Edition 544 – DELEGATION, NOT DESERTION
It’s just after 1:30pm on a Friday afternoon. I’ve test driven a car on Sydney’s upper North Shore. It’s not long after midday when my wife and I decide that rather than lunch in that part of the world, we’ll head back to ours. Beat the traffic. Head to one of our favourite haunts. Maybe have a glass of wine, too.
“Sorry, the kitchen is closed” is the comment that comes my way when I ask about a table for lunch at said favourite haunt.
“Don’t you close at 2.30pm” is my reply.
“Yes, but we have to finish up early today” is the response back.
So, we up, leave and head elsewhere. Just around the corner. As it turns out, there’s two glasses of wine at lunch, not one.
Inside another business, there’s a notable drop off in the numbers when the owners aren’t around. The team are new-ish, but highly skilled, so should well and truly have command of what it is they have to do in their roles. Yet, it seems, they don’t. And, on the days when trade is quiet, even the ancillary tasks aren’t attended to. The tasks that are important to keeping the ship of state on course.
In each situation, the owners had delegated certain management functions to their team, then proceeded to not provide constant follow-up to ensure the behaviour was ingrained.
So, there’s no accountability to the owners, from the team, simply as a result of the fact that the owner has pursued a “set-and-forget” policy in terms of what they’ve delegated. They’ve set the tasks, then automatically assumed their employees will do what it is that’s been asked of them, every day, and not get it wrong.
The cafe owner – he’s been in the industry for 20 plus years. Started them from scratch, built them up and sold them on.
The other business owner, it’s been closer to 25 years they’ve run their own show. Bought it as a going concern, then proceeded to fundamentally change the business for the better.
What we, as business owners, do on auto-pilot should not be expected of our team, if they’re new to the business or the industry. We’re unconsciously competent when we operate at that level, yet our employees are, at best, consciously incompetent. They will make mistakes, and at times, silly ones. Or they will miss a key element of what it is that’s expected of them.
By all means, delegate responsibility to your team. However, remember:
- Accountability – at the start and the end of the day.
- Clarity – as to your expectations of your team.
- Training – always and often.
- Review – at least quarterly, to discuss what’s working, what isn’t and the next steps.
I do wonder if, at times, business owners, when they look to delegate to their team, are merely doing so as they’re wanting to run away from their business, as soon as possible. Except, when they adopt that approach, it seems the learning that is most ingrained with the employees is the “running away” part, which means shutting the doors early, or leaving until tomorrow tasks that could, and should be completed today.
This Week’s Tip
The Four Stages of Competence:
(1) Unconscious Incompetence (2) Conscious Incompetence
(3) Conscious Competence (4) Unconscious Competence