You’re Delegating Poorly. Here, let me do it…

If you are someone who has felt compelled to ‘do it all’ because nobody can do things better than you – stop reading. You are either the world’s most undervalued and underpaid at X skill, or you are in denial about your ability to avoid the temptations of micromanagement and delegate effectively. Either way, this post is of no benefit to you. If however you are comfortable enough to stretch your mentoring skills and leadership capability, I’ve collected some tips to help you get started.

Tip #1: Take stock. Really.

You are busy. Too busy to know how busy you really are. If you can’t manage your workload, you will never be able to manage that of anyone else! Stop reading and get back to work. Seriously, it is OK to approach delegating as a science before an art. Making a prioritized list will help you quickly identify activities that suck up your time (more on that in tip #2) and also show you where your greatest ROW (return on work) is. Make sure you account for every billable minute of your week – no matter how you are paid. Being in denial about how much time you spend on email, meetings, etc. will hurt you in the long run.

Tip #2: Take advantage of low-hanging fruit.

Recognizing what and when to delegate projects is arguably one of the most challenging aspects of becoming an effective leader. But managers who create a welcoming environment for new ideas will often find their employees become more empowered and take the initiative.

Tip #3: Share the fun stuff

I was once accused from one of my peers of “getting all the fun stuff”. The cause of her dismay was twofold – I had a manager who empowered me (see Tip #1) to speak up and create my own opportunities, projects. In between those my boss also did something I’ve seen few other managers do: she gave me some of her most favorite projects. As a leader, sharing the work that makes you love your job can instill the same passion and intrinsic motivation to your reports – making their work better, and your team a greater success. Delegating only ‘grunt’ work, however, could prevent your employee from wanting to take on more responsibility and ultimately cause great resentment.

So if you want to be known as the “cool” manager, or the team who somehow gets all the ‘rock stars’, take a few moments out of your busy schedule to reflect on how well you delegate. Feel free to share any additional tips or experiences you’ve had with successful (or failed!) delegation.

Sorority Girl’s Guide to Networking

I gave a talk on this chapter of my life at the Australian Graduate School of Management, where I completed my MBA last year. But as the new round of graduates ventures out into the workforce and begin asking for business cards and informational interviews, I remembered how timeless the networking skills I learned from being involved in one of the oldest, largest female fraternal organizations in the US.

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Better known for their exclusivity, sororities and fraternities aren’t the first thing professionals think about when it comes to professional networking. The truth is, these organizations existed long before the “Likes” of Facebook and LinkedIn. So how did these groups manage to vet the hundreds of interested college co-eds, while also priming their members to transition easily to the workforce?

In a word, RUSH. The grandfather of social networking, “Recruitment” (as it is referred to today) is the term used to describe the process sororities and fraternities have to meet potential new members and determine which are worthy of a membership invitation. Recruitment takes place over a 2-week span, and prospective members are invited to several parties where they can meet active members and learn about each house. It is a multi-round process of mutual selection. [Each sorority has a different method for vetting prospective members – but the collective “Greek” system at each university agrees on a set of ground rules. Nearly all sororities’ parties are dry or alcohol-free – not sure about the official fraternity policies.]

After Round 1 the prospective member decides which 5 out of the 7 houses she would like to revisit – meanwhile the houses decide which reduced percentage of visitors are invited back for Round 2. The process continues until the houses extend formal invitations or ‘bids’ to prospective members to accept.

Sounds a lot like a more socialized version of the job application/interview process, right? It is – only it moves much faster, and, depending on the recruitment strategy of the house, it happens on a much larger scale than the average job interview process. If you’ve been reading just to get sorority secrets, you are about to be sorely disappointed. But I am more than happy to share a few great networking skills that being in a sorority has given me.

1. Networking with a Purpose

Always have an objective or two before attending a social function. By this I do not mean you should be completely self-serving, manipulative, as in “he has an agenda”. Keep it simple. Here are some examples:

• Know the host? Be sure to spend a few minutes with them and thank them for the invite.
• Want to meet an honored guest or speaker? Stick around and introduce yourself (and bring business cards).
• Don’t know anyone? Bring business cards, make an effort to meet at least 3 new people (also bring a pen or be prepared to jot down a few notes – referring to skill #3 below).

If you don’t go in with a plan, expect to waste time hugging the hors d’oeuvres, lingering by the bar, or being stuck in a corner listening to someone’s random companion talk about their pet cat’s chemotherapy treatments – for hours.

2. Small-talk is an art, but it’s easy and abstract

Ask 200 people the same 5 conversation starters in the span of 3 days and you’ll get REALLY comfortable approaching new people and getting them to open up. Starting with a yes/no question only gives you 50% chance of being able to continue the thread, so I’d advise against it. I most fondly remember the “What did you do last summer?” from Recruitment but in the working world it may not be as smooth. Some great convo starters:

• What did you think of the last panel discussion (or, ‘of today’s program’)?
• What brings you here this evening? –> aka “Do you work for [organizer]?”
• How long have you been affiliated with [x] / how long have you been a member of [x]? (for events produced or hosted by said org)

3. Take Notes

There is NO EXCUSE to be flaky in this day and age with the first names of people you met, and/or whether you spoke about brands of running shoes or the economic state of the union. After a few minutes of chatting with someone new, offer your business card. It’s not only a well-timed token to prompt them to give you their card, but also a window of transition for you (see #4- exiting gracefully). The moment you are alone to type the iPhone memo or write on the back of your new friend’s business card, do it!  Networks are not effective if they are not filled with ‘qualified’ connections.

You will find this is habitual with “connectors” – people who seem to remember that you not only work for an accounting firm, but also like fly fishing in Colorado and know someone with a gorgeous rental cabin out there…

4. Exiting Gracefully

This was perhaps the most important skill I learned from sorority recruitment. The prospective members had only a limited amount of time to meet with as many members as possible to determine ‘fit’ with a house – when I was in school some houses used only a few ‘face girls’ as salespeople, while others utilized all of its members to meet prospective members. For the latter I found some common strategies for gracefully moving from guest to guest at a function:

• Assuming you’re following the first 3 tips above, think of someone else you should introduce your new contact to. If they’re at the same function, all the better. If not, asking for the business card and offering an intro as a follow up is usually a good way to wind up your time with that person. Making an introduction of Person A –> Person B is the best way to “C” yourself out of the conversation. 🙂
• Bring a wing-man/woman. This is NOT just an effective strategy for those living the single life! As a wing woman at certain functions, I have rescued several a colleague from undying dialogue by visiting their circle and inserting the following line: “Here you are! There is someone I must introduce to you…” Though being wing woman carries the risk of letting your companion out of the convo circle only to get stuck in it yourself. If there weren’t sacrifice involved somehow, it wouldn’t be a ‘wing woman’. If my partner can’t introduce this connection to someone else, perhaps I can learn about his/her interests and make some intros of my own.
• “Wow I’m really glad to have met you. Enjoy the rest of your night and I look forward to ___” – Your contact will feel so warm and fuzzy they may not even notice you when you leave.
• I’m definitely going to take you up on the [golf invite/workshop invite]. Thanks again I’m glad we had some time to chat today.

Alternatively you could use more of an escape strategy than graceful exit. However, USE CAUTION when excusing yourself for drink/food/restroom. If it is just you and one other person, be prepared for that person to agree with your “suggestion” and also seek drink/food/restroom. Speaking of which, it’s time for lunch. Have a great rest of the week, and thanks for stopping by the blog today!