22:13
Faizan
Making the Covey Quadrant 3 & 4 work for You doesn't have to be tricky. Most of us have read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. And if even if you haven't read the book, you've probably come across this little beauty referred as the Covey Quadrant.
Isn't it great? All we have to do is assign our jobs, tasks or events into a quadrant and then take action accordingly. This can be more daunting than it sounds. Making a list might be easy. Prioritising that list can be a little more difficult. And Delegation, well that can be downright impossible.
Here's one of the reasons why: Delegation often is a lot easier to say than do.
What does Delegation look like anyway? Why is it the most difficult management skill to learn? Maybe you feel like no one will do the job as good as you can.
If that's the case, be warned. Burn out is just around the corner.
What it's not: Delegation is not drop and run job dumping with the expectation that it will be done exactly the way you do it.
What it is: Delegation is a learned skill. It is a process. "It is a 'baptism by fire' that requires you to look at fact that if you don't let go, you will lose."
So, how do you start letting go? To be done effectively make it a process that occurs over time. Depending on the job, or industry that time could be as little as 2 weeks or as long as 2 months. But here's a good place to start:
1. It is all about the Power of Process. It's been said, "Anything worth repeating is worth writing down." If there a job or type of situation that occurs regularly in your business, having a process written down ensures that the results can be replicated. Process map, bullet points, something that can act as a visual aide for others as they take over responsibility. It also provides clear communication so things don't get lost in translation.
2. Know the Critical Steps. What are the jobs that you are doing, that you should delegate? Remember that you are surrounded by humans. People can only remember so much. Don't overload them with too much information in the initial handover. Have a "dip the toes in the water" approach. Think about the critical steps that must be taken so the whole thing doesn't fall over? Critical steps reduce the risk involved in delegation. You check that they are being done right, then, add more steps until the entire process is out of your hands.
3. Expect Mistakes. Again, we are only human. There are going to mistakes. Expect them and use them as teaching moments. Correct the mistake, add the steps needed to the process map or bullet points to ensure it doesn't happen again. Rinse. Repeat. You get where I am going with this.
Isn't it great? All we have to do is assign our jobs, tasks or events into a quadrant and then take action accordingly. This can be more daunting than it sounds. Making a list might be easy. Prioritising that list can be a little more difficult. And Delegation, well that can be downright impossible.
Here's one of the reasons why: Delegation often is a lot easier to say than do.
What does Delegation look like anyway? Why is it the most difficult management skill to learn? Maybe you feel like no one will do the job as good as you can.
If that's the case, be warned. Burn out is just around the corner.
What it's not: Delegation is not drop and run job dumping with the expectation that it will be done exactly the way you do it.
What it is: Delegation is a learned skill. It is a process. "It is a 'baptism by fire' that requires you to look at fact that if you don't let go, you will lose."
So, how do you start letting go? To be done effectively make it a process that occurs over time. Depending on the job, or industry that time could be as little as 2 weeks or as long as 2 months. But here's a good place to start:
1. It is all about the Power of Process. It's been said, "Anything worth repeating is worth writing down." If there a job or type of situation that occurs regularly in your business, having a process written down ensures that the results can be replicated. Process map, bullet points, something that can act as a visual aide for others as they take over responsibility. It also provides clear communication so things don't get lost in translation.
2. Know the Critical Steps. What are the jobs that you are doing, that you should delegate? Remember that you are surrounded by humans. People can only remember so much. Don't overload them with too much information in the initial handover. Have a "dip the toes in the water" approach. Think about the critical steps that must be taken so the whole thing doesn't fall over? Critical steps reduce the risk involved in delegation. You check that they are being done right, then, add more steps until the entire process is out of your hands.
3. Expect Mistakes. Again, we are only human. There are going to mistakes. Expect them and use them as teaching moments. Correct the mistake, add the steps needed to the process map or bullet points to ensure it doesn't happen again. Rinse. Repeat. You get where I am going with this.
Posted in: business
