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delegate

outsourcing outsource

Glenn Brooke | September 2, 2016 | Leave a Comment

5 Questions to Ask Before You Outsource

Outsourcing is an important strategy for business success, yet leaders must be clear about the why, the tradeoffs, and the risks. One of the most powerful ways to improve your product development or service levels, focus your organization on critical tasks, and shape your budget is to outsource services and parts of projects to people who can do it better or for less cost than you can internally.

The biggest challenges come when leaders make “narrow” decisions about outsourcing, not thinking of the larger economic or organizational culture issues. For example, outsourcing can create inefficiencies and more unproductive downtime for your employees, which is often missed on the Excel sheet demonstrating the cost savings of a contractual service level. Outsourcing can also affect your brand and your interaction with customers.

Since you read this far, you’re a smart leader who wants to make smart decisions. Here are the questions you should ask (and answer) before outsourcing any task or service:  [Read more…] about 5 Questions to Ask Before You Outsource

Leo J. Lampinen | December 4, 2013 | 4 Comments

Realize This and Be a Better Delegator Overnight

delegating

 

What is the one thing that keeps good leaders from becoming great?

The one thing that keeps good leaders from becoming great leaders is successful and effective delegation. Most don’t fully understand how to harness this superpower of effective leadership. It can mean the difference between making the game winning goal and pulling your hair out by the roots, wondering why you are still on the bench. That is quite the analogy, but I hope it paints a clear picture for how important this should be to you.

Realize that in order to be a more effective leader, the responsibility is yours to ensure you are using the strengths within your team to accomplish more.

In the early days of my career, before I really started piecing together the importance of personal and effective leadership, the one thing that really held me back was the art of delegation. I struggled with the ability to delegate tasks effectively. I mean, leadership is just telling people what to do, right?

In one particular incidence, I was in charge of a small department of about five personnel. Our department was continuously bombarded with tasking, and the team’s success depended on how efficiently we tackled each one. The first thing I did was assume that I was to do all of the work on my own, enlisting help only when I got overwhelmed. As my frustration arose, the strength of my team declined. It was the guidance of a strong and respected mentor that started me on the path to be a better delegator.

“No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” Andrew Carnegie

Leadership isn’t telling people what to do. It is more than that. It is showing them the way so that they can succeed and it is the leader’s responsibility to make the team successful.

A leader’s effectiveness relies on his ability to give direction, or to point others in the right direction.

1. You can be more effective, productive, and accomplish more.

2. Your team needs to be led. They want someone to show them the way.

3. You are not expected to complete everything on your own.

4. Effective delegation requires the ability to spot and target the strengths of your team and leverage them to gain the most productiveness.

5.  When you have effectively delegated, you are free to do your best work.

6.  Believe it or not, you are probably not the best person to do every single task. Accept the fact that there are actually people on your team that can do better, for whatever reason.

“The great leaders are like the best conductors – they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players.” Blaine Lee

5 Steps to Better Delegation

1.  Model those who are obviously doing it right.

2.  Shift your perspective.

3.  Pay attention to your people.

4.  Don’t assign tasks because you don’t want to do them. Do it because you know someone else is better suited to accomplish it.

5.  Just do it. Like with everything else we strive to get better at, you have to practice the art of delegation.

 Have you always been a good delegator?

Photo Credit: Chris Owens via Compfight cc

Adam Smith | August 10, 2010 | 4 Comments

What Can I Delegate To Other People?

 

I am busy. You are busy. I have been thinking lately of what I can delegate to other people, so I can lessen my workload. I’m asking myself, “Adam, what are the things only you can do?” Yes, when I talk to myself I include my name. The difficult part seems to be knowing what I need to keep and what I can delegate to others. Right now my iPhone is the thing that keeps me in the right place at the right time.

What are some things in your life that you could delegate to other people? How do you stay organized right now?

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