The Art of Great Delegation

This week I had the privilege of making a presentation to fellow members of the Institute of Directors in Manchester, UK. I was asked to share how Directors could approach delegation in their business to be more effective in their role.

What fascinates me about working as a leadership coach and trainer is that despite everyone in the room being a Director, each person came with a different expectation of what they needed to explore around delegation. My professional challenge - and the fun part of our work - was to take my prepared presentation and weave the audience’s expectations into the hour. I managed to reference the legal issues, leadership styles, change management, making time, devolving authority, sharing responsibility, harnessing technology and dealing with growth; all the questions they were interested in!

Underlying, the techniques I shared to improve daily delegation I referenced two guiding principles. This was because having access to a technique to use is only one part of effectively deploying a skill; knowing the principles behind it allow you as a leader to adapt, develop and contextualize the technique. The two principles behind great delegation are:

1. Know the purpose. Delegation deals with the ‘What’ of business, the things that need to get done. However, starting with the what is not a leadership perspective it is fulfilling a management duty. Leaders need to be clear on ‘Why’ something is happening and ‘How’ it is delivered. So, if a Director were to ask me or my Know+Do colleagues to help them solve a problem around delegation we’d want to know the purpose of the business, its mission, its key targets, its values. Those why factors that drive behaviour, decision making and define success. Then we check out the how of a company - its key strategies and processes, its ways of organising itself and its 'internal ‘rules’. This is so we can place the delegation issue in context and how we solve that must reference why the business exists and connect with how it operates.

2. Leadership is a daily practice not a one time event. By this we mean everyday the people in, or connected to your business, will need you to lead them. People are not static, they change, evolve and grow. Businesses are dynamic, new sales arrive, the economy changes, the competition gets better. Delegation is therefore not something we do once and forget about; it is something we do and repeat. Finding ways to ensure we have sufficient energy, the right attitude and sustained motivation is crucial to leading a team, whatever its size or context.

In the presentation a great deal more was shared. Techniques on quick planning for delegation. Principles to measure a delegation strategy. Language in differentiating delegation levels. How to ask questions in the right format. But the principles to great delegation underpinned the practice: Know why your business exists and work hard on your skills as a leader. After all, as a Managing Director I know well shared with me just last week:

“Delegation only works well, if the one delegating works!”

For both principles I shared a template to map and assess the business and the leader. If you want to find out about these contact me on bernard@knowanddo.com and I can share the templates with you.

What advice would you give to a new business owner?

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Our company is in its tenth year of existence and when I open my old note book from those very early development days, which started way back in 2009, I find it hard to remember all the feelings around starting-up a business venture. Looking through the frayed pages it seems we were obsessed with a name and logo, with so many variations being drawn and discarded. I am very proud we chose ‘Know and Do’, it still says exactly what our business is about – ‘helping leaders learn to solve their problems by effectively applying the knowledge’ – but I’d probably not focus as much time on these things next time round.

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My trip down memory lane came from a recent discussion I was invited to join with Tech Manchester as part of the UK Fast webinar series. Talking with some passionate, clever and insightful colleagues from around Greater Manchester we discussed the wide array of support and advice to start-up businesses.

You can access the video of the whole conversation and others in the series here 

If I was re-starting a business today, I’d share the advice we give to many new or emerging companies. Essentially, there are a few core factors that in my view make a huge difference to a new business idea moving from paper to become a thriving company:

1. What is your purpose? Setting out your mission for starting the business helps you look to create a strategy and culture to the business that is consistent and coordinated. It can draw investors, partners and employees to your business as they buy-in to your purpose. (Check out our tips on strategy here).

2. Is there a demand for the product or service? Without this you may only ever sell to yourself! A great idea is nice (and great ideas are needed). However, it is only commercially viable if it is wanted by others.

3. Is there a profit in the product or service? The price you can charge customers has nothing to do with the cost of production, but you do need a profit margin in it. The value a customer places on what you are selling determines if the market will sustain your new business. A business needs that profit buffer and to know if it is (or is not) there (as we share here).

4. Never loose site of the cash. If you are the owner, you need to understand the money. If you run out of cash your bank account will not clear payments on good will. Even when you grow, it is easy to let costs rise and your cashflow suffer.

5. Focus on the marketing and sales. Great ideas rarely sell themselves; they will still need mechanisms to share and promote their value. These processes need constant attention, assessment and energy (we have some ideas on this).

I know there is much more to a business than the five points alone. Things like structure, premises, people, equipment, legalities, suppliers, and so on matter. However, if you have a clear purpose, products and services that people be sold at a profit, manage your cash well and market the idea you have the engine of a business.

If it sounds like hard work, that is because it is. According to my maths (from reading reports) less than 1 in 10 people start a business and only around 25% of them create a company that can employ someone other than themselves. So, if you have the desire to try, then we’d love to talk with you and help you focus that motivation to be successful