New Beginnings Leadership Coaching LLC

Delegation is not just necessary for managing our workload and balancing our priorities. Delegation is also important for creating a positive environment for our teams…for creating a culture of trust and respect.

Dr. Hans Finzel said, “Delegation is an issue of respect and how much we respect those that are under us on our team.”

Follow these steps when delegating:
• Be clear with your team member regarding your expectations of them when completing the task (e.g. timing, results, quality, people they need to collaborate or consult with).
• When delegating the task, be sure to take a few moments to explain to them the importance of the task and the value they are adding to the team/organization by taking on this task. If it makes sense, explain why you selected them for the task.
• Give your team member the opportunity to ask questions about the task.
• Make sure the team member is aware that they can come to you with questions or concerns.
• Set up check-ins with your team member to stay in the loop on progress and provide any support they may need.
• Send the team member an email with a summary of the task, due dates, etc.
• Once the team member has completed the task successfully, let them know that you appreciate them completing the task and mention how their contribution has added value to the team/organization.

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“Imparting trust, the real meaning of delegation, is a powerful thing.”

~ Scott Berkun



While delegation is important for managing your workload, it is also a great way for developing a positive relationship with your team. A core element for building a high performing team is to establish a culture of trust. Your team must know that they can trust you…trust you to do what you say, trust you to mean what you say, trust you to have their backs, trust you to listen and act when necessary. But trust works both ways. Your team needs to know that you trust them. A great way of showing trust is through delegation. Giving a team member responsibility for a task that you own not only says that you believe in them and trust them to use their skills to complete the task, but that you trust them to do work that represents you. When used correctly, delegation can be a powerful tool.

When focusing on priorities, it’s important to include personal development and learning. It can be so easy to let our own personal learning and growth constantly drop to the bottom of the list…or sometimes right off the list.

Learning something new not only helps you grow, but the process of learning can also be rejuvenating. The satisfaction of learning something new can be the energy injection you need to work through those items that seem taxing.

Ever since I got my current car (a year ago), I’ve been saying I need to figure out how to use all the cool tech. There have been a few reasons as to why I’ve procrastinated for so long, but yesterday I was trying to listen to a book on Audible and use Google Maps on my phone (for the gazillionth time) when I realized that I would be having such an easier time if I had set up Android Auto on my car.

I finally decided that enough was enough! Today, after getting back from a meeting, I grabbed the owner’s manual and took it in the house with me.

“I am going to learn how to set up and use Android Auto.”

Honestly, it took maybe 20 minutes, and most of that time was me playing with it and making sure I knew, at a minimum, how to access and use the primary apps I would be using while in the car.

I felt so good after those 20 minutes. I felt rejuvenated and energized.

I also made the decision to learn one new feature of my car every day.

You’ve blocked your calendar to work a critical project when one of your team members drops by your office or sends you a text.
“Hey {{ first_name }}, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you.”
What do you do?

Do you stop what you’re doing and make time for your team member?
Do you tell them you’re tied up and to come back later?

If someone has something really hard to talk about, later may be too late.
Then again, sometimes what they need really isn’t urgent and it can wait.

This was something I struggled with when I was promoted to manage my first team. I wanted them to feel like they could come to me whenever. I told them I had an open-door policy.
So, any time someone dropped by to talk I would stop what I was doing.

The experience was hit and miss.
Some people had real issues that they needed to discuss right then.
Some people had real issues that they needed to discuss but could wait until later.
Some people just wanted to chit chat.

Later in my career, I learned to institute office hours.
There was a set time blocked on my calendar everyday for my team to contact me if they needed something.
I made sure they still knew that if they had something truly urgent, that they could come to me. But the benefit to them of the office hours was that they knew that was time I had set aside to be available to them.

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Tips to improve leadership efficiency and productivity Weekly newsletter with tips on how to become a more effective leader through prioritization and time management

“Balance is not something you find; it's something you create.”
~ Jana Kingsford

Before you can create balance you first have to define it. Balance is not the same for everyone. Balance is not the same every day. Balance may look one way for you today and another way next week. Balance may not mean 50/50. Sometimes it’s 100% today, 80/20 next week, and 60/40 the week after. Life is full of changes that we all have to adapt to. As changes come, determine what balance needs to look like in that moment and go with that. Be flexible and patient with yourself.

“The essence of self-discipline is to do the important thing rather than the urgent thing.”
~ Barry Werner

I think we all know this, but sometimes it can be difficult to see the difference in the moment. There’s something about urgency that makes us feel like “well it’s urgent so it must be important”. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.

How do I know?

Take a moment and ask a few questions:
What is the impact to your team or your business of doing this urgent thing?
How does that impact compare to the impact of your priorities?
What is the value of doing this urgent thing in comparison to your priorities?
Is there someone else that can handle this urgent thing so that you can stay focused on the important things?

Taking a moment to pause and evaluate helps you to maintain your focus.

It’s 4pm on Friday. You just shut down your computer.
“Yes! It’s the weekend!
Maybe I’ll just do nothing on Saturday…
Sleep in…get caught up on my DVR recordings…
Yes! That would be awesome!”

Then it happens.
Your phone rings.
You see it’s Leonard…rather, “Last minute Leonard” as you’ve come to call him.
He always has some last-minute request.
You feel bad for Leonard. He doesn’t do this on purpose, he just doesn’t do a good job at planning his work and his time.
“Leonard’s a good guy. When I need something from him, he’s there for me. But sheesh!!! I really need to decompress this weekend.”

You tell yourself not this time. You are not going to spend your precious weekend working.

But you already know you’re going to end up saying yes…
“I’m not really doing anything this weekend. I was just going to sit around and be lazy. Leonard is a good guy. He’s not doing this to me on purpose. I should help him out. Saying no just because I want to sleep late and watch TV all day is selfish. Leonard needs me.”

Making time to take care of yourself is NOT being selfish. Your well-being is a priority. If you don’t take care of yourself, how are you going to be able to take care and help others?

The word NO is not a bad word…it’s doesn’t even have 4 letters (LOL).

Also, No, is a complete sentence.
No justification needed.
They are not the judge and jury of how you spend your time or live your life…you are.
Is it possible they will think you are selfish? Yes…and?
If you know the truth of who you are, what does it matter what they think?

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Tips to improve leadership efficiency and productivity Weekly newsletter with tips on how to become a more effective leader through prioritization and time management

“People's Opinion of You is None of Your Business, Nor Should You Make It Yours.”
~ Steve Harvey

Leading ourselves is one of the hardest things to do. You think it would be easy. Just make a decision, determine the action needed, and take the action. But it’s not that simple, is it?

There’s all this internal baggage we are constantly contending with. One piece of luggage is “What will people think?” It shows up in various forms. For example, when you receive a request from someone to do something that you know you either 1) don’t have the capacity to do within the timeframe they want or 2) you know it’s something that’s not a good use of your time. You know you should say no but can’t. Why? Because you don’t feel like you have a good enough reason.

Why do we feel a justification is required to say No? Because we’re worried about what the other person will think. But what they think…is none of your business.

Pre-COVID, I had an interesting conversation with another leader.

Me: You know what really bugs me, when people schedule meetings during lunch time. I’ve actually had people say “I’m sorry to schedule this during lunch time, but it’s the time that most people are likely to be available.” Of course people are available at that time…they are planning to EAT!
Him: Yeah, people used to get me with that, but I fixed them.
Me: Oh yeah? How?
Him: When someone would send me an invite for a meeting during lunch time, I would reach out to them and have a conversation something like this:
Him: Hey So-and-So, how’s it going?
Them: Hey! I’m doing okay.
Him: I just got your invite for the XYZ meeting. It’s schedule for lunch time.
Them: Yeah, I know. I hate doing that but it’s the best time for catching most people.
Him: I get it. So, are you bringing in lunch?
Them: Um…well, actually, no…I hadn’t planned on that.
Him: Ok, well I’m actually not available because that’s my lunch time. I understand if you can’t reschedule. I will just follow up with you after the meeting to get caught up.

Me: No way! Really!?!?
Him: Yep. After a while, word got out that if they want me at their meeting and it’s during lunch, they better provide lunch.
Me: Well, yeah…you’re a big VP, you can do stuff like that.
Him: Yeah, I’m a VP now, but I started doing this before I became a VP. Of course there are times when I make exceptions. The point is, people know lunch is a priority for me. But…being a VP does have its perks.
Me: Oh, yeah?
Him: Yeah. They know that they not only have to provide lunch, it has to be a hot lunch. I don’t do sandwiches.

Just like you block time on your calendar to get work done, you need to block time on your calendar for taking time for yourself.

You need to block time for things like…
• Taking a lunch break
• Getting up from your desk and spending a few minutes to stretch or take a short walk outside
• Plan your week…your day
• Reflect on your week…your day
• Leaving/stopping work at a certain time so you can be with your family
• A morning routine that gets your energy up and preps you to start the day
• An end of workday routine that allows you to disconnect from work, decompress, and be present for family

Taking time for yourself is just as important as your top work priorities. Make sure you are blocking time for self-care.

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“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”
~ M. Scott Peck

One way of valuing yourself and your time is to block time on your calendar for self-care. Allocate short breaks to step away from your desk to stretch or go get some fresh air. Taking breaks actually improves our productivity and according to a survey cited by Forbes, can also give us a creativity boost (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alankohll/2018/05/29/new-study-shows-correlation-between-employee-engagement-and-the-long-lost-lunch-break/?sh=35014b2d4efc).

New Study Shows Correlation Between Employee Engagement And The Long-Lost Lunch Break Encouraging employees to take regular breaks throughout the day, including lunch breaks, is an easy way for employers to boost employee wellness along with work performance.

Has this ever happened?

You have an item on your To Do list that requires 1-2 hours of solid, heads down think time.
You see you have a 2-hour block on your calendar the next day that is completely open.
You plan on using that block of time to work on your deliverable.
The next morning, you boot up your computer and see that someone booked a meeting during the time you had planned to work on that big deliverable.
*Sigh* “Oh well, I guess I can work on it tonight.”

This used to happen to me, and then I learned the productivity tip of blocking my calendar.
I still remember my initial reaction when I read that in a book about getting organized.
“Oh my gosh! Of course! This makes so much sense. Why hadn’t I thought of this before?”

I think many of us think that the time on our calendar is for being available for meetings or doing things that other people need us to do. When people tell me they never have time to work on “their stuff” and I recommend they block time on their calendar to work on “their stuff”, it’s not uncommon to get the response “You mean, I can do that?”.

Yes! You can do that.
The calendar represents YOUR time…not the company’s time.
The company expects you to use your time wisely to get the things you are responsible for done.
So do it! Take back control of your calendar. It represents your time, so make sure you are making the best use of it.


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