the project forward. To find the balance, personalize your role – ask people if they are comfortable with your input or would like more or less of it. Their response not only helps you know how often to intercede, but also empowers the individual team member to meet expectations

4. Practice saying “yes,” “yes but,” and “no.”

Delegating is the art of listening and being selective in how you respond. When a request comes your way that fits your expertise, say “yes,” and get involved. When the request and your skills don’t align, say “yes” but immediately identify the right team member or third party who can provide the right expertise. Say “no” when the request fails to align with project goals – but make sure that you explain your reasons, so that the team member can realign with the project goals and deliverable.

How to improve your delegating skills.

You become a successful leader by learning how to empower others to deliver their best. Over time, this approach will also benefit your team, as individuals also learn how to become more essential and less involved.

In making this transition to leadership, simple “on-the-job” training is not an efficient way to learn. A better way to learn the skills of delegating and goal setting is to start with an interactive webinar, like Silicon Valley’s Effective Training Associates’ “Delegating, Goal Setting, and Engagement” webinar, which helps you identify and communicate project goals and better engage with individuals and your team.

Contact Effective Training Associates (ETA) to learn more about delegating and other essential skills of project and people management.

Visit our website: effectivetraining.com
Visit ETA on LinkedIn
Give ETA a call at (408) 441-8881

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