Top 4 Attributes of Effective New Manager Delegation

New Manager Delegation
New managers need to fight their instincts to watch over their team too closely. Micromanaging may be a temptation, but it has unfortunate consequences. New manager delegation can make or break your ability to successfully lead and develop your team.

Accountability is Good.  Micro-managing is Bad
There can be a fine line between holding people accountable and micromanaging their work.  In your desire to monitor your team’s activities, be careful you don’t overdo it and stifle growth.

Your job as a new manager is more about assigning the right tasks to the right people than directing how the work must be done.   Allow your workers to own their goals and accountabilities by having them figure out themselves how to best deliver the results in a way that makes sense..

Do Not Undermine Trust
Your employees need guidelines, to be sure — guidelines that may range from a deadline to budget restraints to check-in stops along the way. But they need to develop the confidence and the creativity to accomplish the task on their own. If you oversee the task too closely and take control, you undermine trust, sabotage motivation, and limit learning.

4 Attributes of Effective New Manager Delegation
Based upon feedback from thousands of new manager training program participants over the last 20 years, it’s all about how you delegate.  Followers tell us that effective new manager delegation has four key attributes:

1. Clear Outcomes
   Strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing leaders.  Employees need to understand the big picture.

   — What exactly are they expected to accomplish?
   — Where should their work lead?
   — Why is it important and what will ultimate success look like?
   — How will success be measured?  And by whom?

2. Clear Expectations
   What are the boundaries? If you are not crystal clear on the constraints, your employees will flounder and you will be tempted to hover. When there is confusion, look in the mirror at what might have been missing from your description of the assignment.

   Be crystal clear about what is mandated, guided, and autonomous with the task at hand.  Think about creating a team charter to get everyone on the same page.

3. Clear Understanding
   Make sure the task is fully understood by your employee. Encourage questions. Avoid missteps and time wasters by clarifying the work assignment at the onset — not later.

   When you hand off a task to someone, simply ask them – Is your mission clear?  And give them the space to honestly reply.

   If your organizational culture makes it difficult to ask questions, pose a few yourself to get the dialogue started.

4. Clear Oversight
   Yes, since you are ultimately accountable for the effectiveness of your team as a new manager, you need to feel relatively confident that your workers are performing their tasks well.

   Your challenge is to find a judicious balance between ensuring that employees are working on the right things at the right time in the right way and diving in at the slightest derailment. Your options when things are really off track are to adjust the assignment, change the task owner or stay the course.

   Try to offer advice only when asked — adjust behavior with performance coaching rather than taking over.

The Bottom Line
Effective delegation requires high levels of clarity. Managers are accountable for the task and employees are responsible for getting the job done. Encourage creativity and growth in your team members by keeping the roles separate and giving your workers the gift of pride in their achievement.

To learn more about how to better manage your team, download 3 Must-Have Ingredients of High Performing Teams for New Managers