Have you ever delegated work to an employee, only to have the project either not completed on time, or based on the wrong information altogether?
You think- WTF (with your inside voice ;)).
But, WTF, indeed- what happened?!
It’s a legitimate question because you can’t imagine what happened (in your employee’s head), and you want to know.
When you inquire from a neutral place, and don’t condemn them,
When you state only what you see, and not from frustration,
When you are honestly curious, and not making assumptions,
When you validate their experience, and not necessarily agreeing with them, but with understanding, and
When you invite their solution, and don’t just tell them what they to do,
You will create a safe environment for your employees to share openly with you so that you can collaborate.
You will see where delegation worked & broke down,
Where communication was & was not clear,
WHY they took the actions they took,
And how you would like to delegate differently next time.
Have better relationships with your co-workers.
Be on the same team.
Empower your employees.
Create meaningful relationships.
Make your work (or home) life more manageable.
Be more productive & have a more effective team with less time, energy & effort expenditure…
With these steps:
be neutral (leave your frustration behind),
state what you see (facts only, please),
get curious (ask what, not why),
validate & show you understand
invite their solution (you’re on the same team)
and after the interaction, evaluate the process (what worked, what didn’t work, and what you want to do differently next time).
