One of the biggest mistakes I see church leaders make is not getting out of the way so the blessings of God can flow into the ministry.  Here’s how it generally works.  Some well meaning pastor pours all he has into his church.  He prays and works and strategizes and implements.  Hour after hour, day after day, year after year he struggles to accomplish that which he feels called to do.  He wants to be the best pastor He can possibly be.  He reads every book he can find and does everything he can imagine to do, but still his church doesn’t grow.  He knows he’s doing the right things the right ways, but his people just don’t seem to respond.  The church is cold and stagnate.

Why, we ask. does such a faithful servant fail to see God’s blessing on his ministry.  The answer might surprise you.  It might even offend you.  It might go against the grain of everything you ever believed about church.  But the truth must be told so that thousands of young men will stop destroying their lives and the lives of their families.  The truth must be told so that the church can once again experience the fullness of the blessings God has designed for it.  So here it goes:  Just because the pastor is a paid employee of the church does not mean that he is the one to do all the work.

Ask yourself what the pastor is paid to do.  Is he paid visit the sick?  No.  Is he paid to preach all the sermons? No.  Is he paid to monitor the budget, make decisions, turn out the lights, evangelize the lost, order the Sunday school curriculum, make sure people are living right, monitor the cleanliness of the church, visit the shut-ins, drive the church bus? No, no, no, no, no, no no, no, no, and no.  Well then, what are we paying him for?  The pastor’s job is to equip the saints to do the work.  He shows you how to do the work.  He is not supposed to do the work for you.

The problem is not that most church members don’t realize this (although that is certainly the truth), the problem exist because most pastors don’t realize this.  Most pastors feel that they are paid to be the “Super Saint,” able to leap huge ministry tasks in a single bound.  As a result they turn their churches upside down.

They are afraid that something might go undone and someone might question wether or not they have earned their keep.  The congregants start saying, “I’m not doing that.  That’s what we pay the pastor for.”  The pastor then feels responsible for everything that goes wrong and his congregation becomes the overseers of His ministry.   Pastors have to learn to put the ball back in the congregations court.  They have to learn to say, “That’s not my job, that’s what they pay me to teach you to do.”

As long as pastors take the responsibility for everything that goes wrong or doesn’t happen in their church, they will continue to turn their churches upside down.  Congregants will continue to feel empowered to bring all their complaints to the pastor and feel vindicated by confusing responsibility with authority.

Committees who are actually responsible to see that a certain task gets done will come to the pastor and say, “Well you’re the man in charge, why didn’t this get done?”  The pastor usually then apologizes to the committee for not seeing that the task he delegated to them got done.  It sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?  It sounds upside down? What makes that committee think they could talk to their pastor that way?  Once again the answer might surprise you . . . the pastor himself.

A pastor that delegates responsibility without delegating the authority it will take to get the task accomplished will always find himself feeling the wrath of his congregation.  Most pastors want church to go well.  They want to make sure everything gets done, and that it gets done well.  They also want church to happen with little to no conflict.  Therefore they do their best to keep “the children” from fighting.  The best way to do this is to keep all the authority to yourself.  If you never give anyone any authority to hold people accountable they will hold you accountable.

A pastor that holds all the authority will find himself at the bottom of the heap.  The church will turn upside down.  The people will become passive in ministry and active in fault finding.  The pastor will work himself to a frazzle and eventually blow a gasket.

The upside down church is the biggest problem in churches today.  It is the main reason why most churches in America cannot grow past 100 members.  Until church leaders learn to get out of the way by giving away authority, the church will continue to stagnate.  The upside down church has authoritative leadership corking up the blessings that God wants to pour out on his people.

Pastor’s, if you really want to see God move in your church, get out of the way and let “the children,” make mistakes, drop the ball, fight with one another and learn.  Then you will have truly equipped the saints and earned your paycheck.

One of the features of Project Server 2010 I was really keen to try out was that of delegates. In Project Server 2007, when a Project Manager goes on leave, it is necessary to go through and manually reassign each task in the schedule to a new status manager so they can see the tasks, their updates and manage the schedule effectively. When that user returns from holiday, you then have to repeat the process and reassign each task back.

Enter delegates.

In Project Server 2010, it is possible for users to ‘delegate’ their project server account to another user for a period of time, effectively allowing that user to login as that user. So in the above example, the project manager going on leave could simply choose to delegate their account to the cover PM whilst they were away. Anyway, in typical EPMpire style, here is a quick overview.

To create a delegate, select Manage Delegates either through Personal Settings, or via Server Settings (check you have been granted the relevant security privileges if you don’t have these options).

Choose to add a delegate, you will then be presented with a screen that will enable you to set up the delegate, and most importantly configure a mandatory time period for the delegation.

You can only add those users as a delegate that have the ‘Can be a delegate’ resource security item set to allow. This is a clever move, meaning that the administrator can choose which users groups can delegate, limiting it to say PM’s instead of providing the functionality to all team members.

Once the delegation has been configured, it can be activated by simply selecting it from the ‘Manage Delegates’ menu option. Upon activation, a handy alert is displayed on every screen indicating that the current user is acting as a delegate.

Whilst acting as a delegate, all security and groupings for that delegated user take effect, meaning if you were a project server administrator and you acted as a delegate for another user with lesser privileges, you would only have those lesser privileges. The screens below show the normal administrator view of the PWA home page, followed by the delegated view, notice how several options are not there both in the quick launch menu and the reminders section.

The documentation indicates that delegation will also flow through the ULS logging, but at the time of writing I hadn’t confirmed that was the case (or if it is, it’s just hard to see pull out of the logs).

To come out of delegated mode, simply go the delegation management screen and choose ‘Stop Delegate Session’.

Of course, whilst this feature is fantastic for when people go on leave and you want to delegate your items to the person that will be covering for you, there is another use for this function that will stop administrators pulling their hair out….. end user support.  One of the things in Project Server 2007 that I am always running into when trying to support end users is that it’s hard to replicate issues people are having because of the integrated security. Typically a user would either have to give the support person their password and allow them to log on as them, or they would have to sit with them while they worked out what was going wrong. Now with delegation, it’s possible for a user to delegate a support person to have access, keeping their credentials secure and allowing them to continue on with other work whilst the issue is troubleshot. As soon as the issue is fixed, or the logon no longer required, the user can delete the delegation.

When Entrepreneurs start the company, they often control the spending authority such that all expenditures have to be approved by them.

As the company grows and competent leaders and managers are in place, the Entrepreneur/CEO needs to delegate the spending authority to the secondary levels in the organization.

Depending upon the size of the company, use careful thought in establishing the level of spending authority at each level. Purchase orders should be issued only upon the approval of the requisitions by the proper level of authority for the amounts to be expended.

Internal controls in this area are important for growth.

Ravi Patel

www.patelCFOservices.com

I recently posted a question on my Linked-In profile – “If I could tell my boss one thing this week it would be:”

• They are inspirational (26%)
• They need to delegate more (8%)
• They work too much (0%)
• They have some blind-spots to consider (52%)
• They should hire a coach (13%)

Admittedly, I was surprised that 52% of respondents said they would tell their boss about “blind-spots” in their leadership. As I thought about this exercise a few questions came to my mind.

Do we tell our supervisors what we are really thinking about their leadership?

Do supervisors really want to know what their followers think about their leadership capacity?

What holds followers back from sharing constructive feedback to their leaders?

If a leader desires constructive feedback, are they prepared for the feedback AND will they do something about it?

I’d be real interested in your interpretation of this data. If you are a leader, how does this data sit with you? If you are a follower, what reaction do you have to this data?

Scott Morrell

www.scott-morrell.com

IT GOT pretty quiet around Rodney Hide since he paid back the money he spent on his infamous super-city-trip, but yet again a politician is in the limelight after a questionable overseas trip.

The debate about Hone Harawira and his email exchange with a member of the New Zealand public, in which he justified a private trip after skipping a tax payer-funded conference goes on for about a month now.

WORTH A TRIP? - Europe is a common destination for our politicians' big overseas experience (pic: art.com)

Instead of staying with an official delegation and attending a taxpayer-funded meeting in Brussels, Harawira had gone on a private trip to Paris.

Former Waitangi Tribunal director Buddy Mikaere approached Harawira via email on this matter – and got a rather unpleasant response.

TVNZ uses the term “strongly worded” to describe the reply Mr Mikaera got, the New Zealand Herald calls it an “angry email”.

Fact is: you needed almost as many blank-out-stars like this * as actual letters, if you wanted to display the context…

But “star”-struck displays in all leading media outlets and accusations of having made racist comments when reacting to the emails (referring to Pakeha as “white motherf.******”) were not the only results, Harawira’s actions led to.

The Maori Party announced to consider his future while Harawira was banned from Parliament for the last two weeks.

RENEGADE: Hone Harawira's emails are "star"-struck (pic:spasifikmag.com)

An apology made by Hone Harawira this week was welcomed by Mr Mikaere, who does not expect a “personal sorry”, the NZ Herald reports.

Harawira has made clear his intention to stay with the Maori Party, but a decision has yet to be made by his Tai Tokerau electorate and the Maori Party on whether he should resign. – read more

In a column, published in the Northland Age and displayed on the Maori Party’s website, Hone Harawira gives us more insight in his email inbox:

-Here’s a ‘love letter’ I got in the email. Enjoy it. I did.

“Dear Grim Reaper,

This year you have taken my favourite male actor, Patrick Swayze. You also took my favourite female actor, Farrah Fawcett Major, and my favourite entertainer and dancer, Michael Jackson.

I want to be sure you know that Hone Harawira is my favourite politician. Thanks.”-

 

 

- read the whole column here

- read more about the “angry email” between Harawira and Mikaere here

- watch a TVNZ clip on why Mr Mikaere went public with the emails here

My son is 7, and neither very neat nor very organized. This is not a big deal, as we work around it most of the time.

Today, however, he was “cleaning his room” by taking things that were on the floor and putting them on surfaces throughout his room–his bottom bunk, his dresser, his desk… In essence, his version of “clean” was “off the floor.”

But his less than thorough approach to cleaning his room presented me with a great leadership opportunity. When I called him back to his room to do the rest of the cleaning, I made sure that the first thing I said to him was, “Thank you for being willing to clean your room and not complaining about it.” Next, I told him that I appreciated what he had done, and that I trusted him to do a thorough job–I told him that I wasn’t going to check his room again, that I was sure he’d do exactly what he knew was a complete cleaning now that he knew what was expected.

When he finished a few minutes later, he called me to come and look. “I trust you,” I told him. “Are you proud of your effort?”

“Yes,” he responded.

“Then you are finished,” I said without looking into his room.

I was trusting both his effort and his standards after I’d thanked him and encouraged him. Was the room as clean as it would have been had I done it? Probably not. Was it more clean than it would have been had I not trusted him to make the decision himself based on knowing that I thought he could do it and wasn’t going to check up on him? Definitely.

And next time, I might not have to say anything at all.

Je fais un complément sur le post du Manager Minute du 13/11/2009.

En effet j’ai beaucoup axé le premier post sur les Objectifs, Félicitations et Réprimandes Minute mais pas assez sur ce que le récit veut nous dire en terme de développement personnel.

A savoir l’existence de 4 degrés de délégation.

Notez que ces 4 degrés de délégation se retrouvent dans les chapitres du livre à travers les différents entretiens que réalisent le protagoniste du livre avec le personnel de l’entreprise du Manager Minute.

1. Le premier niveau “NSP” pour “Ne Sait Pas” : consiste à décrire à votre interlocuteur ce qu’il a à faire, comment le faire et quel est le résultat attendu;
2. Le seconde niveau “Motivé” : où la personne sait ce qu’elle a à faire et est motivée puisqu’elle atteint l’objectif et donc reçoit les Félicitations Minute (ou les Réprimandes Minute dans le cas contraire) ;
3. Le troisième niveau “S’autonomisant” : est la faculté de la personne à se demander comment améliorer sa performance, à anticiper ce que son manager lui demandera. Elle est dans un processus, une démarche qui doit la mener vers la totale autonomie;
4. Enfin, le quatrième niveau “Autonome” : est la capacité de la personne à créer ses propres objectifs, définir et appliquer le comment y arriver. Elle sait aussi expliquer, déléguer ses tâches. Elle devient donc elle-même un Manager Minute.

Un petit diagramme pour résumé :

Plus vous montez dans les niveaux de délégations et moins vous avez besoin d’avoir d’explications (PRODUCTION ) et d’encadrement (RELATION). Quelqu’un d’autonome est donc quelqu’un qui nécessite peu de temps à expliquer ce que l’on cherche à obtenir et peu de suivi pour s’assurer que tout va bien.

Nous arrivons ainsi vers un autre principe remarquable du Management dont les 4 degrés de délégations sont basés : la ¨Pyramide de Maslow”. Cela fera l’objet d’un prochain post.

Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who owned a wheat field.

“Who will help me harvest the wheat?” she asked.

“Not I,” said the dog. “I’ve never done that before.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “I’ve got way too much to do already.”

“Not I,” said the duck. “That’s not on my job description.”

So the little red hen did it herself.

“Who will help me grind the wheat into flour?” she asked.

“Not I,” said the dog. “You’re so much better at that than I am.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “There’s not enough time to show me how.”

“Not I, “ said the duck. “I would probably just mess it up.”

So the little red hen did it herself.
“Who will help me make some bread?” asked the little red hen.

“Not I,” said the dog.  “I’ve got a deadline to meet.”

“Not I,” said the cow. “I’ve got to leave right at 5:00 p.m.”

“Not I,” said the duck.  “You can’t trust me with something that important.”

So the little red hen did it herself.

When all her guests arrived that evening for the farmyard dinner party, the little red hen had nothing ready to serve except the bread.  Now, it was some fine bread – the best anyone had ever tasted – but it was disappointing as a main course nonetheless.  The little red hen had been so caught up doing everything herself that she didn’t have time to get anything else ready.

Moral of the Story:

Leaders learn how to delegate.  They involve others throughout a project for both the project’s and the team members’ good.  Good leaders challenge their performers to do more than the performers think they can, and good leaders never “chicken out” by doing the whole thing themselves.

The technical manager is generally the customer facing portion of a technical team.  Your customer might be a true external customer, upper management or another group within your organization.  Regardless your goals are the same – to identify the client needs, and to create an accurate timeframe and description of the deliverable.  In this role you must interpret the needs of the customer, communicate that to the technical team, ensure that those results are obtained and then bring the finished product to the customer.

Since the technical manager is usually a technical person first and a manager second, it is easy to fall into a sympathy trap with your team.  Completion of the technical aspects of any project is usually impaired by various setbacks and delays.  While you will have a complete understanding of the nature of these sorts of challenges, your customer does not.  It’s critical that you avoid being overly sympathetic with your team or you will end up trying to defend them after they fail to achieve a goal rather than proactively managing the expectations of your customer.

Your role as manager is to gather detailed information about the timeline and functionality deliverables that the customer expects.  The more thorough you can be in this information gathering process, the more you increase your chances for success because you will not have to go back and adjust expectation due to discovering that you missed a critical aspect of the expected deliverable.

While it’s possible to create a sufficient amount of slush in a deliverable timeline to account for some challenges, it’s better to narrow down the variables by brainstorming possible obstacles so that your timeline is as accurate as possible.  Armed with an accurate time estimate, you can set clear expectations with the customer while simultaneously holding the team accountable for delivering to the deadline despite any setbacks.

Technical team members tend to have difficulty with creating accurate timelines for their deliverables and as such an inexperienced technical manager will find him/herself frequently caught between a legitimately frustrated customer when a deadline is missed, and a staff member with a technically reasonable explanation for having missed the deadline.  Working with a technical team to proactively consider possible setbacks and planning for them in advance is the key to long term success in managing technical people as it ultimately results in setting both yourself and your team up for success within the organization and creating the perception that you achieve your goals on time.

The second mindset adjustment involves being held responsible for more work than you could possibly complete by yourself.  This is corollary to point #1 because when you realize that your subordinates are less efficient and/or less skilled, you will be tempted to try to do the work yourself instead but must realize that this is likely impossible and counter productive to your own success as a manager.  In order to adapt to these adjustments you must learn to motivate your team and apply your skills in a targeted and controlled fashion or you will end up spreading yourself too thin and becoming ineffective.

If you have successfully discovered what your team is working on by reviewing their job descriptions, their current projects, and their stated goals, your next task is to learn to delegate effectively.  Delegation is a delicate art, especially when you are new to a management position.  All new managers tend to vacillate between micro-managing (i.e. breathing down the neck of your reports and poking them every time they do something that you would not have done) and being too far removed from the process (i.e. hiding inyour office wondering what you are supposed to be doing as a “manager”). 

The goal of successful delegation is to isolate a specific task or goal, set a deadline and a definition of success, and then create a reasonable number of checkpoints along the way which will allow the task to be brought back on track if it has gone astray.  Once that framework is in place, a task can be delegated in a sufficiently hands off manner that both you and your team member report can keep track of it without undue stress.  It then becomes the manager’s job to keep track of the deadlines and checkpoints on an ongoing basis, freeing your team member to focus on the completion of the task itself.  The entire key to successful delegation lies in effectively defining the boundaries of the task or goal being delegated as it’s achievement (or lack thereof) must be interpreted identically by both parties.

With Policy Governance, it is through the articulation of ends, and then the monitoring of those ends, that you (the board) achieve the required community transformation.

What result, for what people, at what cost?

That term, community transformation, may seem a bit lofty. By now you’ve heard that ends are statements that talk about “what result, for what people, at what cost.” That phrase is just shorthand to remind you what is an end, and what is a means (everything that is not an end). This ends-means distinction seems very difficult for some people, so ensuring that any board concerns about means are expressed as executive limitations is often the discussion associated with ends. Here, I am assuming that you’ve mastered this distinction, and I want to focus on the content of those ends.

The phrase “what result, for what people, at what cost” requires the board to know what result (benefit, change) in the community is required, who will benefit from the change, and what is a reasonable cost for achieving that result. The truth is that most boards struggle to discover what result should be achieved by their organization.

In the opening paragraph, I commented that it is through the board’s ends that the community transformation is achieved. Is that true for your organization, or is it really the staff who know what has to happen, and the staff who will do what is required whether the board ‘gets it’ or not? We are still in the era of the cult of the CEO. In many organizations, the board simply hires the chief executive who is expected to quickly discover the appropriate vision for the organization and then work to make it so. Even if the CEO is not the visionary, often the ongoing work of the organization seems so important that all the board wants to do is enshrine the current operation in the ends. Evidence of this is that the discussion of ends revolves around examining what the organization is currently doing, or what the CEO wants the organization to do, and then attempt to write ends policies that will reflect that. This might be a place to begin to explore ends for the organization; it is important for a board that is beginning to use Policy Governance to learn what their organization is really doing, and to understand what benefits are currently being produced for what people, and what is the cost of all of this. A lot of unnecessary dislocation of people and resources might be avoided if the first articulation of ends merely enables this to continue (unless something clearly needs changing).

Mission & Vision Statements

Unfortunately, because so many board members have gone on retreats to write mission and vision statements, they recognize that some of the process of writing ends feels like those old exercises. Having gone to the trouble to establish mission and vision statements, those words are traditionally written in stone, and often a decade or more passes before anyone bothers to tinker with those words. That approach will not work with ends.

Ends are not the same as mission and vision statements

The work of writing ends is (or should be) substantially different from writing mission and vision statements. Mission and vision statements can be useful in providing some focus and some agreement on organizational direction. Often they are expected to inspire staff and to help the community understand the organization. But think about this: no one is held accountable for achieving a mission or a vision.

Ends are delegation

If you (the board) are doing your job, you will be holding the staff accountable for achieving your ends. In effect, when the board writes an end statement, it is as if it concludes with the phrase, “…and the CEO is accountable for achieving this end.” Or, “…and the CEO’s continued employment with this organization depends on achieving this end.” The articulation of the end is, therefore, a delegation of responsibility to the CEO and thereby to the whole organization. There is no element of delegation associated with mission and vision.

Since an end is a delegation it must be currently relevant. As soon as the board perceives that the need for the end has changed, it must change the substance of the end policy. There is no point in having the staff expending resources to achieve the wrong thing. Therefore, the board not only monitors the staff’s achievement of the ends, the board must also continually (at least once per year) ensure that the end itself is appropriate.

The board is a fiduciary for the ownership

And how does board know that the end is appropriate? Learning exactly what ends are required is at the centre of the work of the board. Attending to this is the board’s fiduciary responsibility. The formulation of ends is one of the jobs of a Policy Governance board that is profoundly different from traditional boards. Traditional boards focus on what the organization should be doing — so those boards deal with results by approving action plans. Often those board are satisfied if the organization is performing some useful activities.

Ends arise out of community need. All non-profit organizations are founded to address a community need. Before the board can write ends, it must understand that need. This is learned by communicating with the members of the community who would have the organization exist to address that need (the ownership).

Ends address the real need

When a board has really made the transition to Policy Governance, an observer at the board meeting (such as myself) can hear it in the quality of discussion about ends. The board members are not talking about the activities they’d like to see performed by the staff, instead they are talking about what has to be addressed and changed (or at least maintained) in the community. The board understands that its organization is the agent of community transformation, and the board’s job is to hold the organization accountable for achieving that transformation. The discussion about ends is certainly not about what the board members would like (personal visions), or even think is a good idea.

Gone are weak words like ‘helping,’ ‘striving,’ fostering,’ etc. Similarly, comparatives such as ‘more,’ ‘improved,’ ‘enhanced,’ are no longer adequate. What is wrong with words like this that so many organizations use as part their purpose statements? They all allow the organization to be content performing some remedial activities in the community without ever fully attending to the real need. Your organization may not have to save the world, but it must fully address the reason for which the owners believe it was founded.

You know you are on the right track when the real need becomes known to you and your board, and you begin see that certain things (in the community) must be different in the future, and that your organization has the responsibility of achieving what is necessary. Understanding this, and articulating what must in place in the future, and then holding the organization accountable for achieving that future, is the real power of ends, and of a board using Policy Governance.

© 2009 R. Ballantyne. All rights reserved. This is for your use at your computer screen. For reproduction of any kind you will need the written permission of the author.

(Photo: stopnlook)

(Originally posted as a series November 16 -20, 2009 on The Blog of Jason Christensen – “Your Life as a Remote User”)

Times are tough right now. Raises are not being doled out, salary’s are being cut, 401K’s are not being matched, people are loosing their jobs…morale is low. Many managers may not be concerned if their remaining employees are unhappy; where do they think they are going to go in this economic environment? Don’t be short sighted; employees who are not happy are looking elsewhere and when the climate turns many will abandon ship. Now is the time to keep your employees exhilarated!

“So what can you do to motivate a team and create loyal employees when morale is low?”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
In this economy it’s imperative employers concentrate on non-monetary motivating factors by:

1. Taking a genuine interest in people
2. Keeping an open line of communication
3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role
4. Bestowing recognition on your team
5. Cultivating career development plans

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

1. Take a genuine interest in people.

When times get tough people band together; they take a bona fide interest in one another.

• Find out what is going on in the life of your team members
• What is important to them right now
• Let them know you understand
• Do what you can to help them
• Offer advice if they are looking for it

Try making a mental list of everyone you may encounter today; think of what they are working on or what they have going on in their life and try to relate to them. People appreciate it when you take an interest in their lives. It will increase morale, let people know you care and help them realize they are not just another number in the corporate books.

Remote Note:

When your team is remote and you do not see them face-to-face this can be especially challenging. Take the time to work with each of them personally. Be sure to contact them weekly even if it is just to touch base. A one-on-one call will let them know you are thinking of them and will be there help should anything come up.

Keep in mind; this may be something you have to ease into if you have not shown an interest in the past; otherwise they may think you are prying and become suspicious. So take it slow, work to re-develop those relationships and with any luck it will lead to a motivated team, stronger group bond, greater retention rates, and increased team morale.

Think of others first, show interest in their lives, offer a helping hand.

2. Keeping an open line of communication.

An open door policy sends a message to your coworkers you are approachable, willing to listen and discuss issues as they come up. An open line of communication also acquaints you with your team in order to know what is important to them. If you are familiar with their goals and desires, you will be able to lead them more effectively grooming them for the next steps they wish to achieve. Without and open line of communication you are leading them blindly and will not get the synergies needed to achieve your goals.

• Ask employees for their ideas
• Be a good listener
• Take notes
• Work to find ways to incorporate their ideas into the corporate vision

You may be surprised at the good points of information they will provide to you. And when you do use their ideas and the employees see them in action you will be surprised by their loyalty to you and the company.

Don’t forget, communication is a two way street. People feel important when they know what is going on with their company. They feel a sense of power when they are “in-the-know” on breaking news. Reach out to your staff when there is news to be shared, organize your thoughts and convey a clear, concise, informational message without breaching company confidentiality.

Remote Note:

It can be tough to have a so called “open door” when you lead a team of remote users. Here are some tips to help:

• Always take their calls or return their calls as soon as you are available.
• If you only have a moment, let them know and schedule a definitive time to speak with them further.
• Hold weekly conference calls to allow for corporate communications, success and improvement stories as well as an open forum for issues affecting the team.

Keep an open line of communication, be a good listener and make them feel important.

3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role.

People like to feel needed, so helping people understand their contribution to the corporation and showing them their efforts DO make a difference will increase their morale. It is important for people to understand how each gear turns to keep the machine operating effectively. They need to understand the part they play in the overall corporate structure and the flow of the business.

Take a particular function in your business as an example:

• Where was it generated what is the intended outcome?
• What path had the process taken before it reached your team?
• Where did it go afterward?
• What was the result and how did it contribute to the goals of the company?

It is important to illustrate this so people understand their role is not idle and without function.

Another way to generate a feeling of contribution to the company is to delegate authority. Delegate authority by:

• Encouraging people to take on additional responsibilities
• Aligning them with the company goals
• Letting them take ownership of certain processes.

This increase in leadership responsibilities will build the bench strength of your team and increase fellowship amongst employees. Furthermore take the time to publicly recognize them and convey how their initiatives helped the company and/or the customer. Better yet invite the customer to take the time to provide a public testimonial of the employees efforts. This kind of respect in a timely manner will go a long way with your team.

Remote Note:

When your team is part of a remote workforce it can be especially challenging for them to understand the role they play in the company and the path processes take from inception to fruition. By illustrating to your team the route a business process takes whether it is through a slide presentation or work flow chart it helps them understand the function of their position and how they can affect the overall process.

In addition, it is important for the remote work force to understand the appropriate contacts for varied situations they encounter in their day to day. This will help them know where to go for answers when a problem arises.

Help your team to understand their overall role in the company and build bench strength through delegation.

4. Bestowing recognition on your team.

Expendable funds are minimal, but how do you recognize your team for a job well done? One of the best ways is to allow your employees a greater stake in the company. By offering your team options in the organization it generates a deeper interest in helping the company to succeed. The closer the ties, the more loyal they will be and the more desire they will have to look out for the best interest of the company.

A lesser option is to provide them with a gift they would not otherwise spend their own money to purchase. In better times companies had gift catalogs allowing the staff to pick from a selection of nice items. In today’s climate a more resonable token may be company logo merchandise. It allows the employee to boast his affiliation with a nice corporate logo while at a minimal cost to the company.

Let’s face it, people enjoy recognition, but the timing and context have to be right. Be sure to:

• Convey praise immediately with much encouragement
• Tie the recognition to the team goals and make it part of your repertoire
• Have recognition provided by an officer of the company, this is often times worth more than a material token
• Award people based on measurable goals

An award is good, but bragging rights are better!

Remote Note:

With a team of remote users it can be difficult to publicly recognize a job well done. A great vehicle for recognizing a team member is through a weekly newsletter. Create a short article touting the wonderful job they did and if you can get a customer testimonial it makes the achievement all the better. There is nothing like being able to show others your achievements right there in print.

Another great method is on your weekly team call where their colleagues can applaud them in person. It is always nice to have a quick pat on the back for a job well done.

What a terrific way to spark a friendly internal competition for your team members in order to vie for that top spot.

Awards and recognition generate loyalty and elevate morale.

5. Cultivating career development plans.

One of the worst feelings as an employee is not knowing where you are going with your employer. Take time with the individuals on your team and sit down with them to develop a clear career path showing them the next steps they can take based on their achievements. A great time to cover this is during biannual performance reviews. Take this time to provide constructive feedback AND discuss with them what they can do to grow with the company. Find out what you can do to help each of your team members advance and work to make it happen. Not only will it help them, but as management sees future leaders continually being produced from your staff it lets them know the value you offer to the company.

Develop your team using:

• Books and short articles on related topics
• Online Courses
• Out of office training workshops or seminars

When people are excused from their regular duties for a short period of time to participate in these type of events, it makes make them feel important amongst the crowd.

Out of sight out of mind.

Remote Note:
When you manage a remote team it is challenging to enhance the visibility of the work your team does. Often their achievements get overlooked by people who work in the office since they do not see your team members regularly. This can make it difficult for members of your team to exceed in the workplace and continually grow with the company. It is important to create campaigns to tout the accomplishments of your team. It could be through a company newsletter or possibly a weekly email stating the highlights of the week. Be creative and find a method which fits your corporate structure.

Take time with your team to make sure you understand what their goals are with the company and help them to develop and achieve those goals.

Keep your team on board! Think of others first by conveying an interest in their lives, talking with them frequently, letting them know they are doing a good job and you appreciate their contributions, then help them to develop in their careers. With any luck it will lead to a motivated team, stronger group bond, greater retention rates, and increased team morale.

After 24 hours without internet (but email thx to blackberry) I am online again. It is amazing how one feels without the access to the big world outside there. Addiction is the right word. My first browser window opened the email box to see whether the lawyers of Annie Lennox have responded to my private emails and my public plea. Nothing. That is the next amazing thing for me -  to threaten people and complaining about people but behind the curtain of confidentiality. This is playing fools games, I would have expected more from people dealing with the law. I do consider now an official complaint with the lawyers association, they are members of to make sure they get the message, that even laywers are expected to fair play. Otherwise they are what we in a good old German call “Winkeladvokat”. On the other hand: Should I really sacrifice time and energy on such nonsense instead of working with the real serious issue of HIV and AIDS and all other needs which are the real issues in this world. I will sleep a night over it..

Yesterday we had a political delegation from Bavaria at HOPE Cape Town; giving a talk to them was a real pleasure and it is for me always a challenge to bridge the gap between those visitors, who want to know more and the reality in South Africa,which is so different from the one in Europe.
This morning I had to attend to banking issues and it seems that service-wise the banks are catching up in South Africa. It was working out nicely and I am now soon the owner of a new bank account. I know, no big deal in Europe, but here it can be quite a way to go until you are where you want to be in the banking system. People in South Africa know what I am talking about.

Apropos South Africa – This afternoon, as it looked that the internet will be not working for the next couple of days, I had this wonderful idea to go to MTN, my service provider and to get a dongle to link via them to the internet. Just as a back up function to have access for basic services if Telkom is at odds with its lines again. Great plan, I thought, went to the next MTN shop to get going. The plan was indeed good, but I forgot that I am living in South Africa: The paper work could be done, the dongle will be delivered maybe (!) next week, the linking to the internet might also be done within 2 weeks – and as I told the guy that I want to have it done now and here, he just looked at me in a strange way. Well, I told him that Vodacom is doing it on the spot. He agreed, but there is the next catch: You need the RICA approval – means you must  prove that you are alive and that you have a home. They don’t believe it only you standing in front of them.. But to prove you have a home, you must have a bill on your name and your street address – well, having a P.O.BOx that is almost impossible. There is the possibility of a side visit, but obviously that takes time…  So no RICA no instant internet, no dongle no instant internet – the only solution: going home and waiting.. and the miracle happened: while I was afterwards phoning with TELKOM desperate trying to persuade them to send out a technician even on a Friday afternoon.. bitch.. the DSL light got green again..  I believe in miracles, did I mention that already..:-)

(Photo: vkx462)

Times are tough right now. Raises are not being doled out, salary’s are being cut, 401K’s are not being matched, people are loosing their jobs…morale is low. Many managers may not be concerned if their remaining employees are unhappy; where do they think they are going to go in this economic environment? Don’t be short sighted; employees who are not happy are looking elsewhere and when the climate turns many will abandon ship. Now is the time to keep your employees exhilarated!

“So what can you do to motivate a team and create loyal employees when morale is low?”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
In this economy it’s imperative employers concentrate on non-monetary motivating factors by:

1. Taking a genuine interest in people
2. Keeping an open line of communication
3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role
4. Bestowing recognition on your team
5. Cultivating career development plans

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

5. Cultivating career development plans.

One of the worst feelings as an employee is not knowing where you are going with your employer. Take time with the individuals on your team and sit down with them to develop a clear career path showing them the next steps they can take based on their achievements. A great time to cover this is during biannual performance reviews. Take this time to provide constructive feedback AND discuss with them what they can do to grow with the company. Find out what you can do to help each of your team members advance and work to make it happen. Not only will it help them, but as management sees future leaders continually being produced from your staff it lets them know the value you offer to the company.

Develop your team using:

• Books and short articles on related topics
• Online Courses
• Out of office training workshops or seminars

When people are excused from their regular duties for a short period of time to participate in these type of events, it makes make them feel important amongst the crowd.

Out of sight out of mind.

Remote Note:
When you manage a remote team it is challenging to enhance the visibility of the work your team does. Often their achievements get overlooked by people who work in the office since they do not see your team members regularly. This can make it difficult for members of your team to exceed in the workplace and continually grow with the company. It is important to create campaigns to tout the accomplishments of your team. It could be through a company newsletter or possibly a weekly email stating the highlights of the week. Be creative and find a method which fits your corporate structure.

Take time with your team to make sure you understand what their goals are with the company and help them to develop and achieve those goals.

-What have you done to develop your team? Please leave a comment and let us know.
-What are some methods you use to boast the triumphs of your team? Please leave a comment and let us know.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

This concludes the final segment of the five part series, if you missed a prior segment you can click on any of the numbered links above and you will be taken directly to the individual post. I hope this series engaged you and sparked ideas you will be able to utilize with your workforce. I would love to hear your feedback so feel free to comment on this or any of the articles posted on this blog.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

Remember: Keep your team on board! Think of others first by conveying an interest in their lives, talking with them frequently, letting them know they are doing a good job and you appreciate their contributions, then help them to develop in their careers. With any luck it will lead to a motivated team, stronger group bond, greater retention rates, and increased team morale.

Team behavior theory ( Tuckman) and leadership theories (Hershey and Blanchard, Adair) can be brought together to into a simple model  to show how different Leadership styles are required across the life cycle of an activity.

At the start an activity, task or project , the individual, team or group can be confused and uncoordinated!  The leader needs to be more directive; focusing on the task at hand and promoting ownership by the individual or team member and promoting their confidence.  As they develop, the leader focuses on coaching to get them into the normative stage!  Here it is agreed how they will behave to complete the task!  There may be conflict and a leader may need a facilitative approach to lead them to resolution.  As the individual or team becomes more confident and self managed the leader concentrates on leading the team overall and develops a delegating style!

This leaves most leaders with a challenge – how do I develop the competence and confidence to use a wide range of leadership styles?  We shall explore this theme in more details over the next few posts!

Virtual Assistants are typically professional level people who have left the confines of corporate business to start their own businesses. Virtual Assistants are independent contractors who work from home providing a variety of services to businesses.

This trend allows these highly skilled professionals to bring their knowledge to bear for a whole range of companies that would otherwise not have access. While VA’s were once limited to more administrative tasks, they now encompass the entire spectrum of professional skills. If it can be done from home, there is a VA doing it.

What companies are starting to appreciate is that Virtual Assistants cost companies a fraction of the cost of actual hires. A company employing Virtual Assistants can utilise the services of a whole range of professionals instead of having to choose which specialty is needed most as the company grows.

For the cost of one salaried Administrative Assistant, a business owner could utilise approximately 1400 hours of assistance divided among any number of top professionals. Utilising Virtual Assistants allows businesses access to the exact services that they need, it also allows businesses to shift gears more quickly and efficiently by investing in growth rather than payroll because they are paying only for the time spent on their project. There is no longer a reason to worry about taxes, benefits, vacation pay, and time wasted by the water cooler.

More and more businesses are coming round to the idea of Virtual Assistance; it’s a win-win for everyone involved. It gives businesses the help that they need without the hassle of hiring a full-time employee.

www.powerhomebiz.com/082005/va.htm

(Photo: ralphbijker)

Times are tough right now. Raises are not being doled out, salary’s are being cut, 401K’s are not being matched, people are loosing their jobs…morale is low. Many managers may not be concerned if their remaining employees are unhappy; where do they think they are going to go in this economic environment? Don’t be short sighted; employees who are not happy are looking elsewhere and when the climate turns many will abandon ship. Now is the time to keep your employees exhilarated!

“So what can you do to motivate a team and create loyal employees when morale is low?”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
In this economy it’s imperative employers concentrate on non-monetary motivating factors by:

1. Taking a genuine interest in people
2. Keeping an open line of communication
3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role
4. Bestowing recognition on your team
5. Cultivating career development plans

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role.

People like to feel needed, so helping people understand their contribution to the corporation and showing them their efforts DO make a difference will increase their morale. It is important for people to understand how each gear turns to keep the machine operating effectively. They need to understand the part they play in the overall corporate structure and the flow of the business.

Take a particular function in your business as an example:

• Where was it generated what is the intended outcome?
• What path had the process taken before it reached your team?
• Where did it go afterward?
• What was the result and how did it contribute to the goals of the company?

It is important to illustrate this so people understand their role is not idle and without function.

Another way to generate a feeling of contribution to the company is to delegate authority. Delegate authority by:

• Encouraging people to take on additional responsibilities
• Aligning them with the company goals
• Letting them take ownership of certain processes.

This increase in leadership responsibilities will build the bench strength of your team and increase fellowship amongst employees. Furthermore take the time to publicly recognize them and convey how their initiatives helped the company and/or the customer. Better yet invite the customer to take the time to provide a public testimonial of the employees efforts. This kind of respect in a timely manner will go a long way with your team.

Remote Note:

When your team is part of a remote workforce it can be especially challenging for them to understand the role they play in the company and the path processes take from inception to fruition. By illustrating to your team the route a business process takes whether it is through a slide presentation or work flow chart it helps them understand the function of their position and how they can affect the overall process.

In addition, it is important for the remote work force to understand the appropriate contacts for varied situations they encounter in their day to day. This will help them know where to go for answers when a problem arises.

Help your team to understand their overall role in the company and build bench strength through delegation.

-What are you doing to build the bench strength of your workforce? Please leave a comment and let us know.
-How do you communicate workflows and processes within your group? Please leave a comment and let us know.

~Check back daily for the additional series segments.~

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER (part 5)
One of the hallmarks of effectiveness in leadership is the amount of transformed lives the leader leaves in his wake. A real leader makes people better; he gives them an opportunity not just to be unique in themselves but to fulfill their aspirations.

We spent our time in the last article studying the life of a transformational leader; we saw one or two factors that made him such a profound leader.
We saw not just some of his strengths but also one major weakness that cost him dearly. Let’s look at some other factors that made Moses a transformational leader.

THE LEADER’S ATTITUDE
Moses had his “moments of madness” where he got unduly provoked by the callousness and incredulity of the people he was leading, but those moments were few and far between; if we looked intensely at Moses’ life we would discover that the man exhibited an implausible degree of patience and selflessness. In the face of their mutiny, Moses handled the children of Israel with a great deal of fortitude. They seemed to provoke him ceaselessly but he responded in kind on only a few occasions. That was the indulgence of a transformational leader.
UNDERSTANDING HUMANITY
The transformational leader gives people enough space and time to make mistakes, he realizes that the ladder of success is built with the rungs of failure. He is not unrealistically demanding of the people he leads, he realizes that to get the best out of people they must be put under pressure, but at the same time, no good can come out of expecting that the people one leads will somehow transcend humanity and not make mistakes.
In dealing with people, the transformational leader is subconsciously aware of three important laws:
i) Every person can change into a more productive individual
ii) Every person’s change is limited by the amount of information/knowledge available to him
iii) People have varying levels of assimilation, so patience is required to enable the knowledge they receive become useful to them.

WHAT IS YOUR SECURITY?
One other characteristic of the transformational leader is his sense of security. Insecurity has been the bane of very many “leaders”. We all know people who feel threatened by the progress of those under them. A transformational leader has a sense of identity and a sense of security, he is not afraid of what others can become because he knows his job is to make others better. Transformational leadership is all about making lives better.
What many people in positions of authority wrongly assume is that when someone else is doing very well it sort of takes the shine off them.
This is a very unfortunate way of thinking. The transformational leader knows that in the final analysis he will not be judged on the basis of what he becomes but on the basis of what the people that follow him become. The transformational leader knows that it is more important to be a coach than it is to be a player.

Moses showed this part of his leadership on several occasions; for example, when Joshua, his servant, became anxious that a couple of people had arrogated to themselves the art of prophesying (a practice that Joshua assumed was the exclusive preserve of Moses the prophet), Moses calmed him down and said “are you concerned what this might do to me? I wish that God would give His Spirit to all His people so everyone could be a prophet” (Numbers 11:29 CEV). In the Good News Translation, the first part of that verse is rendered this way “are you concerned about my interests?”

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS?
Many “leaders” seem to think that it is in their interests to keep people under them from developing. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
One other thing about the transformational leader that we can learn from the life of Moses is the need to delegate. The inability to delegate has been called “the occupational disease of leaders”. John Eddison said “Again Moses was a man of immense authority and moral stature, and he may have felt that to ask others to share his responsibility was a sign that he was shirking it himself. But such a policy of course is unwise and short-sighted. It means that we wear ourselves out more quickly and it also means that we never train others in the art of leadership; for the best way of doing this is to allow them to see, then to share and finally to take over some of our own responsibilities”.

This was a weakness he had that cast a shadow on his ability to rise to the heights of transformational leadership.
The man seemed to take pride in his ability to work assiduously; this is probably one of the reasons he didn’t delegate responsibilities to people. This is one factor that has led to a lot of burnout in many “leaders”; your ability to work hard is not what makes you a leader, your ability to accomplish objectives and meet targets is not what makes you a leader.

One of the tests of the transformational leader is in what he is able to accomplish through others. If you can’t delegate, you cannot be a transformational leader.
Delegation requires trust. Sometimes, the transformational leader needs to deposit trust in advance; he might have to give someone a task that he is not completely confident the person can do. He might have to give this task and give the person the authority to execute it. This is why trust is required in delegation.

LEADERSHIP AND TRUST
The good thing about this is that whenever trust is advanced, confidence is built. I have seen in my leadership roles that almost every time I trust people they become more confident and are inspired to do all that is in their power to retain that trust. This might be one of the reasons for Moses’ father in law’s response to Moses’ answer when asked why he did not delegate responsibility. He said to Moses “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you- you can’t do this alone” (Exodus 18:17-18 MSG). People that work under a leader can end up wearing away, if, they are not given the opportunity to harness and use their potentials. The transformational leader delegates responsibility so that the people will develop into what he models for them.

Some other times, “leaders” delegate but because they don’t do it properly they get involved in “dirty delegation”. This is delegating a task to someone without giving them the commensurate authority to carry it out. This could also be a strain of insecurity.

THE PROOF OF LEADERSHIP: SHOWMANSHIP?
Finally, one other trait of transformational leadership that Moses exhibited, one that is too important to ignore, was his meekness. Meekness is not synonymous with weakness, self-depreciation or diffidence. Meekness has been defined as “strength under subjection”; this means that a meek man doesn’t act, not because he can’t act, but because he chooses not to. A meek man does not ever try to show off or prove a point to people around him. There are so many people in leadership positions that believe that ostentation is necessary to gain respect; they believe that showing off their leadership airs will rub in the fact that they are the ones in charge. That is not usually the case; what normally happens when we attempt to show off is we lose people and only prove that we are not really in charge. The transformational leader knows and understands this.
Margaret Thatcher once said “being in power is like being a lady, if you have to tell others that you are then you are not”. This is how it is with those that need to prove they are in control.

This ends our study of Moses the prophet. We will continue our analysis of the transformational leader in our next article as we study another model of transformational leadership.

Tags: Transformational, leadership, leader, delegation, delegate

Quality Time With Kids

Recently I met up with my second cousin at my grandfather’s funeral. She’s this gorgeous, smart, upper middle class early 20-something with a father (my cuz) that has always been a successful entrepreneur, running his business from home. Here’s the kicker…

She mentioned how she is looking for a job in marketing and I asked her if she was interested in freelance or consulting work and she said, “Oh, no I would never work for myself. I want to go to work and have a structured environment and I can leave work at work. I don’t want to be like my dad.”

What? Did I hear her right?

Here I am promoting entrepreneurism, especially to our children, and with this amazing role model she was choosing the other path. I can tell you why.

She saw how hard her father worked and how many hours he spent flying around the country. This stood out more than her privledged lifestyle, how they could fly out for a vacation at a moments notice or the fact that her dad was just a couple feet away in his home office.

How do we as parents make sure we are not leaving a bad impression on our children? I’m not saying it’s bad to work for a company, however we do have a responsibility to make sure our children are receiving quality time with us and are left with a positive image of entrepreneurial pursuits. Here’s how.

We have to position ourselves in our businesses so that we are there to consult, direct, delegate. The key here is the word DELEGATE.

Henry Ford was notorious for this. He surrounded himself with the brightest and the best and called on them to solve problems and create. He simply listened and made final decisions. Oddly he was not the most “book smart” guy, just smart enough to get good people on his team and delegate the work to them. Where do you start the delegation process? Who on earth could do it better than you? How can you pay for someone else to do the work?

You begin small. Hiring a virtual assistant is a must these days. You can hire someone from India, Pakistan, U.S.A, Canada and the list goes on. You would be utterly amazed at what they can take off your plate, giving you more time to make money doing what you love. Check out elance.com.

Can you let go of the reigns? You need to always be on the lookout for someone to mentor, someone you can train in your craft. Not only does this help another it helps you. Most young adults work for minimum wage and sometimes for free just to learn your craft, your skills and experience. Put out an ad on Craigslist, connect with teachers at the local community college and ask around.

Can you afford this? Can you afford not to? The virtual assistant can be very inexpensive and save you tons of time. Crunch the numbers and I bet you could pay an assistant for a month and make the money in the back end because you have more time.

Now you have more time for the kids. Wasn’t this the whole point? Talk to you kids about your business and why you do it. Don’t complain in front of the kids, but speak realistically about the difficulties. Inspire them and they will inspire you.

Download the article in PDF format

Delegation is one of the most important management techniques. It pursues two major goals:

• Free up the manager’s time to do more productive tasks (for example, accept the tasks delegated by her manager)
• Professionally grow the employee

In other words, delegation is the mechanism that powers growth and promotion.

Unfortunately, delegation is often accompanied by issues. Here are the typical ones:

• It is simply not done. Most managers don’t delegate at all and continue working long hours trying to do everything themselves. It negatively impacts their professional growth, because these managers cannot find time to start working on higher-level tasks.
• Delegating wrong activities. A good activity to delegate is the one that you understand very well, that is not central to your responsibilities, and is not critical to the organization.
• Delegating to a wrong person. Select a person who has the necessary skills, and who is willing to take more responsibilities. Usually, managers underestimate capabilities of their reports.
• Throwing the task “over the wall”. You cannot simply tell your report “starting from Monday you are responsible for X” and hope that from now on it will be done right. Successful delegation requires good planning, execution, and control. It is not a one-time event, it is a smooth transition.
• No follow-up. After the activity becomes the employee’s responsibility, there is not enough control and feedback.

Doing delegation right is not that hard, it just requires a little discipline. Here is how to start delegating in seven simple steps.

Step 1. Select a task

As with many other activities, it is hard to do it first time, but after the first delegation is a success, the second time is much easier. Therefore, to start, look at your responsibilities and select a simple recurring activity that you know very well and that is not critically important. It does not have to consume a lot of your time – remember, the purpose of this first task is just to teach you how to delegate.

Avoid selecting a task that is too mundane, so that the employee would think that the only motivation for you is making your life easier and unloading all “dirty work”.

Step 2. Select a person

Then select an employee you want to delegate the task to. You need to select a person

• Who is not satisfied with the status quo and who wants to do more
• For whom the task has the right level of complexity – not too simple, not too hard. Ideally, the task should be a little above what the person is regularly doing and/or carry some additional public authority.
• Whose character is compatible with the nature of the task

Step 3. Do some planning

Before talking to the selected employee, come up with the answers to the following questions:

• What exactly the task is about?
• What training/information should I give to my employee?
• How long the transition will probably take?
• How the success of this activity can be measured?
• How often do I need to follow-up on the progress?
• How to decide when the transition is completed?

Write the answers down.

Step 4. Discuss the plan with the employee and get commitment

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with your employee. During the meeting, follow the following scenario:

1. Explain the purpose of the meeting – basically “there is an activity that I need to delegate and I thought that it could be a good task for you”.
2. Briefly describe the activity, why it is important, and why the employee will benefit from taking it over.
3. Ask if she would agree to accept it. If the employee does not like the idea, try to understand why and discuss it. If even after the explanation, the employee still does not like it, maybe you have selected a wrong employee for delegating this task.
4. After you got the general commitment, discuss the plan you have prepared in the previous step. Make sure that you discuss the transition process, success criteria, expected timeline, and schedule for checking the progress. Provide the necessary information and documentation.
5. Ask the employee to absorb the information and come up with suggestions and improvements. Schedule a follow-up meeting in a day or two to kick-off the transition.

Step 5. Kick-off and make the announcements

Get together with the employee and discuss her questions and suggestions. If there are no major concerns or roadblocks, kick-off the transition. If the activity involves other people in the organization, make sure that the change is announced. Make sure that the first time you do it together with the employee.

Step 6. Follow-up and provide feedback

Follow-up with the employee according to your plan. Make sure that you give a lot of feedback to make corrections and don’t forget about positive feedback!

Make sure you keep careful notes and use them for your follow-ups. Use some combination of your favorite calendar and task management systems.

Step 7. Complete the transition

Your original plan should have included some criteria on how to decide when the transition is complete. Usually it looks like “if after X months the activity is being done right…” (the definition of “right” shall be more specific).

When this condition is met, get together with the employee, announce the completion, and celebrate. It is a good time to send a “thank you” letter or make a public announcement at the team meeting.

That is it. Happy delegation!

If you read Aliza’s post outlining the five best web working lessons she’s learned so far, you might have noticed a trend: all of those lessons were focused on control.

For the web worker who works remotely, relies on someone else’s technology, and/or needs to coordinate disparate, diverse inputs to some kind of timeframe and standard of quality, control is always going to be an issue.

Accepting the Limits

We’ve all had those times when an erroneous keystroke has undone hours (if not days or even months) of toil. The times when we’ve missed a deadline due to power outage or loss of Internet connectivity. The times when someone or something we needed urgently were simply unobtainable.

The nuances of web work dictate that we need to be able to relinquish our need for total control, because the environment in which we operate will not support such a goal. In some way, every new tool that’s released is designed to give users a feeling of greater control over what they’re doing. But the reality is that no matter how well you’ve bookmarked an article, uploaded a file, or composed that email, if the service, your web connection, or your contacts are offline for any reason, or a necessary device is out of power, it’s no good.

Perhaps rather than adopting the latest carefully-devised productivity philosophy or downloading a new work tool, we should accept that total control is impossible — we should let go of that idea. Then, we should work out the ways in which we might be able to influence our work success within a context of very limited control.

Managing the Uncontrollable

Of course, those cool apps we all subscribe to have their purposes. But there are other approaches we can take to help manage our work processes to take account of the uncontrollable.

• Delegation. Aliza mentions the importance of learning to delegate in her post. Recognizing and accepting the unique capabilities of each of the individuals you work with is the first step in learning to delegate effectively. Leaving them to do the work while you attend to other tasks, on the other hand, may take a little practice.
• Plan for unavailability. Web workers tend to be good preplanners, saving valuable information using decentralized means, backing up their work product, and operating around colleagues’ various commitments, timezone differences, and so on. But it’s also good to plan for the possible unavailability of services, people, and resources at any given time. If this means you need to get things done ahead of time, expand your remote work kit, or confirm and re-confirm the details of meetings, processes, and project plans, so be it. Perhaps, if you feel unconvinced about the reliability of an arrangement (a site, a meeting service, etc.) you’ll make your own contingency plans, just to be on the safe side.
• Accept the limitations of an offsite life. There’s no point getting frustrated that a contact’s not available, or that you left that important file that you need for your ten o’clock meeting in your home office. We need to accept that, as web workers, we must be super-organized and plan ahead. So make sure you have everything you need for a day on the road the night before. Don’t leave it to the last minute before you try to get in touch with a contact who has an input you need for your project. If you’re in a bind, don’t panic (too much). Remember that you’re at a the mercy of the online environment, and you can’t control everything. Then try to think laterally about how you could solve your problem.
• Learn when to step up and take the lead. We all know there are times when teams lack leadership, people place too much faith in the system, and we find ourselves in a train wreck waiting to happen. If you feel uneasy about the way a project’s going, think about what you can do to make yourself more at ease. This doesn’t have to necessitate your taking responsibility for the whole project, or taking control of aspects of the job that are beyond your sphere. But in some cases we can help work tasks happen more smoothly if we accept a little more responsibility. It can be hard to tread the fine line between responsibility and control; the key is to know and accept the point where your responsibility ends.

Are you a control freak? How do you handle the aspects of your web work that are beyond your control?