=================== Delegating -- Inspirational Messages ================= by M.D. Smith -- Huntsville, AL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "WISE IS THE MAN WHO REALIZES EARLY IN LIFE THAT WHAT HE CAN DO BY HIMSELF IS RELATIVELY SMALL. A MAN'S SUCCESS IS DETERMINED, IN LARGE MEASURE, BY WHAT HE IS ABLE TO GET OTHER PEOPLE TO DO." Lee S. Bickmore Chairman, Nabisco,Inc. Most of the top business executives in America recognize the limitations of what they can do themselves. They know that to accomplish great goals, you have to build and depend on those who work under you. As they grow and become successful, largely through delegation, the manager accomplishes the larger goals for the company. Success is a joint partnership venture in delegation. -------------------------------------------------[ more ]-------------- " HERE LIES A MAN WHO ENLISTED IN HIS SERVICE BETTER MEN THAN HIMSELF " Engraving on the tombstone of Andrew Carnegie, Founder of the Steel Industry A man who made millions through delegation and building other people and making them successful.....and....at a time during the first part of this century when it was neither popular nor necessary to treat employees with great respect and gratitude for the work they performed in a company. Mr. Carnegie was one of the first truly great managers and delegators of the 20th Century. -------------------------------------------------[ more ]------------------ "I CAN DO THIS WORK BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE." "IF I DELEGATE TO OTHERS, WHAT WILL I DO?" "THIS JOB IS SO IMPORTANT THAT I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO IT." "I CAN DO THE WORK IN HALF THE TIME OF ANYONE ELSE AND WITH FEWER ERRORS." (Poor excuses for not Delegating) There are probably a lot of reasons not to delegate, but few good ones. Almost by definition, if we are to succeed and grow....and if our people are to succeed and grow....we must continually delegate... EFFECTIVELY ! Many managers have tried delegation ONCE and concluded it was more trouble than it was worth. Delegation is a skill that has to be learned and then practiced. Mistakes will be made and it will be slow at first, but the long run is the only important factor. When you delegate EFFECTIVELY, your people grow....morale improves...efficiency improves...more of the DESIRED RESULTS get achieved. The benefits of delegation far outweigh the difficulties. ----------------------------------------------------[ more ]---------------- "But Boss, I did exactly what you told me to do. I can't help it if what turned out wasn't at all what you wanted. Heck, I wasn't at all sure what you wanted. I just tried to do exactly what you told me to do. I never did REALLY understand what I was doing!" Who Is To Blame? For effective delegation to take place, the delegatee must have a full understanding of the results to be achieved. It is even better if the 'doer' can work out the details of HOW to do a thing, in their own way. After all, if the end results are what you expect and limits and boundaries are not exceeded, why shouldn't the person do it their way? They should! It builds people to get involved in the delegated work. They need to feel the job is more theirs than yours...otherwise, they are just robots carrying out your instructions. If robots are what you want, buy some robots. -----------------------------------------------[ more ]--------------------- "I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE, CHARLIE, BUT AS YOU KNOW...... YOURS IS A THANKLESS JOB !" Delegating to others is difficult for most of us and hard for the other person at first. That is why it is so important to follow up and when they HAVE done a successful job (even if it was not as good as we could have done), we must be quick to praise and thank the person. EFFECTIVE delegation works best when the person wants to do the job -- is successful -- and then gets credit and appreciation for the accomplishments. To delegate by ordering someone to do something is setting up the delegation to fail and have far less success than you could have had. So whether Charlie is doing a thankless job or not, you surely will thank him and help him to continue to achieve more valuable results for the department, the company and himself. When your people succeed ............you succeed. That is what EFFECTIVE DELEGATION is all about!" ---------------------------------------------------[ more ]---------------- "IF YOU WANT THE BEST OUT OF PEOPLE" "YOU MUST USE THE BEST THAT IS IN THEM." "Bernard Haldane" It is true of a great many people that given greater challenges, they will accomplish more. They will enjoy work more...feel creative and productive. A person who knows that they are growing with a company, learning new things, acquiring new skills and likely earning more money, is a happy person. This is one of the major keys to developing and keeping good people. Delegation plays a key role in this positive attitude. You are the COACH and CHEERLEADER. You coach them to be successful, then cheer when they succeed. This is the attitude of the manager who is a successful delegator. It is up to you to build people and make them successful. Delegation is a central principle in achieving these goals for the people you supervise. ********************************[ End of Messages ]*************************