Works to complete this view. Ability to give orders
Examples of megalomania can be found very often. Most novice managers confidently believe that they can do a better job than their employees. A newly promoted secretary will have more confidence in her document-handling skills than in the accuracy of her subordinates' work. A novice hiring manager will trust his intuition more than the judgment of the employees who interviewed the job applicant. The accountant will spend an extra half hour of his time recalculating the totals submitted by subordinates, because he trusts his work, not them.
This explains the reasons why delegating becomes a real challenge for many leaders, especially start-ups who are accustomed to doing the work themselves instead of letting others prove themselves. If you believe that there is a relationship between the degree of control over the work and the quality of the results, then you will want to control everyone and everything.
Don't over-require
As an aspiring manager, you will have to come to terms with one fact: you cannot do everything yourself. Your success depends on the contribution of your employees. If they constantly improve their skills, they not only become more valuable employees, but also work with greater enthusiasm, interest and confidence.
Sounds great, doesn't it? And all you need to do is breathe a sigh of relief and let them choose the best paths for themselves. Resist the urge to step in and finish what they start. Understand that even if you have to wait 10 minutes for someone to complete a task, those 10 minutes will be more than repaid in the future. You will save dozens of hours by giving employees enough time to complete tasks and gain the necessary experience in the field.
If you find it difficult to relax a little, imagine the worst-case scenario: you give them tasks, and they can't handle them. Errors may appear, and you can fix them. This will also positive side: Employees who make mistakes and correct them become more valuable to you because they know what not to do. Their experience becomes the best teacher.
Another hindrance to work is time. Some novice managers prefer to do the work themselves because it will come out faster. My favorite answer is this: “Have you considered how much time you will save on this over the next six months? How about a year?
You can, of course, save time by doing the work yourself, rather than by training an employee. Once. But the second, third, fourth time, you will begin to realize that you are wasting your time unnecessarily.
Let's say you insist on checking equipment every week. Even if your assistants can quickly learn how to do it right, you don't want to explain all the steps of this process to them, so you do the verification yourself. But let's count. By your calculations, you will lose approximately one hour explaining to your employees what they need to pay attention to during the check. Your calculations also show that it will take you two more hours a week for the first four weeks to follow their work and remind them how to do it right. But then, after a month, you will be able to give them complete freedom, because you will be satisfied with their preparation. As a result, you will free yourself an hour a week.
During the year, you will free up about 48 hours of your time in this way, which corresponds to six full days of work, spending a total of 9 hours on it in the first month to show subordinates how to do equipment checks.
Looking to an even more distant future, it becomes clear how much time you will save by shifting this task to the shoulders of employees.
Give your employee one of the tasks that needs to be done today. For example, it could be an assignment to call five clients on your behalf. When delegating authority, set a time when you will check the results. And now the hardest part: forget about it until you meet the performer. Do not interfere, do not look for an excuse to watch how he completes the task.
But do not think that, as a manager, you are obliged to personally give absolutely all tasks. It is much more important to distribute responsibility among your team members and ask them for progress reports. General Colin Powell says in an interview that most of his success as a military commander lies in the successful distribution of duties. "I don't meddle in the little things," he likes to say. This gives his subordinates ample opportunity to make decisions.
Ability to give directions
Once you understand the benefits of delegating authority, learn how to give instructions correctly. How you master this skill will determine how well and quickly the employee will complete the task.
Novice managers are almost incapable of giving directions. They may be repetitive or explain tasks in an arrogant tone. Such errors can lead to negative results.
Here are five of the most common mistakes managers make when giving orders:
1. They do it on the go. In order for your orders to be understood, you do not need to speak in a hurry. By speaking quickly and leaving immediately, you run the risk of leaving your employees confused, unsure of how to get down to business. Remember, many of them need extra time to process the instructions and make sure they understand the task. If you do not give them the opportunity to comprehend what you have said and ask questions, then you increase the likelihood of errors in the performance of work. Even worse, they may feel that you treat them with disdain, issuing orders in a hurry, while striving to have time to do something more important.
2. They don't know how to improvise. If you're not sure what exactly to do, don't think out loud trying to give directions. Define any difficulties in advance to clearly state the purpose and method of completing the task. If you leave too many ambiguities, you will leave subordinates guessing what you meant. And this almost guarantees problems when executing the order.
3. They give too much direction. A surefire way to make employees feel dumb is to treat them like children. Do not give orders with the conviction that subordinates are too slow or stupid to understand you. If you unnecessarily repeat obvious positions or speak in a condescending tone, you can turn the entire staff against you. They may spend more energy dissatisfied with the way you speak than they can absorb the essence of your words.
4. They forget to make sure they are understood. Experienced managers know that some employees may be unwilling to admit they don't understand something. Instead of saying "I don't understand" or "I'm not sure I get your point", they may nod their heads to show that they understand. Don't allow yourself to behave like this. Let the employee verbally confirm that he understood the instruction. React, give advice as you go, and evaluate their ability to complete the task successfully.
5. They do not indicate deadlines. You can't often afford to say, "Do it when it's convenient for you." In most cases, you need to define an end date for an employee. At the same time, by focusing too much on the deadline, you can give the employee the opportunity to delay the completion of the task until last day. After all, if you repeat and emphasize that "this work must be completed within three months from today," this can feel like an eternity for an employee in an environment where he can barely cope with his daily duties. It would be wiser to determine the date when the employee should start work. For example, say, “This work must be completed by October 1st. Today is August 5th. Can you provide me with a schedule that will indicate the start date of the research, the start of the report, and the final work plan?
To improve your ability to give orders, do not repeat them. You may feel like you're just highlighting the main points, but your employees may feel like they're being treated like children. Give directions once and ask, "Would you like to repeat this again with me?" or: "Tell me how you will do this so that we are both sure that we understand each other correctly."
In order to be sure that your instructions are understood correctly, you need to allocate enough time to talk with the subordinate. I know a manager who gave orders by taking a few hasty notes and sticking them on an employee's computer monitor. The employee came to work in the morning and was perplexed when he saw vague, incomprehensible instructions. And since the manager was almost always in meetings or out of the office, his employees could not ask him questions to clarify the task.
Think of giving orders as an opportunity to build close rapport with subordinates. Talk to them about the things that need to be done, how they are going to do them, and why it's important. It may take ten minutes instead of two for a simple statement of the task, but the extra effort you put in will pay off with a vengeance.
Choose carefully who to assign the task to
Most beginning managers know that they are required to assign responsibilities. Having overcome the tendency to do everything themselves, they begin to understand that the distribution of work among all team members will serve the common interest, but in doing so they often miss important aspect: Select a suitable artist.
Every employee has their own strengths and weaknesses at work. A secretary may, for example, have excellent ability to talk to people, but lack the desire to read thick reports. The accountant works well with numbers, but is afraid of negotiations with suppliers. A salesperson can do a great job of researching the market to find profitable customers, but he doesn't have the patience to deal with them.
You must choose the best performer for each specific task. For novice managers, the number one problem with assigning responsibilities is making sure that the assigned work is easy and anyone can do it. As a result, they appoint a random performer. This distribution of work does not bring success.
Before giving an order, consider whether you should talk to the employee about the most rational course of action, or simply tell him, "Do it by Friday." If you want to discuss a task with an employee and hear his opinion on how he intends to do it, you will have to choose an independent thinker who will openly present his ideas to you. But as far as simple, easy tasks are concerned, it is not necessary to discuss their implementation in detail.
After being a manager for a few weeks, you will probably already know who in your team tends to complain and who tends to resist or argue with you when you give orders. If you decide not to bother these recalcitrant employees, then you will have to delegate tasks to more obligatory employees. As a result, the latter will be dissatisfied.
Choose and try different approaches when assigning performers. Leave time to assign at least a few tasks to stubborn or independent-minded employees. Be prepared to discuss the merits of different methods and approaches with them. Listen carefully to their suggestions for how best to complete the task. Welcome their initiative and encourage them to offer reasonable alternatives.
Try to contact employees who are motivated to successfully complete tasks. Asking a shy specialist to read a conference speech for you will be impossible for that person. But if you ask him to write you the text of the speech, and then give it to a less timid employee to speak, you are using the strengths of each of them.
Starting to get to know your subordinates, ask what kind of work brings them the most satisfaction. Try to identify their interests and talents that you can use. For example, a sales agent working on the phone may dream of personal work with clients. She can be a good candidate to help shape the target group of buyers you are building. But until you ask her, you will not know about her desire for personal contacts with clients.
One way to identify employee passions is to ask each of them to make a wish list for each of them, indicating the things they would like best. They may indicate activities such as participating in interagency communications, budget control, or participating in the development of state-of-the-art technologies.
Having such a list, you can give specific orders to those employees who will carry them out with enthusiasm. You do not have to guess who to give this or that task.
Crisis Management
The main reason why managers often hesitate to give orders is the fear that the task will not be completed. As a result, they themselves begin to correct the shortcomings of employees who either did not understand or forgot to follow the instructions.
Novice managers must come to terms with the inevitability that some orders will not be carried out. Possible errors due to misunderstandings. Managers or their employees may miss the details of the job. Employees will exhaust all resources. Disruptions can make it impossible to complete work on time or properly.
But that's no reason to do everything yourself.
When a task falls apart, it is usually due to careless explanation or poor coordination. Either the manager did not explain the task clearly enough, or the employees do not have the necessary knowledge or skills to complete it successfully.
How you manage to deal with these difficulties will determine how your subordinates will react to your orders. If you get irritated, they will be hesitant to try new approaches or take risks to improve their performance. In addition, they may begin to hide negative facts from you and pretend that everything is in order, which will only complicate the situation.
By reacting calmly, you will convince employees that even the worst mistakes will not undermine your relationship. Your restrained, reasonable reaction will show that you prefer to know everything, even if it is bad news.
Follow the rules listed below, even when you realize that you assigned the task to the wrong people.
Concentrate on solving the problem. Do not rush to blame anyone in a moment of crisis. Once you gather the facts and make sure you understand what happened, dwelling on the problem will only make it worse. Even if it's clear to you that your employee has failed, don't make hasty judgments or express your frustration too angrily. You will still have time to deal with the culprit of the incident. And now it's better to think about how to get out of the situation. Encourage the employee to further discussion with the question “what else?”. Work together to find the best solution to improve the current situation.
Look at the situation soberly. Some managers are not used to failure and may lose their temper. You will realize that you are losing if you start complaining: “Why didn’t I do it myself?” or "I knew Bill couldn't be trusted with this." Restrain bouts of self-flagellation. Don't be ruthless with yourself if your attempt to assign responsibilities fails. Do not give in to momentary anger, otherwise you will only complicate the situation - both in the present and in the future.
Don't forget to analyze the situation. After recovering from a failure, wait a few days and analyze it. Try to learn from your mistakes in the distribution of duties and from the mistakes of employees in performing tasks. Do it not as an outsider trying to figure out who is to blame, but as an impartial leader, carefully collecting facts to find out the reason for the failure. Include employees in this discussion. Calmly explain that your goal is to learn from the failure to prevent problems in the future.
Distribution of duties in ascending order
Many believe that the distribution of tasks always goes from top to bottom, from the boss to the subordinate. In fact, the best result is obtained if such a distribution follows from a conversation between the leader and the subordinate (or the entire team), when they jointly develop an action plan to solve a particular problem.
Most employees prefer to take part in the joint search for solutions, rather than blindly obey orders and operate under constant control.
To make sure you're using the participatory way of assigning tasks, make it a point to tell them, "Here's what I need to do," and ask two questions, "How are you going to do it?" and “What advantages and disadvantages do you see in this approach?”. This will encourage them to look for the most effective ways to work, and not just blindly follow your orders.
When employees take part in the distribution of tasks, in solving a particular problem, they become more active and also take responsibility for the final result. When employees know why they do something and help them decide how to do it, then the likelihood successful implementation tasks are increasing significantly. They are fully involved in the process, which dramatically increases their motivation.
Here is how you can check it. Organize a two-way experiment. First, ask the employee to do something without further questions and discussion. Just give the order and make sure it is understood. And then give the same task to another employee with the same level of knowledge and experience. But this time, involve him in the discussion. In addition to the two questions already mentioned above, you can also ask him: "What do you think about this?" and “What ideas do you have about how this could be done?”.
Compare results. Surely you will find that the task performed by the second performer is much better. Moreover, this executor can bring additional value: instead of just calculating how to achieve the goal you set, he can suggest new methods for completing the same tasks.
When you allow workers to determine the nature and scope of their work, they do it more thoughtfully and thoroughly. And this leads not only to best results, but also greatly facilitates your work as a manager.
Summary
- You will be able to perform your managerial functions better by distributing tasks among employees. Doing everything yourself is inefficient.
- By doing the work yourself, but quickly today, you will lose a lot of time in the future.
- When giving orders, leave time to answer questions from the performers and listen to their ideas.
- When assigning an assignment, give employees key information, such as the purpose of the work and the deadline for completing it, but do not repeat or go into too much detail.
- This may be perceived by employees as a low assessment of their potential.
- Do not single out favorites in the team. Distribute tasks in such a way that each employee is involved according to their abilities.
- If the work you have assigned is not done properly, focus on solving this problem. Don't overreact to failure by venting all your anger on the person responsible for it.
Agree that setting goals is one of the most important stages in the work of a leader of any link. Probably even the most important after planning.
In many respects, the extent to which the goal will be achieved depends on how correctly the tasks are set.
To correctly assign a task to a subordinate, apply eight rules:
1. The task must be specific.
If the task is not specificthen you will not know that the task is completed.
The goal must be very clear. So, as it is customary to put them on the military or people with technical education. The target must be accurate.
Accuracy is a guarantee that the task that you give to an employee will be clearly understood by him. Wrong, unauthorized interpretation is excluded. Thus, you simply save your own time. After all, if you have explained everything quite clearly, the employee simply will not come in and ask you for your task again.
2. The task must be positive.
Demand what you want, not what you do not want from a subordinate.
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3. Ask again how the subordinate understood the task.
After you have assigned something to an employee, do not forget to ask him: “Got it? Tell me how you understand. What will you do? In what form (how) will you submit the report? With whom and with what will you accomplish this task?
Be sure to double-check the understanding of the subordinates of the tasks assigned to him. After setting the task, say something like this: “So, let's summarize our meeting. How did you figure out what you need to do today?” And listen, listen, listen...
When you learn to listen, you will learn:
- that each person understands the tasks assigned to him in his own way, and then you will be able to correct his understanding in a timely manner;
- that a person does not always want to complete the task, and this is reflected in his voice and behavior. In this case, the subordinate needs to explain why it is necessary to do this, that is, to show the importance of completing the task.
The order must be CLEARLY formulated.
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4. Set clear deadlines.
Determine specific deadlines by which the task must be completed.
Important! It is worth discussing not only the deadline for the implementation of this or that order, but also the milestone points of control.
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5. Let employees take the initiative.
Please note that you should not provide subordinates with hard step by step instructions and paint everything down to the smallest detail. If in some places an employee needs to show initiative, independence, ingenuity, then this will only increase his motivation. He will feel his responsibility, and, therefore, the significance for the company. In this way,
You let him know that you trust him as a professional, thereby giving him additional confidence and a desire to work.
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6. Appoint responsible.
Here, I think, no comments at all. And then it will turn out: “What to do, and who is to blame?”
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7. Encourage action.
After setting the task, encourage the subordinate to take immediate action. For example, say: “So, the task is clear? Then go ahead! Stand up vigorously and gesture to the door. Often people lack the impetus to act. A leader is a catalyst for his subordinates.
Do you want to be a leader? Encourage action! Do it today.
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8. Control the execution of the task.
Everyone strives for comfort, and each of us has our own comfort zone. When we set goals, we influence a person's comfort zone, and he begins to resist.
The subordinate will take full responsibility for the task only if you waited for him and asked about the task completion on the same day. And so every time.
If you didn’t ask him once about completing the task or did it late, then the next time the subordinate will perceive the task as a wish. When meeting with a subordinate to check on their performance, start vigorously: "Well, tell me about your achievements today." If you do it with just such an intonation, you will let the subordinate know that you were waiting for the task to be completed.
By behavior, you can judge the internal state of the subordinate:
- "completed"
- completed, but not all
- "did not comply"
- "I don't care".
This information will be useful to you for follow-up feedback.
The ability to properly assign a task to an employee is a very important skill for any leader. This is essential for effective business management. But this is not such an easy task as it might seem at first glance. Let's look at how to do it right.
For correct setting tasks use smart criteria. That is, the task must clearly meet each of these criteria.
1. S specific - the task must be specific and clear
2. M easurable - the task must be measurable
3. A chievable - the task must be achievable, that is, it must be provided with the necessary resources, both external and internal
4. R elevant - the task must be appropriate in this situation, that is relevant. This means that the task fits into the current situation, the performance of this task does not jeopardize the performance of other tasks, that is, the balance is not disturbed.
5. T imebound - the task must be limited in terms of execution. That is, to have an accurate term execution, or fixed date or cover a specific period.
An example of a correctly set SMART task:
The task of the pharmacy chain marketer:
Hold a lottery in a pharmacy for a purchase of 300 rubles or more. The period is from March 1 to April 1. As a result of the campaign, the growth of the average bill in a pharmacy should be from 230 to 260 rubles.
Now let's talk about how to set the task. There are three of them: by problem, by result, by algorithm.
By issue
The manager formulates the problem, but does not go into details of how it will be solved. Thus, the status of the employee rises and there is an opportunity for a creative approach. Besides, it saves time.
It is clear that the progress of the task, in this case, will be difficult to control, the result is not clear. Therefore, this method is used when the task is assigned to a highly qualified employee whom you fully trust.
By result
You, as a leader, formulate a problem and say what result you want to get. How to achieve this result, the subordinate decides for himself. In this case, the result is clear, but at the same time, the independence of the subordinate develops. Time is also saved.
Need to spend certain time to agree on the result, the subordinate must be well motivated. Therefore, your employee must be experienced, endowed with the necessary authority. And the criteria for the result should be clear.
Algorithm
In this case, not only the problem is formulated, the desired result is described, but it is also proposed to the subordinate detailed plan actions.
In this case, everything is clear and specific, the entire process of completing the task is easily controlled. But, a lot of time is spent on setting the task, the responsibility of the employee is reduced, there is no creativity. This method is used in a situation where your subordinate has low qualifications or the task is being performed for the first time.
Competently and correctly set task, with a well-established control system, will help you significantly increase the efficiency of managing the business processes of your organization.
Life is about tasks. They are everywhere: big and small, important and not important, urgent and not so urgent.
Wife asks to book tickets for New Year, I ask the subordinate to prepare the documents for the transaction. I will not book tickets today, tomorrow they will cost more. The employee does not prepare the documents on time - the transaction will be canceled, the company will lose money.
The success of the project or company depends on the result of the tasks. Hence the first problem of any business is the execution of tasks.
The leader wants subordinates to complete tasks accurately and on time. If the task is not completed or completed, but not so, the employee is to blame. The task machine has crashed. The car needs to be replaced. This is the psychology of a leader. And I thought so, until I realized that the reason for the fuzzy execution of tasks is not in the workers.
They are not robots, but smart, thinking, creative and responsible people. I chose them myself. The problem is in me: I, like many managers, do not pay due attention to setting goals.
Effective task formula
The formula for an effective task that employees take on with joy and zeal consists of six simple rules.
1. Define the problem
Behind every leader's task is pain.
If I ask a subordinate to do something, it means that I need it for some reason. But managers do not consider it necessary to explain this to a subordinate. As a result, the employee thinks that the boss just wants to burden the subordinate with routine tasks.
Related article: Where to look for performers to delegate work
For example, I ask the manager to analyze the lead report. The main job of a manager is to work with a client. Analysis distracts from the main work. The manager stupidly collects data and somehow makes a report, just to get rid of a routine and unimportant task as soon as possible.
A well-posed task is a problem that an employee must solve the best way and creative. This is not an order or a direct instruction.
Solving problems, and not stupidly fulfilling orders, the employee develops. He comes up with out-of-the-box ideas that help the company move forward.
2. Describe the business-wide meaning of the problem
If an employee does not understand why he is preparing the same analysis, he will do it poorly. Explain what will happen to the result of the work after.
Marketers will work with the analysis of the report. Based on the collected data, they will adjust the advertising campaign of the product, which will attract new customers. Conversion will increase, the company will grow.
So the employee will feel the importance of the task for business development.
3. Formulate the essence and conditions of the problem
Describe the result you want to get. If applicable, terms and conditions. Give the manager a clear time frame.
Count the number of leads for the last three months. I need to understand whether the conversion has really decreased. If yes, at what point. Make a list of possible reasons.
4. Explain the timing
Managers often set a deadline for a task, but do not explain why this particular date is important. As a result, for the employee, the deadline is only a day x, by which routine work must be completed.
Related article: Should employees be penalized for any violations?
Analysis is due by Monday. In three weeks, we are starting a large-scale advertising campaign. Marketers will need time to adjust the sites.
You explained to the employee the reason why the task must be completed within a certain period of time. He understands that the work of other people depends on the performance of the task, and he approaches the solution of the problem more responsibly.
5. Motivate
The worker receives a salary. Managers often feel that this is enough to motivate them. But it's not. Employees do not always understand why this or that task fell on their shoulders. Explain your choice to the manager.
The marketer can analyze the data. But I would like you to do it. You know your customers better and gather more information.
The subordinate feels special, a hero, a superman and eager to fight with enthusiasm.
6. Write down the task
If you set the task correctly, but did it orally, and the employee wrote it down in a notebook under dictation, something is sure to be lost. After verbally speaking the problem, make a written summary.
Forming a Habit
Knowing how to set a task to get it done is half the battle. We must constantly apply knowledge in practice. This is not possible without automation. Enough for a week or two. Then there will be urgent matters and you will not describe the task in detail. Once is no big deal. But where once hack-work, there will always be a second and third. Soon you will spit on this disastrous business, and again turn into a distributor of orders for robots.
Something must constantly remind you of the correct setting of tasks so that the scheme becomes a habit. Megaplan helps me. Task setting form - automatic reminder.
The task name is always the desired action. What should your employee do? The answer to the question is the correct formulation of the problem.
