TechEdge LLC » Delegation

Featured Leader: Bob Bayer Interview

Gwen Walsh — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 18:19:49 +0000

Excerpt from A-CHIEVE! (February 2011)

BOB BAYER’s calling was leadership. After having graduated from Case Western Reserve University, landing a position as CWRU’s Assistant Director of Financial Aid, receiving several promotions along the way, and now serving as Information Technology Director for Forest City Enterprises, Bob is truly passionate about being ‘the best version’ of leader. It’s evident in his philosophy, his strategies, his approaches and his ‘raising the leadership bar’ attitude.

We asked Bob “What do you enjoy the most about being a leader?”

For Bob, it’s not about attaining a title or appearing at a certain level on an organization chart. Leadership to Bob is three-fold – it’s about:

	Getting as much accomplished as possible through a great team of people vs. by himself or by any one team member;
	Getting the right things done in the right way; and
	Watching those that he’s leading go on to achieve even greater accomplishments on their own.

With respect to Bob’s first point, we took a bit of a “delegation detour.” We were curious to learn more since delegation is integral to Bob’s leadership strategy. Bob’s take on delegation – it doesn’t come naturally. In order to achieve delegation mastery, one must carve out time to:

	Educate him/herself on the topic including benefits;
	Be acutely aware of and/or seek out opportunities to consistently practice delegation; and
	Observe and acknowledge “the power of delegation” – the breadth and depth of its impact.

Exploring this topic further, we asked Bob “What is the most effective delegation technique that you’ve used to date?”

For Bob, it’s a process that starts with selecting the right delegation candidate (delegatee). From there, he co-engages in ‘shared visioning’, which, as Bob defined, is the ability to articulate the ‘big picture’, share the compelling reasons or ‘the why’ behind the vision so the delegatee genuinely believes in and embraces the vision, and provide high-level guidance plus a framework to operate within so the delegatee can successfully plan and execute against the vision.

We next moved onto the million dollar question “How do you keep your leadership capabilities and skills fresh, sharp and relevant?”

In Bob’s case, he leverages a variety of techniques including:

	Identifying successful leaders, observing their behaviors, mentally playing out ‘what/if’ scenarios, e.g., what might I do if I was in his/her position;
	Staying current with professional development blogs and content sites;
	Applying leadership best practices not only in his professional life, but in his personal life as parent, football coach and church volunteer; and
	Listening to audio books as much as possible.

Bob has also leveraged 360 degree feedback to increase his leadership awareness. Bob shared with us that as leaders, we must remember that perception is reality and that we’re judged by our actions and not by our intentions. We need to force ourselves to take a look at how others see us and adjust accordingly.

For our last topic, we were interested in learning more about how Bob, an accomplished seasoned leader, approaches up-and-coming leaders. We asked Bob “What do you look for in the ‘next generation leader’ and how can they be best mentored?”

Bob’s radar is keenly attuned to those high performers who have a sincere hunger to be the next great leader vs. those who are just going through the motions or matriculating through their life plan because leadership is the next logical step. Bob specifically looks for candidates with exceptional professional and personal integrity and those who sincerely care about other people. From Bob’s perspective, a leader must lead through and with others and that can’t be done without having a genuine concern for others.

As far as being a mentor, for Bob it’s all about:

	Leading by example;
	Being upfront and honest;
	Sharing lessons learned;
	Providing mentees with training and leadership opportunities; and
	Helping mentees shape their vision and, in doing so, push them to expand their thinking so they may reach their fullest potential!

Do you work with a colleague who you’d like us to spotlight as an upcoming Featured Achiever Leader in our monthly professional development newsletter? If yes, please email us at GWALSH@TECHEDGELLC.COM.

Check out this article plus more in A-CHIEVE! (February 2011).

Delegation Challenged? (Part II)

Gwen Walsh — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:57:08 +0000

Tip: As we’ve been helping our clients transform their organizations and teams, we’ve identified our Time Robbers’ ”Top 12 Usual Suspects” list. They are:

Chronic problems
Escalations
Dropped batons
Decision defense
Customer complaints
End runs
Infighting & territorialism
MIA/adversarial business partners
“Squeaky wheel” requests
Fire fighting
Knee-jerk reactions
“In-the-weeds” interactions

The above problematic Time Robbers can usually be traced back to the absence or incompleteness of one or more of the following key organizational sub-strategies:

Communication
Collaboration
Demand Intake and Fulfillment Management
Talent/People Optimization
Complaint Management
Internal Marketing

Is this tip helpful? Do you have other delegation tips? Please share your comments with us! And don’t forget to check out Delegation Challenged? (Part I)!

Delegation Challenged? (Part I)

Gwen Walsh — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:13:36 +0000

Technique: As we’re helping our clients transform their organizations and teams, we typically find that those holding formal leadership positions continue to struggle with effective delegation. Actually, leaders tell us that it’s one of their #1 challenges – “If I could just stop doing everything myself and start delegating, I would have more time to…”

Think and plan strategically
Develop new and nurture existing customer relationships
Lead and coach my direct reports and their organizations
Take on more leadership responsibilities
Achieve my professional and personal goals and desires

If you’re a leader confronted with too many tactical challenges and who never seems to have or find the time to think, plan and lead, there’s hope and it starts with our simple 4-Step Time Investment Inventory…

How do you conduct a Time Investment Inventory to ramp up your delegation skills? It’s easy!

Step 1: For each assignment that you take on, assess whether it is a positive (+ Time Investor) or negative (-Time Robber) use of your leadership time. Examples of each may include:


	+ Time Investors — I’m choosing to personally work on this assignment because:
	It is strategic leadership work It optimizes my leadership value and contributions to my employer — it is the absolute best use of my time It is a leadership growth and development opportunity for me It is confidential or sensitive in nature

	- Time Robbers — I’m choosing to personally work on this assignment because:
	I lack the time to delegate this to someone else I am a perfectionist and fear that my staff will make mistakes It’s in my comfort zone – it’s what I enjoy doing and it’s how I’ve achieved success in the past I do not trust my staff or their capabilities I enjoy getting my hands dirty I enjoy the “runner’s high” associated with “coming to the rescue” – being the “go to” person I fear surrendering authority to others I fear that I will become invisible if my routine work is handled by others My staff do not have the right capabilities or training

Step 2: Identify your “top 3” Time Robbers

Step 3: Identify the Root Cause of each of your “top 3” Time Robbers

Step 4: Create and execute your Permanent Correction Plan

Is this technique helpful? Do you have other delegation techniques? Please share your comments with us! And don’t forget to check out Delegation Challenged? (Part II)!