As we march forward to a new academic and fiscal year, I have no doubt that you are busy. You might be doing too much, and by doing so you might actually be hurting the productivity of your team. Not empowering your team means you are spending time over-supervising them. A properly empowered team is happier and more effective.
Empowering your team sounds easy, but I have found it to be one of the most difficult behaviors leaders—and especially junior leaders—struggle with. Most new leaders were really good at their team member role. Rightly or wrongly it was probably one of the reasons they got the leadership gig. We like to do things that we are good at.
Being a leader is difficult and junior leaders can feel uncomfortable. “Helping” team members with their tasks can feel comfortable and rewarding, but when overdone it is disempowering. Leaders are accountable for their team’s performance, and this sense of responsibility can cause leaders to be more involved than is healthy.
Thinking about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the fourth level requires both the self-esteem that comes with mastery and the respect of others who recognize that person’s competence. When a person is empowered and successful they get satisfaction from their accomplishments. When a leader empowers them, that leader is also telling them that they trust them, acknowledging their competence.
If you are over-supervising your team, you are doing more work than you need. You also condition your team to overly depend on you so they are not delivering as much as they could. Their morale suffers and the leaders feel the need to be more engaged. A cycle we don’t want.
Of course, leaders can’t under-supervise either. Teams need support and coaching. Good leaders hit that Goldilocks balance just right.
Another reason that you might be busier than necessary is prioritization. As the saying goes, “if everything is a high priority, then nothing is a high priority.” You must make sure your team understands the big picture, what their priorities are, and why. When everyone can explain their work and where it fits in the big picture, it reinforces prioritization.
Everyone on the team should understand and be able to explain:
- The work’s value proposition. Once completed, how will it benefit the user, NYU, etc.?
- The target audience. Who will actually use or benefit from it?
- The work’s impact. Will it change the user’s behavior? If so, how?
- How will users be supported during and after the change? User training, comms, KB articles, help desk support, etc.
- Who will own it after the project is completed? Consider roles and responsibilities.
- Where their tasks and projects stack up within their own work, and the larger organizations.
I know it is trite, but work smarter, not harder!