CRANIUM POINT: Interaction, not micromanagement. Honor team input. Leverage others experience. Gain loyalty by allowing a choice and a voice.
Delegate. It can be a euphemism for bossing others around or shirking responsibility. It can also be a powerful tool for building trust and broadening others’ skill sets. Effective leaders see delegating as an opportunity to develop others. They delegate intentionally and purposefully by matching tasks with others’ interests.
You can just pick any number a project, meeting, task, or responsibility to delegate and assign someone with an interest in the job. That last clause is very important, find someone with an interest. If you don’t you’re just a manager, not a leader. If you don’t you’re losing the opportunity to help someone feel more empowered, more valuable and more loyal.
Another great thing to do is actively seek people ready for new responsibility simply by asking them. Ask them if they have any skills you might not know about, if there is anything they think they could improve that they’re not currently responsible for. Even if you don’t discover anything new about this person right away you’re planting a seed. By letting them know that you are supportive of their growth you aren’t just making them feel better. In the future they’ll be more likely to be on the look out for ways they can step up.
