Welcome to the world’s first

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES of blog posts — 

“D”…DELEGATION

 Does it make a big difference if I tell you 

to do something . . . or ask you to do it?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Telling you what to do might work out fine in the military, or aboard a plane or boat, or operating heavy equipment . . . or if you’re a prisoner, a horse, or a Cocker Spaniel.

But, in business, unless you –the owner or manager– need to prompt cooperation with others to get a job done, the results you’ll trigger by giving directives cannot compare with the response you’ll get from making a request, which can be astonishing. And when was the last time you got great results from giving orders?

US President and General Dwight David Eisenhower taught his senior officers how to exercise leadership by pushing a tangle of string across a tabletop vs. taking one end and pulling it, which of course ended with the string in a straight line moving in a single direction, instead of a jumble going nowhere.

Yes, sincerity, genuineness, eye contact, backpats, your posture, tone of voice, and and smiles often make the difference. So does the reputation you carry for having integrity and authenticity — perhaps the two most important qualities an entrepreneur can have on the road to success.

And, interestingly, integrity and authenticity are ever too late to cultivate.

Well, okay, you know all that, but how far must you go with the “please” and “thank you” routine? Truth? You’ll never go far enough, and if it’s actually become “routine,” go back to your cave.

Here are a few treasured learnings I can share:

• Even when we think we know, little do we ever really know about what life circumstances will bring, and where we’ll end up with our businesses in the years ahead.

• I have seen discounted, dismissed, dissed and insulted employees turn up years later being the bosses of those who once humiliated and looked down on them.

• I have seen long-term top customers walk away from businesses in an instant after learning about relatives (a son, in one case) who worked for the provider business, unbeknownst to the boss, who were routinely berated, chastised, scolded, yelled at and wrongly blamed for screw-ups.

• I have personally watched businesses run by owners who were rude, constantly preoccupied, always angry, and routinely barking out orders . . . go down and under.

Do you –like the carpenter and heart surgeon– make a practice of measuring twice and cutting once? Do you think twice before speaking once?

Remember

you can delegate authority,

but you cannot delegate

responsibility.

Responsibility is yours alone.

When you ask peopleto get things done, asking nicely is not manipulation, it’s respect. Use words that inspire and that demonstrate your passion for your business: opportunity, challenge, reward, investment, courage, pride, workmanship, spirit, spunk, gumption (add your own) . . . the right words make your passion contagious.

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Hal@Businessworks.US    302.933.0911

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

It’s YOUR business, but

everything doesn’t have

to get done YOUR way!

One reason brand new and struggling old businesses fail is that the entrepreneurial founders feel like they have to do everything themselves, or else . . .

Or else WHAT? 

Or else it won’t get done right?  What is “right”?  Who says what is “right” and what is “wrong”?   

Are you really meaning to say that “No one else will do this task the way I would do it”? 

Start with this: It’s unlikely ANYone will ever do ANYthing exactly the way you do because no one else could possibly be as motivated as you, because it’s not her or his business.  It’s YOUR business. But there comes a time for trusting the babysitter.

So what’s the next best way to deal with things? Here’s some “SHOULD” reasoning . . .

If you’re lucky and have been careful in recruiting and hiring, you should be able to expect that someone else really is capable of doing whatever task that’s needed.

And that individual should be able to get it done in a manner that you should be able to live with (assuming that the end result is the same as it would have been had you done things your way). 

Ah, but, you know what? There are a lotta “shoulds” there!  If you can’t tolerate someone else’s method (assuming the other person’s time and expenses are not totally out of whack), you need to simply get on with doing the task yourself and not bitching about it. 

Of course if that’s the case, you need also to realize that you’ve stumbled onto a roadblock to your business’s growth: namely, YOU! (Hey, there’s another choice, btw: you can always turn your business over to someone else and just go get another life!) 

Let’s face it, delegating is not easy when you’re used to doing everything yourself, but your business can’t grow if you can’t get others to get the job done. It’s called leadership. And motivation. And trust. And transparency. And consistency.

Delegation requires encouragement, training, back-up support, and incentives. 

Small frequent rewards work wonders. 

So does a physical pat on the back for a job well done (regardless of whether it was accomplished in exactly the same way you would have done it or not), a handwritten note, recognition in a news release or on a plaque or certificate.

Cash, in other words, is not always the answer. A special bonus or reward that fits that person’s needs usually is. 

Only you can decide what motivates best and you can only do that by getting to know what makes each individual tick!  That means you need to get to know those who work for and around you well enough to help them achieve what’s important to them! 

Oh, one parting thought: You can delegate authority, but you can’t delegate responsibility! So don’t hand it all off and walk away. Stay tuned in. VOTE NOVEMBER 6, 2012.

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____________________________________ 

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!