Sanjay Gopinath’s Post

A while ago, you voted on which skills you'd want to learn more about. The winner was Delegation. I've found this to be one of the hardest transitions for most people leaders - regardless of role. The first time people manager is used to succeeding by doing. But even the executives I've worked with have a hard time releasing the reins when a certain type of command - control style has earned them their rank. There's a sort of cognitive dissonance when you're new to delegating. One part of your brain reminds you to know what's happening on a higher level and understand each moving piece. The other part is rationally explaining that there's no feasible way to have eyes on all projects 24/7. Delegating is the key to making these two dissonant voices live in harmony. The mindset shift from "doing" to "managing" is steep, but it has to happen for you to be successful. Having to let go of the route that took you from A to B and trust this new part. While this article's main audience is a first time manager, I'd encourage season vets to read it with an open mind. #Delegating #Managers #FirstTime #Advice #peopleleaders

I recently came across this HBR article on delegation, and it really hit home. My first-time leading teams in a corporate environment was made possible by former boss, mentor and now occasional Happy Hour partner, Matt Fortuna. Matt mentioned to me that delegation is often the most significant challenge for new managers, and I couldn't agree more. Many of us feel we can do it all and struggle with the idea that assigning tasks to others is a sign of weakness or lack of effort. It took a shift in perspective to make this work more smoothly for me but it's still a challenging aspect of management. #Delegation #LeadershipDevelopment #ManagementInsights

Delegation isn't just about offloading tasks—it's about empowering your team to shine. When you delegate effectively, you not only lighten your load but also give your team opportunities to grow, showcase their talents, and achieve success together. It's a powerful way to build trust and foster a thriving team dynamic. #leadershipdevelopment #talentoptimization

Learning to Delegate as a First-Time Manager You can't do everything on your own - nor should you. How to Decide What Task or Projects to Delegate to Your Team. If you’re a new leader who is struggling with this issue, here’s how to work through it. 1. Change your mindset. 2. Determine what to delegate and who to delegate it to. 3. Clearly communicate the task or project to your team member, and clarify roles and next steps. 4. Celebrate progress and provide feedback. 5. Review and reflect.

New managers, struggling with delegation? Change your mindset from "doing" to "managing," and identify tasks that can help your team develop their skills. 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dZ8XnGzx #delegate #manager #firsttimemanager #feedback #progress #managing #management #clearcommunication #mindset #careeradvice

First time Managers, How good are your "delegation " skills ? Does it really matters ! Learning how to delegate well is a skill every first-time manager needs to learn from the very start. Many people are promoted into management for doing their previous job well. But once you’re promoted into a leadership role, you must accept that you can’t do everything on your own — nor should you. Though it may seem counterintuitive, the more senior you become in an organization, the less you’ll be involved in doing the day-to-day work. You’ll need to have a sense of what’s happening without directly contributing to every project. To do that, you first have to change your mindset from “doing” to “managing,” even though it might feel uncomfortable. If you resist this change, you’ll likely end up overwhelmed and (unintentionally) holding onto opportunities that could be given to your team #artofdelegation #delegationskills

🌟 Are Your Managers Empowering Their Teams or Just Managing Tasks? 🌟 Ever wondered if your organization's managers truly understand their evolving roles? Are they driving their teams towards success, or are they stuck in the mindset of individual contributors? 🤔 Transitioning from a technical role to a managerial position requires more than just a title change. It's about shifting from personal achievement to enabling others to succeed. 🚀 Too often, new managers struggle with this transition. They internalize stress, become self-focused, and ultimately fail to support their teams effectively. This leads to a breakdown in trust, alienation of staff, and a dip in productivity. 📉 The key to reversing this trend lies in helping young managers understand their new roles. Future Match HR Consultancy, a partner of the Leadership Pipeline Institute in the Middle East, offers the Leading Others program to help new front-line managers master the following critical tasks to successfully transition to a Leader of Others role: • Set Direction and Build Purpose: Establish a clear vision and objectives for the team, ensuring everyone understands the goals and their importance. 🎯 • Empower and Follow Up: Delegate responsibilities effectively, provide the necessary resources, and regularly check in on progress to offer support and guidance. 🤝 • Develop Direct Reports: Invest in the growth and development of team members through training, mentorship, and career development opportunities. 📚 • Assist and Improve Performance: Identify performance gaps and provide constructive feedback and coaching to help team members improve and succeed. 🛠️ • Select Team Members and Build the Team: Recruit and onboard the right talent, fostering a cohesive and collaborative team environment. 🧩 Equip your young managers with the tools and knowledge they need to excel in their new roles. Consult with us to help you transition your first-line managers to become better leaders of others and invest in their development to yield significant returns for your team and organization. 📈 Read: https://lnkd.in/gZEWJwSR Let’s bridge the gap between technical competence and effective leadership. 💡 #Leadership #Management #EmployeeEngagement #TeamBuilding #ProfessionalDevelopment

Here's a article from HBR around how to delegate work to a team. It's a good read for first-time managers and a refresher for experienced leaders also. That said, there is something important for technology leaders that is treated too lightly here. The article discusses the basics around delegation, including the key points: ► The required mindset shift from individual contributor "doing the work" to the role of setting a goal and enabling the team to reach it. This is what most new managers struggle with the most. ► How to select goals and work to be delegated, and who to assign to that work. There can be more complexity here than meets the eye, if you want your team to grow from the experience. ► Engaging a team member in a delegation conversation. Establishing roles, and communication, and a timeline is critical, yet this is often neglected in delegation conversations. ► Appreciating achievements and reviewing/reflecting on the outcome, which is very important in terms of how a leader shows up from the viewpoint of their team. So what would I add to this? When discussion how to engage on a project, especially a technical project, it is critically important to discuss risks and how to deal with them. Discussing how to escalate bad news, including how, when, and who to involve for escalation, will help the person doing the work understand how to think about contingencies and risks before they actually happen. The result is better preparation for the challenges along the way to a hopefully great outcome.

How easy is it for you to change your mindset from “doing” to “managing?” This is the challenge that many first time manager/leaders experience, especially if they have been strong technical leaders in their career success to date. Author Shanna Hocking offers five ways to "work through this challenge: 1) Change your mindset ~ as a manager, your success is not equal to being the best performer on your team. It’s determined by your ability to help your team grow 2) Determine what to delegate and who to delegate it to ~ break down the tasks to 'high level', learning opportunities and leveraging others's strengths 3) Clearly communicate the task or project to your team member, and clarify roles and next steps ~ in my work with #daretolead #brenebrown I teach new leaders the 5C's of effective delegation communication: Colour, Context, Connective tissue, Costs and Consequences 4) Celebrate progress and provide feedback ~ use coaching questions to develop team members 5) Review and reflect ~ do a retrospective review to check in on their experiences." #SituationalLeadership and coaching never gets old and last week when I provided this training to a group of process and people leaders they certainly appreciated the value of this understanding. #leadership #teamdynamics #coaching #selfawareness #communication #5C's #courageovercomfort #delegation #empowerment https://lnkd.in/g9DbpbYB

"You need to delegate more." << have you ever gotten this feedback? Managers know *in theory* that we're supposed to delegate, but there are a lot of barriers that get in the way of us putting it into practice. There's an art and a science to delegation—and new managers need more information on why delegation is important (not just for you, but for your team!) and how to actually do it. Here's a fantastic new article from Shanna Hocking for Harvard Business Review that walks you through the key points every new manager needs to know to delegate effectively. (Shanna, this article is fantastic and I'm going to share it with every new manager I work with!)