A"Real'Life"Handbook"for"Making"Delega5on"Work"for"You

Delega&on

You’ve'heard'the'legends.'You’ve'maybe'even'seen'this'miracle'management'technique'in'ac8on.'You'know'that'absolutely'everyone'sings'its'praises'even'as'they'struggle'to'implement'it.

But$as$a$new$technical$manager,$how$do$you$make$the$magic$of$delega7on$work$for$you?

I’m$not$here$to$blow$sunshine$at$you.$Even$a6er$years$of$experimen:ng$and$observing$un:l$I$got$it$right,$I$s:ll$have$management$failures$when$it$comes$to$delega:on.

The$difference$now$is$that$when$I$hit$a$delega3on$snag,$I$can$course$correct$on$a$dime$and$get$the$ship$headed$to$its$des3na3on.$And$these$days,$I$have$to$do$that$less$and$less$because$I$know$how$to$read$the$charts$and$steer$around$the$hazards.

Let’s&dive&into&one&of&these&typical&problems&now.

Delega&on)Fail:)The)Best)Laid)Plans…

Just%a%few%weeks%ago,%I%had%the%chance%to%put%my%delega7on%skills%into%ac7on—from%both%sides%of%the%management%table.

The$setup

I"manage"a"team"of"developers"for"Ryan."He"handed"my"team"a"new"project"that"he"knew"inside"and"out,"but"needed"us"to"execute.

A"er%looking%at%the%project%requirements,%he%figured%that%he%could%get%the%job%done%in%two%weeks,%so%he%handed%off%his%notes%and%budgeted%one%developer%to%finish%the%job%in%three%weeks,%just%to%be%on%the%safe%side.

Five%weeks%later,%we%s.ll%weren’t%finished,%even%with%three%coders%hammering%away.

That%Painful%Moment

Quite&understandably,&Ryan&was&upset.&In&fact,&he&was&really&upset.&Instead&of&ran9ng&and&raving&though,&he&simply&moved&the&other&programmers&aside,&shuffled&his&own&workload&around,&and&he&picked&up&the&tools.

Ryan%dropped%everything%and%spent%a%week%ge3ng%the%project%in%shape%while%the%rest%of%us%stepped%back%and%carried%on%with%the%rest%of%our%work%in%an%uncomfortable%silence.

Time%for%a%difficult%conversa3on

Back%to%the%team

Clearly,(we(needed(to(have(a(mee1ng(between(me,(Ryan,(and(the(developers(so(we(wouldn’t(have(an(episode(like(this(again.

It#wasn’t#a#pre,y#scene.

As#painful#as#this#moment#was,#I#wanted#the#team#to#learn#as#much#as#possible#from#this#ugly#situa9on#so#we#would#avoid#it#at#all#costs#in#the#future.

In#a#private#mee,ng#beforehand,#I#asked#Ryan#to#call#a#team#mee,ng#to#hold#my#toes#to#the#fire#over#this—in#front#of#everyone.#Ryan’s#not#a#yelling#kind#of#guy,#so#I#had#to#encourage#him#to#raise#his#voice#a#bit#to#get#the#team’s#a?en,on.

Why$the$drama?$The$team$needed$to$have$complete$awareness$of$the$stakes$in$this$game.$We$needed$to$ask$the$painful,$necessary$ques=ons$and$face$the$difficult$answers.

In#that#tense#environment,#it#came#out#that#even#though#Ryan#thought#he#had#been#completely#clear#on#his#expecta9ons,#the#team—including#me—misinterpreted#his#instruc9ons.#For#weeks,#we#were#pushing#ahead#to#create#something#radically#different#than#what#he#had#envisioned,#even#though#we#thought#we#knew#what#he#wanted.

Ryan%thought%he%handed%off%a%carefully%labeled%road%map,%but%when%we%looked%at%it,%we%saw%another%path%and%des:na:on%en:rely.

Delega&on:*It’s*Always*About*Communica&on

Here’s&the&biggest&misunderstanding&I&see&with&delega4on.

Most%people%think%it’s%wonderful%because%they%get%to%pass%off%less%rewarding%work%to%someone%else—and%it%s;ll%gets%done!%And%that%is%magical.

But$there’s$a$deeper$beauty$of$delega3on.

There%is%nothing%like%the%experience%of%taking%an%idea%that%only%existed%in%your%head—that%you%assumed%no%one%else%could%quite%understand%the%way%you%do—and%see%it%completed%in%all%its%glory%through%the%effort%of%many%people%working%together.

Doing&delega+on&well&creates&so&much&value&that&I&want&you&to&have&a&really&good&handle&on&how&delega+on&actually&works.!

The$key$to$having$more$great$delega2on$moments$is$not$just$providing$clear$communica2on$about$your$vision,$but$making$sure$is$received$and$understood$by$the$very$people$who$will$be$implemen2ng$it.

Fear%not.%I%am%not%about%to%start%rambling%on%about%touchy5feely%communica7on%skills%that%will%take%you%years%to%perfect.%Instead,%let’s%break%down%the%delega7on%problem%like%real%programmers.

Bugs%in%Your%Delega/on%Process

Basically,)glitches)in)the)delega0on)process)come)down)to)two)types)of)errors:)compile0me)and)run90me)bugs.

Compile()me(bugs!crop!up!in!delega.on!when!when!you!haven’t!been!careful!with!the!syntax.!In!other!words,!you!haven’t!verified!understanding!when!you!communicated!expecta.ons!to!your!team!and!made!sure!your!that!your!plan!was!understood.

The$result$is$that$you$get$a$completely$different$outcome$than$you$needed—or$the$project$can’t$move$forward$at$all.

Run$%me$bugs!appear!in!delega+on!well!into!a!project!when!you!haven’t!checked!on!progress!at!regular!intervals.!You!cross!your!fingers!and!figure!that!a;er!another!24!hours!or!week,!things!will!work!themselves!out.!I!mean,!your!team!is!competent,!right?

The$result$of$run$-me$errors$is$that$you$don’t$know$how$wrong$the$project$is$un4l$the$last$minute,$causing$missed$deadlines$and$contribu-ng$to$a$real$last6minute$disaster.

Let’s&take&another&look&at&this&issue.

Errors%in%ac*on

Think&of&delega.on&problems&this&way:"Your"company"needs"to"produce"the"Mona"Lisa,"and"your"team"gets"the"job."You"hold"a"mee;ng"to"give"your"programmers"notes"and"instruc;ons"about"this"amazing"portrait"you"want"to"produce"in"three"weeks."Then"you"turn"them"loose,"expec;ng"great"things.

Three%weeks%later,%the%team,%eager%and%proud,%hands%you%a%perfectly%executed%drawing%of…

…"a"’69"Ferrari.

Oops.

The$compila,on$error$happened$when$you$didn’t$check$for$the$team’s$understanding$of$your$instruc,ons$at$the$beginning$of$the$process.

You$caused$the$run$.me$error$by$neglec.ng$to$ask$for$preliminary$sketches$and$by$skipping$regular,$real9.me$progress$reports$to$see$exactly$what$was$on$the$drawing$board.

So#it’s#all#the#manager’s#fault?

In#a#word,#yes.

And$while$that$seems$overwhelming$and$unfair,$remember$that$if$this$much$responsibility$is$in$your$hands,$you$also$have$a$tremendous$opportunity$to$iden9fy$and$head$off$the$problems$before$they$cause$a$lot$of$drama$and$angst.

Debug&Your&Delega,on&Process

I’m$unapologe-cally$relentless$on$the$point$that$effec-ve$management$depends$on$effec-ve$communica-on.$Here$is$my$best$advice$on$strategically$and$smoothly$integra-ng$feedback$into$the$normal$workflow.

Check&Understanding:&Best&strategies&to&combat&compile&7me&bugs

•"Open%a%conversa,on."At"the"very"beginning"of"the"process,"check"for"understanding."Insist"on"a"kickoff"or"design"mee<ng"where"all"of"the"issues"can"get"on"the"table."

•"Plan,&plan,&plan."Put"some"muscle"into"project"prep"through"wri4en"instruc5ons,"sketches,"and"concept"descrip5on"for"this"opening"mee5ng"to"eliminate"confusion"and"loose"ends."Don’t"leave"essen5al"issues"to"chance."Unfortunately,"people"may"not"take"the"5me"to"read"all"of"your"notes,"so"walk"through"the"details"with"the"essen5al"players"and"verify"that"they"understand"expecta5ons.""Realize"that"many"people"are"“visual"thinkers”,"so"don’t"skimp"in"the"diagrams"and"wireflows.""You’re"not"crea5ng"“bureaucracy”,"you’re"communica5ng"an"idea,"and"it"takes"work."""

•"Expect'and'encourage'ques1ons."Be"humble"enough"to"ask,”"What"am"I"missing?"I"know"I’m"overlooking"something."What"issues"could"use"some"clarity"before"you"dig"in?”""Don’t"assume"people"“get"it”"the"first"Dme,"and"work"to"know"the"communicaDon"styles"of"your"team,"so"you"can"communicate"effecDvely."

•"Cul$vate)a)safe)environment)for)ques$ons,)always."Every"project"has"ques2ons"that"only"appear"as"the"project"moves"along,"especially"if"you’re"using"an"agile"development"approach."Reward"those"who"have"the"courage"to"ask"and/or"give"you"bad"news"early"in"the"process,"when"there’s"s2ll"2me"to"fix"it."

•"Realize'the'complexity'of'what'you’re'doing."Effec'vely"communica'ng"technical"tasks"is"an"intricate"job,"so"don’t"get"ra<led"by"layers"of"unan'cipated"ques'ons"that"emerge."

Check&Progress:&Best&strategies&to&combat&run&5me&bugs

•"Don’t&become&an&infinite&loop&error."Check"in"with"programmers"early"and"o6en"rather"than"giving"them"the"benefit"of"the"doubt"(or"unreasonable"op=mism)"and"leaving"them"to"do"their"own"thing."

•"Follow%your%gut."When"you"get"that"internal"sense"telling"you"to"kick"back"and"“give"things"a"li7le"more"9me,”"that’s"the"signal"to"check"in"with"your"team."Most"likely,"something"needs"a7en9on—now."

•"Schedule(well*+med(check*ins."If"a"project"is"due"Friday"at"noon,"don’t"wait"un7l"Thursday"at"qui<ng"7me"to"get"a"progress"update."If"there"are"new"people"on"your"team,"touch"base"more"frequently"so"they"get"comfortable"with"a"higher"level"of"contact."

•"Make%your%interac.on%quick%and%painless."Stop"by"cubicles"for"short"stand5up"mee7ngs"to"hear"what’s"happening."If"you’re"using"agile"development,"these"touch"points"are"as"essen7al"as"breathing."

•"Do#an#actual#test#drive#of#the#progress."If"you’re"making"furniture,"it’s"easy"to"see"progress."Just"count"the"number"of"finished"tables"or"cabinets!"With"programming,"accomplishments"are"harder"to"see"at"a"glance,"so"(politely)"ask"for"a"liAle"proof"so"you"can"catch"problems"early."

What%if%You%Get%a%Ferrari%Anyway?

Sure,&a&Ferrari&is&a&beau,ful&thing,&but&not&if&you&were&expec,ng&a&Mona&Lisa.

Even%when%you%think%you've%done%everything%right%(as%Ryan%and%I%thought%we%did),%bugs%can%s;ll%creep%in.

What%can%you%do%when%it%feels%like%it’s%too%late?

• Start&by&taking&responsibility&for&the&miscommunica7ons.&Blaming&team&members&and&insis7ng&“they&just&don’t&get&it”&doesn’t&move&the&project&or&the&team&forward.&In&fact,&it’s&very&harmful&to&morale&and&loyalty.

• Iden&fy)the)root)of)the)problem.)Where)did)the)project)start)heading)off)the)rails?)Did)you)ignore)your)intui&on)when)it)was)nudging)you)to)check)in?)Were)team)updates)too)vague)and)untested?

I’m$really$a$big$fan$of$delega1on.$Though$it$can$be$bumpy$and$unpredictable,$but$the$rewards$for$you$and$your$team$are$huge.

Take%a%breath,%set%aside%misconcep3ons%and%fears,%and%commit%to%a%more%hands5on%approach%with%communica3on.%Once%you%and%your%team%learns%to%trust%the%process,%it’s%a%gi>%that%keeps%on%giving.

Become&a&Be(er&Technical&Manager

I"get"paid"to"coach"newly"minted"technical"managers."My"clients"quickly"feel"drama:cally"more"confident"and"capable"and"start"seeing"be=er"performance"from"themselves"and"their"team"within"weeks.

I"am"taking"the"same"insigh-ul,"ac2onable"lessons"I"teach"in"my"coaching"and"pu8ng"them"out"as"a"free"newsle<er."

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