Prioritising and delegating

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Prioritising and delegating work are two aspects of

management that many people find challenging. Do you
recognise any of the following ideas?

 There’s so much to do I can’t see the wood for the trees.

 There isn’t enough time to get involved with delegation, even if

I wanted to.

 It takes longer to explain a task than to do it yourself.

 Other people are simply not up to working at a high enough

level

As a manager, delegating work will help you to perform better in

your role. Look back at your own career and consider the times
when you have grown or developed as an individual. It is likely that
your manager at that time delegated a task to you which was just
outside your comfort zone and stretched you so you had to develop
new skills or abilities.

There are many benefits to delegating work. Take a look at the list
below and see how many apply to your team or organisation.

Benefits to the organisation

 optimum use of staff resources

 wider ownership of company mission and objectives
 reduced vulnerability to unexpected absences

Benefits to you (the manager)

 time freed up for more vital tasks

 staff developed for wider role
  increased staff motivation

Benefits to the individual

 increased skills or knowledge

 motivation enhanced
 wider view of the company made visible
 trust and confidence built up

Urgency and importance

In order to delegate effectively, first you need to be able to prioritise.
Many time management experts agree that one of the most
effective ways to improve your time management is to regularly use
a ‘to do’ list. Writing the list ensures that things will not be forgotten,
and also forces you to review any changed priorities.

Look ahead over the next week or so and list all the tasks and
activities you expect to carry out. Ideally, end up with a list of about
15 items. At this stage do not make any judgements about
priorities. Just write the tasks down!

Once you have listed things ‘to do’, two questions may well spring
to your mind: what order should I do them in, and how long should I
spend on each task?

The first thing is to think about the ‘urgency’ and ‘importance’ of

each task. They are two separate issues that have to be considered
independently.

Urgency decides the timing of a task – when it should be done. It is

good to remember that we all have different interpretations of what
‘urgent’ means.

Importance relates to your success in achieving the purpose of

your job. Important tasks directly relate to specific aspects of your
job or how you meet certain objectives.
Are the tasks you listed above important or urgent? Try sorting your
tasks into the four boxes below based on whether they are high or
low in importance and urgency.

A – High urgency and high importance

Tasks or activities falling into this category have to be done both

quickly, because of their urgency, and thoroughly, because they are
important to help you achieve your job purpose.

B1 – High urgency and low importance

Tasks or activities falling into this category have to be done quickly,

because of their urgency – but only need a small amount of time
spent on them to give an acceptable result, because they are
peripheral to you achieving your job purpose.

B2 – Low urgency and high importance

Tasks or activities falling into this category do not have to be done
quickly, because of their low urgency, but must be done thoroughly,
because they are important to help you achieve your job purpose.

C – Low urgency and low importance

Tasks or activities falling into this category can be left for the
moment, because of their low urgency and the fact that they are
peripheral to your achieving your job purpose.

How did you do? Were there any surprises in how you categorised
different tasks?

Delegating tasks
Now that you have prioritised all the things you have to do, you can
use this grid again to help you decide which tasks you may wish to
delegate.

Simply review the tasks you have placed in each category and use
the suggestions below as a guide for delegation - see if this
approach works for you.

Category A: High importance, high urgency Do them yourself

now. Within reason, spend on them whatever time they take.

Category B1: High urgency, low importance Consider delegating

these as a development opportunity, perhaps to a new team
member. Get them done soon.

Category B2: Low urgency, high importance Consider

delegating them to a reliable and experienced member of the team.
These tasks need a ‘safe pair of hands’. Remember to schedule a
time for completion.

Category C: Low urgency, low importance Delegate these tasks

and schedule a time in the future for completing. Keep an eye on
them.
Tips for successful delegation
As you think about the tasks you would like to delegate, consider
the following tips.

 Analyse your own abilities, and the limits of your time. This
way you can identify what can best be delegated.

 By delegating, leave yourself free to do the work that only you

can do.

 Re-examine the tasks you find particularly easy – it may be

appropriate to delegate these tasks as well as the tasks you
don’t wish to do.

 Do not delegate exceptional tasks, such as tasks only you can

do in time or to the required standard.

 Do not delegate tasks involving confidentiality or sensitivity.

 Use the delegation of important tasks to develop a team

member’s role, improve performance and raise morale.

 Real delegation requires courage, judgement and faith in

others – seek to exercise these qualities whenever you
delegate.

Trust
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Trust can be defined as ‘a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or

ability of someone or something’. Trust underpins every
successful organisation or business!

For example, there must be trust between an organisation, its

customers and its stakeholders. The purchase of goods and
services is founded on trusting relationships.
There are many instances of well-known organisations that have
made serious mistakes. These mistakes have damaged the trust of
their customers. In many cases, they have devastating
consequences to the organisation’s brand which even threatened
their existence.

Then there is the matter of trust within organisations. There must be

trust between a senior leadership team and their board. This will
underpin the organisation’s vision, direction and sound governance.
There must also be trust between leaders, managers and staff
members. This will help to promote a shared vision and effective
working. Without trusting relationships at work, insecurity builds up,
gossip spreads, decisions are second-guessed and cliques form.

Even though an organisation as a whole may be seen as trust

worthy, trust can only come from the staff. It is the employees who
develop an open culture and transparent relationships. A human
body is only truly healthy when every organ functions well and the
DNA is sound.

The impact of trust

In his book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” Patrick Lencioini
notes five key characteristics of ineffective teams:

1. the absence of trust,

2. the fear of conflict,
3. a lack of commitment,
4. avoidance of accountability and
5. inattention to results.

He presents these five characteristics in a hierarchical pyramid, with

trust at the bottom. His conclusion is that without a foundation of
trust teams will struggle to be effective!

A report by the Chartered Management Institute cites the following

trust statistics:
  In rapidly growing organisations, 68% of managers have high
trust in leaders.
 Among organisations in decline, only 15% fully trust their
leaders.
 Only 36% of middle managers say they trust their leaders
fully.
 Only 20% of middle managers say employees trust their
business leader fully.
 Only 37% of middle managers think their leadership team are
transparent.

The report is called “The Middle Manager Lifeline: Trust and

communications in the heart of organisation”. You can find more
details about this report in the links at the bottom of this article.

Clearly trust in organisations is a challenge but also an opportunity.

Another key factor in the study was that organisations which had
excellent trust scores had moved away from an authoritarian
‘command and control’ culture. In such cultures managers set the
tasks and micro-managed their delivery.

Instead, companies with excellent trust were those where staff were
empowered to be part of the decision making process and delivery.
This represents a shift towards a more collaborative management
style.

Behaviours and trust

There are many behaviours that develop and maintain trust within
organisations and managers have a key role in establishing a
positive trust-culture. Here are 15 key trust-building behaviours to
consider:

 Role modelling values

 Being authentic
  Excellent, honest communication
 Showing respect
 Acting fairly
 Keeping promises and commitments
 Being competent in the job
 Trusting in delegation
 Mutual support
 Loyalty
 Transparency
 Vulnerability
 Being non-judgemental
 Not blaming
 Showing appreciation

Take a moment to think about each of the behaviours above. How

well do you think you role model these? Are there things you could
do to improve on each foundation?

In the downloads section below we’ve provided a template to help

you gather your thoughts. Take some time to fill in the template with
your ideas.

Julian Stodd, an expert on trust in organisations suggests that:

“Trust must be earned over time: earned through fairness and

consistency. Because trust is so subjective, you can’t take a
mechanistic approach, imagining that if you do this one thing we
will effect this other reaction. Instead, we have to understand how
trust is earned, fractured, and broken.”
Managers are at the core of an organisation and are therefore key
in developing a culture of trust. Managers can foster that culture
when they model the above behaviours mindfully and consistently.

The author Ernest Hemingway said “The best way to learn if you

can trust somebody is to trust them.”

So, it’s time for managers to role model trust by trusting others and
creating an environment in which they can in turn … trust!

Fundamental aspects of management

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When you first become a manager there are many sources of

learning to help you develop your leadership style. In this
article we will explore some of the fundamental aspects of
management.

Getting started
When you start out in people management you may wish to think
about your past managers and how they have influenced you. You
can learn a lot about how not to be a manager from any terrible
managers you have had and clearly you can learn a lot from the
good ones too!

What did you like or not like about their style? Why did their style
work or not work for you? Can you speak to someone else who was
managed by the same person? Did they experience the manager
differently than you?

It can be good to think about a manager’s influence on you in the

past because, as a manager yourself, you too will influence others.

Thinking about context

People sometimes move into management, develop a style and
then stick to it. However, when you become a manager you will
manage a wide variety of people and one size will not necessarily fit
all. Everyone is unique and will respond to you differently and
therefore, you will need to use a variety of management styles to
suit different situations and employees.

Think back to those good and bad managers – why were they good
for some people but bad for others? A manager needs to flex and
adapt to the needs of those around them. A poor manager may
forget this and treat everyone the same way. Your job as a
manager is to understand what your individual employees need
from you.

Context will have an important role to play in this. Under what

circumstances and in which setting are you managing people? Is it
a project, a team, a group of volunteers? Understanding your
context, and how it affects the people around you (and you,
yourself) is essential.

Fortunately, there are many resources to support you as you think

about different management styles and how they may suit different
people. Let’s explore some of these ideas.

Listening

It can feel daunting to manage everyone as they need to be

managed – how will you know who needs what and when? The key
to successful management lies in personal relationships.

Good managers spend time getting to know people. You may find
that developing your listening skills will help with this. The work of
Nancy Kline talks about the value of listening well. We are taught
from a young age that conversation is a two-way street. Yet, often
we learn to listen only in order to interrupt - we interject with our
own thoughts or comments. In reality, this is not listening, it is
influencing.

Good managers really listen. They allow their team to be heard, to

reflect, and to think. Poor managers will often decide if an idea is
good or bad without listening to it all the way through. They will
often judge an idea by their own experiences and interrupt the flow
of thinking from the speaker.

When developing your people management skills, try really

listening. Ask a speaker “what more do you have to say about that”,
rather than offering your own opinion.

Storytelling

As well as listening, new managers should think about the role of

storytelling in their teams.

Julian Stodd offers a leadership model for modern times with

his NET theory. The theory suggests that narrative, engagement
and technology are the three dimensions of social leadership.
Social leaders use these dimensions to bring people together and
create both shared understanding and purpose.

The concept of getting your team behind you through a great story
is nothing at all new – we have been telling stories since time
began. However the NET model describes the context within which
today’s stories are told.

For example, we operate in a technology-enabled world, and as

such we should embrace that context. As managers we should no
longer hold onto knowledge, rather use technology to share and co-
create together. In this way we will better engage our teams.

This is quite a new concept in management. In the past knowledge

has meant power. Through storytelling and sharing managers are
shifting from a traditional hierarchy and structure to one where the
focus is on people and their work.

Think about your own team. How could you use storytelling and
narrative to engage your team? Does technology help you to share
and co-create knowledge?

Different styles of leadership

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In the previous article we looked at some of the fundamental

aspects of management. Now let’s take a closer look at some
different styles of leadership and how you can begin to
develop your own style.

Situational leadership

One of the most influential styles of leadership is that of the

‘situational leader’. This was developed by Hersey and Blanchard.

Many new ideas around leadership stem from this theory. It

suggests that no single leadership style is best. Instead effective
leadership is focused on the task your are undertaking. It also
suggests that successful leaders are those who adapt their style to
the individual or group they are leading.

It is a useful reminder to be ready to adjust your style to fit those

you are looking to lead or to influence.

Empowering your team

As you develop your style, a further model that may be of interested

is ‘Intent Based Leadership’. This was developed by David Marquet.

Marquet advocates empowering your team to think for themselves

rather than simply act as followers. This useful video summarises his
ideas in a case study of his own experience.

Intent-based leadership works in many settings. It encourages

employees who have the right level of knowledge to go ahead and
make technical decisions. It also encourages leaders and managers
to empower these employees to do so. The model builds on
situational leadership but rather than focusing on the manager, it
focuses on each individual, allowing them to make decisions about
the situation.
Although Situational Leadership is an older model, it sits
comfortably alongside more modern thinking which focuses on
people development.

It is clear that organisations today - with technology, with remote

working, with the economic need to be more agile - are more suited
to people-focused, flexible types of management and leadership.

Management styles around the world

When you are thinking about your management style, not only do
you have to think about different situations but also consider where
you are in the world and the different nationalities of your team
members. This is particularly important if you are managing a virtual
team across geographic boundaries and cultures.

Think about how your role as a people manager would differ if your
team was based in New York or Paris versus Dubai or Singapore.
What would a great manager look like in these locations? How
would it be different?

Management and leadership styles can be viewed through different

lenses in different cultures. For example in some cultures hierarchy
and autocracy may be important or in others a democratic approach
where team members are consulted before decisions are made
may be preferred.

As a starting point it is important for us to be aware of our own

cultural context as a manager and any bias first, as we may have a
style that helps or hinders us and that we will have to adapt in line
with our organisation’s workplace culture as well.

Developing your own style

When it comes to developing your personal management style, you

will gain much from doing your own research. There are huge
numbers of management and leadership models out there to
discover. As you can see from this article there are many different
leadership models, old and new, that still have relevance today,

In your research it may be helpful to simply explore a model that

appeals to you. Investigate it, ask questions of it, think about your
context and team, and then challenge your own thinking from your
team’s perspective.

There is no one way to manage people, that much is clear! ___

Take some time to research the styles of leadership that interest

you most and then consider how you use these to develop your
own style and build great relationships.

How can you offer time for regular listening, for conversations, for
stories and idea sharing? Being able to answer these questions will
be a great help in finding your own style.

Adapting your style

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As you will have seen from the previous article, there are many
theories about management that can help you to develop your
skills. One of the most important ideas is that one style of
management will not fit all situations.

Two factors that may affect the style of leadership you adopt are
the competence and the experience of your team members.

The following tool will guide you through how you can vary your
leadership style to suit the competence and experience of your
team.

Newcomers or old hands?

Let’s start by looking at the graph below. It plots the competence
and confidence of the team members by looking at how long
they’ve been in the role.
The diagram shows that the relative contributions a manager and
an employee make changes as the individual develops both
competence and confidence. Let’s look at this in a little more detail:

New to the role. People joining the team may not know the work,
so they have low competence and relatively low confidence. As
they do more of the job, and their experience grows, they will
develop in both these areas.

Gaining experience. People who have been in the role for some

time will be gaining experience. They will therefore be developing
confidence and competence.

Experienced. People who have been in the role for a longer time

will be knowledgeable, with good levels of confidence and
competence.

How this affects your management style

Individuals may need a different level of support and style of
management depending on how long they’ve been in the role.

To start with, a new team member will be very dependent on you for
direction, advice and guidance because he or she may not know
enough about the work. Their contribution will start very low and
your management contribution will be much higher.

At the other extreme, an experienced worker knows his or her role

very well indeed. At this stage your ‘manager’s’ contribution is
small. You are focused on helping him or her to develop, to improve
working practices and enhance his or her skills and career.

This means that over time you will adopt many different
management styles as an employee moves along the continuum
from new starter to experienced employee.

We’ve grouped these styles into four categories. Let’s look at them
individually.

Directing style

For newcomers you will need to display a directing style.

 Give as much direction as is required to complete the task.

 Be explicit about what needs to be done, and how it is to be
achieved.
Delegating style

As people become familiar with the job and develop confidence you
can start to delegate.

 Complete tasks, or significant sections, can be handed over to

the individual.
 Regular monitoring and reviews will be required to catch any
mistakes before serious errors can occur.
Facilitating style

The individual is now confident and competent to deliver excellent

performance. Your role is to help him or her discover how to
develop his or her skills or expand the role even further.

Coaching style
At every level of an employee’s contribution coaching can help
them to build their skills and confidence as they gain experience
and competence. Gradually widen the ‘safety bubble’ as consistent
performance is delivered.

Which of these styles should you use?

For each of the members in your team, consider where on the

continuum they sit. Which style of leadership would be most
beneficial to each team member?

Responding to changing situations

Most of the time the role you adopt with an individual will reflect the
person’s position along the continuum. You will find you move from
the directing style to delegating, then to facilitating whilst also
coaching along the way, as required. But it is important to recognise
that you might have to change your role if you sense something
unusual happening.
For example a confident and experienced person might suddenly
encounter a totally new experience. The most appropriate way to
respond to this as a manager might be to adopt the directing style.

So the style you adopt must reflect what is best for the team
member at that moment. This may not always be what is most
comfortable or natural for you.

Take a few moments now to think about yourself and your ability to
switch between these four roles. Consider these two double
questions:

 Which of the four roles can you adopt most easily? Which do
you feel most comfortable with?

 Which of the four roles do you feel least comfortable in

adopting? What can you do to overcome that?

Use the table available in the download section to assess your own
strengths at adapting your management style.

Managing remote teams during COVID-

19 (coronavirus)
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With working from home being a key means for many workers
and organisations to keep going during the coronavirus
outbreak the CIPD has shared the following top tips to help
you manage your team remotely and ways to get the best from
remote working.

Ten top tips for managing remote teams

1. Agree ways of working. Make sure every team member is

clear about how you will work together remotely, how you
keep each other updated, and how frequently.
2. Show the big picture but prepare to flex. Remind your team
about the big picture and how their work fits into it. Review
short-term goals regularly and adjust as needed. If some
members can’t carry out all their usual work, consider other
skills they can lend to others to meet team goals.

3. Set expectations and trust your team. Be clear about

mutual expectations and trust your team to get on without
micromanaging. Focus on results rather than activity.

4. Make sure team members have the support and

equipment they need. This includes any coaching they might
need to use online systems or work remotely. Keep your
calendar visible and maintain a virtual open door.

5. Have a daily virtual huddle. This is essential for keeping

connected as a team, to check in on each other’s well-being
and keep workflow on track. It needn’t be long, but regularity is
key.

6. Keep the rhythm of regular one-to-ones and team

meetings. This maintains a sense of structure and continuity
for all.

7. Share information and encourage your team to do the

same. Without physical ‘water-cooler conversations’,
opportunities to pick up information in passing are more
limited. Share appropriate updates or learning from other
meetings and projects and invite your team to do the same.

8. Tailor your feedback and communications. People can be

more sensitive if they’re feeling isolated or anxious, so take
this into account when talking or writing. Communicate
regularly, not just when things go wrong, whether it is
information, praise or criticism.

9. Listen closely and read between the lines. Not being in the

same room means you don’t have extra information from body
language or tone to get the sense of what people are thinking
or feeling, particularly in more difficult conversations. Home in
 on what’s not being said and ask questions to clarify your
interpretation.

10. Help foster relationships and well-being. Make time

for social conversations. This increases rapport and eases
communication between people who may not meet often. It
also reduces feelings of isolation.

10 top tips for working remotely

1. Set up a designated workspace. Separate space for yourself

to work in, somewhere you can focus on tasks without being
distracted and set up with everything you need for a normal
working day – computer, phone, stationery, papers…etc.

2. Make sure you have all the tech you need. This includes a
reliable and secure internet connection, any necessary files,
hardware and software, remote access to your company
network and, importantly, knowledge of how to get IT support.

3. Get dressed. Changing into working clothes will help you

mentally switch to productive work mode. It will also help you
distinguish between ‘homeworking’ and ‘home life’.

4. Write a daily to-do list. Set out a list of realistic, achievable

tasks to keep you focused.

5. Know when to step away from your desk. Be clear about

when your working day begins and ends and take breaks to
refresh. It’s easy to let yourself be ‘always on’ when your
home and office are the same place. When work is over, be
sure you switch off to avoid burnout. Think about having ‘core
hours ’ which people you work with are around for.

6. Stay in conversation. Contribute regularly to team

chats/group emails so you don’t drop off the radar. Ask about
what people are working on and share what’s on your plate.
Being physically separated means you miss the ‘water-cooler
moments’ so this is a means to keep informed.
7. Foster relationships. Make time for non-work chats as you
would in the workplace and use video calling to maintain face-
to-face contact.

8. Be clear in your communication. Speaking in person gives

you visual and audio cues that help you communicate.
Conversing remotely removes a lot of that extra information so
make your communications extra clear and concise.

9. Ask for support when needed. Speak out when you need

assistance, further training or support. Your manager,
colleagues and you are part of a team and should be
supporting each other, especially remotely.

10. Make remote working work for you. Change where

you sit, put on music, whatever helps you work. And enjoy the
perks – no commute or uncomfortable shoes, and all your
home comforts!