TIPS & LESSONS FOR 2022: Delegate to Elevate!

Andy Gladstone
Community Leader
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January 10, 2022

Advice

Whether you are a manager of people, or the managed, you need to seek opportunity for elevating your skills and value to remain relevant and in growth mode.

 Relevancy for today

With the work environment continuing to be more hybrid/home than office based, some of the basic work patterns have been disrupted. One of these is delegation, and delegation goes both ways.

Managers who may have had an easier time delegating tasks to team members when they were able to see each other's workload may be hesitant to delegate when remote. It's hard to assess exactly what capacity a team member has, there are no quick conversations and interactions throughout the day and every touch point needs to be planned. Whether it's picking up the phone to make a call, scheduling a Zoom meeting or sharing it on Confluence - it requires planning. The serendipitous meeting is no longer an option. Managers may tend to 'do it themselves' due to this lack of contact. And that's a mistake for the manager and the employee. If a manager is spending time on tasks/projects/initiatives they should assign out, they are not giving themselves opportunity to grow. And by not assigning these items, they are denying their employees growth opportunities. 

Employees and team members suffer from this as well. Without the in person interaction, they may not know what is on their manager's plate to offer assistance. Employees need to be more active in seeking out opportunities to grow and need to leave their comfort zone and ask for assignments. This will demonstrate their willingness to continue to support the team, department and manager - which didn't require as much effort in the past. Upward mobility may be stunted if an employee is perceived as 'just getting by' and not increasing their knowledge, value and skills.

So, in 2022, no matter what seat you currently fill, know that it will take effort to elevate your status. But don't be afraid of making the effort, the investment will pale in comparison to the return! Delegate to Elevate!

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Josh Costella
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
January 10, 2022

Great stuff, Andy! 

I've actually found it easier for me to delegate now than before. However, I'm much more conscious and sensitive to people's time and workloads than I was before. 

Work/Life balance is so important. WFH burnout is real. If I know my team is working abnormal/extra hours, I make sure to encourage them to take extra time off. 

I want my team to grow in their careers and skills and in whatever direction they are comfortable with. I've just got to always make sure they are supported, heard, and set up to be successful. 

Christine P_ Dela Rosa
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
January 10, 2022

The ability to delegate is one of the best indicators of an autonomous team and independent workers. So when you're able to delegate, I think that means there's a high level of trust between teammates. A great way to bring trust to life!

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Patrícia Fortunato Montenegro January 11, 2022

OMG @Andy Gladstone you rock!

I will share your post internally because it makes perfect sense.

It was my biggest challenge in 2021 as a Team member. 

Thank you so much for your post!

🙏🏽 😊

Pramodh M
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
January 14, 2022

Has been on both side of the wall here 😄

I know how it feels like!! But surely a proper management with logging worksheets and daily meetings can help managers come up with assignments.

Vero Rivas
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January 16, 2022

Hi @Andy Gladstone 

  Delegating is the greatest vote of confidence that you can show to your colleagues and team, in addition to learning that others can carry out the work as well as or better than you.

  It is the greatest proof of self-learning that a person can have

Cheers

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