Anyone managing a factory, office, home or any group situation will have tussled with delegation. The next eight points may be used when working with clients to delegate tasks to better manage their time (Le Boeuf, 1985; Moss, 2001):

1. When first delegating a task make eye contact with the other person. This helps to get the message across.

2. Having explained the task/activity verbally, it pays to make sure the requests are written down and understood. One way of doing this is to have the other person read the request and then check for understanding (ie. ask them questions).

If the person does not understand some of the terminology involved, make sure they get this cleared up as anything not understood or misunderstood will lead to complications later. Having a written explanation of the task or activity saves time as the person carrying out these functions can re-read rather than the need for repeating explanations.

3. If you don’t want to write down what you are requesting, at least get the person to say back to you what it is they are expected to do.

4. Orient people towards the final product. There is a difference between “I want you to clean the bathroom” and “I want the bathroom to be clean and shiny and fit for royalty to come and visit”. The first request asks for the activity to be completed to no particular quality. The likely result is a grudging twenty minutes of poor cleaning. The second request asks for something specific which will call upon the person to apply effort and initiative. This is further enhanced if rewards are offered for a satisfactory product.

5. Praise the person at the start of the task, tell them you know they can do it and praise them when it is successfully completed. If it is not successfully completed, praise them for making the effort, ask them if they had problems with it and jointly discuss how it might be improved next time.

6. If you really want to offload the task, don’t interfere with this person as they try to do it. Bypassing them tells them that you are not really relinquishing your ownership of the task, and they will end up leaving it to you.

7. Allow the person to make mistakes. In the long run you will come out on top in terms of time and you will make the people around you feel more useful and productive, thereby boosting your self esteem.

8. If you get the reward system right, such as awarding points for tasks done and having monthly prizes and recognition, you may end up with people coming to you looking for more things to do.

Tracy (2007) advises to watch for ‘reverse delegation’. ‘Reverse delegation’ is where those people we have given tasks to come back to us for a solution to the problem.
 
References:

1. Le Boeuf, M. (1985). How to motivate people. Melbourne, Australia: Schwartz and Wilkinson.
2. Moss, G. (2001). Time savers. New Zealand: Moss Associates Ltd.
3. Tracy, B. (2007). Time power. USA: Amacom Books.

For more information about productivity strategies, subscribe to a free 1-month trial at www.coachingclub.com.au.

Victor has recently started a business. He believes the future success of his business lies in having a great team and wants to build an environment where communication and friendliness among staff is highly encouraged.

To ensure his ideals are in-line with his managerial actions, he has started coaching with you to work on his communication skills and to learn strategies which could be used to motivate his staff. For this purpose, he has made a list of questions which he would like your help answering - with the first question being: “How can I be more honest with my feedback to my employees without hurting their feelings and having them not like me?”

As the coach, what can you suggest to this client? Zahava Starak, LCI Master Coach, answers…

It is normal that a client posing this question is be looking for a way out of a ’sticky’ situation - as the giving and receiving of feedback is often laden with problems - and in fact it may be impossible to have a ‘win-win’ situation in which both the receiver and giver of the feedback are fully satisfied.

In your role of coach you can inform your client that you can work together to find strategies and learn communication skills that will enhance their performance in offering feedback but your client still needs to know up front that there are no guarantees on how their feedback will be received. 

For an optimum outcome you can approach this problem by initially exploring your client’s personal value system and consider what role communication plays in it. By the nature of your client’s concerns it may be assumed that they place high value on communication skills.

However rather than make this assumption you can provide your client with a list of commonly held values and have them pick ten and then rank them in importance. The discussion that follows will either validate your client’s awareness of their need for effective communication or it will draw to their attention the omission of this value on their list and can encourage some introspection on how they actually view communication in their life.

The ability to be able to communicate with employees and provide feedback in an appropriate manner is a skill that your client will need to learn and by exploring how they value this skill you’ll be able to gauge your client’s motivation and commitment to change.

At this time you may chose to engage your client in a discussion on the ‘philosophy’ of effective communication with the intention of beginning to introduce them to specific skills.

There are many books available on communication skills and you may benefit from reading the works of researchers and writers such as Carl Rogers, Robert Bolton and Richard Egan who are the predecessors to our 21st century coaches.

Such a background may help you to educate your client on what makes ‘good feedback’. Without complicating the issue you can simply inform your client of some of the core concepts essential to communication such as: genuineness, self-acceptance; respect and empathy.

Having a good intellectual understanding of what makes for effective communication serves as a good background for the more practical. Practical in this case equates to a feedback process which includes a number of steps as follows:

1. Know what you want to say - be sure that your information is accurate and that it needs to be said.
2. Decide where and when you want to offer your feedback.
3. Make sure there are no distractions.
4. State your points clearly and assertively - use appropriate language and avoid inappropriate jargon.
5. Assure that your body language is in sync with your comments.
6. Use the listening skills of paraphrase and summary when responding to others.
7. Ask for Feedback.

With these guidelines in mind your client can now be introduced to specific skills such as the use of XYZ statements; appropriate body language including body posture, pitch, tone of voice, facial expressions, eye contact, breathing, mirroring and the use of silence. You can follow up on the explanation of these skills with a demonstration which can then be discussed for further understanding.

It now may be an appropriate time to learn some more specific details about your client’s situation and through open and closed questions and responding skills you can get a clear picture of what exactly the client wants to say to their employees.

Your client is now ready to put it all together and to practice his new skills both with you and in non-threatening real life situations until they feel confident to address their employees. This may also be an opportunity to congratulate your client on the efforts they have put in so far and to once again remind them that they in the process of offering feedback can only be responsible for their behaviours - not the recipients.

It could happen that your client will not get the response they want and will not be liked as a result of their feedback and so you need to prepare your client for this possibility.

You can remind them of the core concepts of communication which include self acceptance and you can use NLP techniques or cognitive restructuring to reframe their negative thoughts so they view the whole experience as one of learning and enlightenment.

They can be encouraged to

1. Acknowledge they did the best they could.
2. Acknowledge that they survived and coped with the consequences of their feedback.
3. Write down everything they learned from the experience.
4. Thank the giver of the uncomfortable feedback.
5. Refocus on the reason they themselves offered feedback in the first place.
6. If possible clean up any messes that may have been created and perhaps use some conflict resolution skills.
7. Take time to review successes.

At the end of the day we all want to go to bed feeling that despite conflicts and uncomfortable situations we have done the best we can and your client can be outfitted with knowledge and skills to allow for this.

There are a variety of stages within a relationship, where in the initial stages the mixture of emotional excitement brought the couples together, six or sixteen years later the love that has evolved is very different. 

The various stages that transpire within a relationship are quite normal, and are necessary for growth and development. Every relationship has its teething periods, but the problem really isn’t ‘what’ happens, but rather how you handle and deal with those issues.

Conflict is to be expected in every relationship. Everyone has their own belief systems and personal habits which have been learnt from young and some of these may irritate the other person, no matter how much love there is. In healthy relationships, couples are able to settle their differences whether it be by compromising or acceptance. 

For others, where there is no resolution, tension and frustration sets in, causing the couple to become detached within the relationship and leading emotionally distant lives. There is now a relationship breakdown, and at this point a decision needs to be made to either make the relationship work, or to end it.

Finishing a relationship can be very difficult, no matter how right it is for you to do so. It is normally the choice of one person to end a relationship, rather than the couple together, although the decision affects both persons concerned and their immediate family. It is important to truthfully assess whether the situation is so bad within a relationship that there is no other option.

1. Are there possibilities for changes in the relationship?
2. What steps can be taken towards improvement?
3. Are there any advantages in ending the relationship, and if so, what are they?

Developing Problem Solving Skills

When we are having problems in our relationship, we can feel overwhelmed and have difficulty in seeing a way forward. Developing the ability to apply logical, critical, and creative thinking, enables us to find effective solutions. Problem solving is a process that involves a number of steps that you can follow.

• Identify the problem
• Break the problem down into parts - one small step at a time
• Explore the problem - consider a variety of solutions and strategies
• Set a goal - what would you like to achieve?
• Choose a solution and put it into action 
• Evaluate - what went well?
• Evaluate - what could you do differently next time?

Communication

Lack of communication is a common problem and the one that probably needs most attention. One partner or sometimes both simply don’t know how to put into words what they feel. They may have grown up in a family where personal feelings were never shared openly, and so they lack the confidence to be open with their partner for fear of looking silly or being rejected.

Enhancing Communication: When problems arise in relationships, it is often as a result of poor communication. In order to communicate our desires and needs to our partner, we need a healthy sense of our own identity.

A successful relationship is dependent upon there being two individuals with a strong sense of self and clearly defined, healthy, personal boundaries. An appreciation of our own qualities enables us to see and value them in another and increases our capacity for intimacy and commitment.

Increasing our understanding of who we are and how we have developed as well as learning practical skills in communication and problem solving, can lead to more satisfying and harmonious relationships, and to personal fulfillment. There are some basic principles that are worth following if we want to have good communication with our partner.

Be clear about what you want to communicate - if you don’t know, they won’t either

• Use “I” statements, stating what you want or feel rather than making “you” statements about your partner
• Don’t blame or label your partner
• Choose a time when you have their attention and there are no distractions
• Take time to listen to what your partner is saying and resist the temptation to interrupt
• If you are unclear or upset about what they have said, check for accuracy before you respond
• Be encouraging and supportive
• Be willing to negotiate

Unresolved emotional differences: These can put a very firm brake on the development of communication and intimacy in a relationship. Anger, hurt or resentment of one partner by the other, along with a lack of trust or a sense of not being appreciated by their partner, are examples.

Practical difficulties: These can reduce the level of intimacy in some relationships at different times. Examples might be financial concerns, pressures at work, difficulties with children, or just being too busy to really connect with each other.

Childhood experiences: These are often at the root of some people’s difficulty establishing intimacy. A person who has experienced a great deal of hurt as a child will often find it hard as an adult to trust their partner, however much they may be in love.

Examples of childhood pain that affects adult relationships include long-term conflict between parents, physical or sexual abuse, or a loss or death that was never properly accepted and grieved.

Such experiences can lead to a child having poor self-esteem, a basic doubt about whether or not he or she is worthy of love. These doubts can be carried into adulthood, making it very difficult for the person to open up to someone else in case they are rejected and their doubts are confirmed.

Intimacy does not happen by magic. It must be built up over time. This takes some people longer than for others. Often the harder you work at intimacy, the more valuable and rewarding it is. The following are some steps that may help.

• Be positive about what you have in your relationship and let your partner know what you value about him/her and about the relationship. Put it into words, don’t assume they already know. Everybody likes to be told that they are appreciated and loved.
• Create opportunities for intimacy. In other words, times when you can be alone together in a situation where you can focus on each other and on your relationship. The harder it is to do this because of the children, work or other commitments, the more important it is that you do it! Try to plan a regular evening, day or weekend for the two of you to be alone.
• Practise making “I” statements about how you feel. This avoids putting your partner on the spot, and may help him or her do the same. For example “I feel hurt you didn’t ask me before you decided” instead of “Why didn’t you ask me first?”
• After an argument look at the deeper feeling behind the anger, hurt, anxiety, or sense of being let down. Talk to your partner about these feelings.

For some of us, our best efforts are not enough, and our relationship comes to an end. Rebuilding your life after a relationship has ended can be a painful and challenging process.

The end of a relationship can result in disruption to the extent that we need to create a whole new way of life - often with a different place to live and with different relationships with family and friends. Finding our feet in these circumstances can be very difficult indeed.

Not Repeating the Old Patterns

Each of us is unique. We have learned how to be who we are through the particular circumstances of our family, and the society in which we live. Unfortunately, some of our early conditioning may result in us having feelings and behaviours that no longer serve us well, reduce our capacity for spontaneity and individuality, and our ability to relate well. Low self-esteem, poor personal boundaries, difficulties with intimacy, and feelings of shame and guilt impede our capacity to relate.

Letting go of this negative conditioning is possible. We tend to hang on fondly to old patterns of being and relating, fearing change or of being confronted with aspects of our personalities we prefer to keep at the blurry edges of our awareness.

Whilst dipping into the unknown can be anxiety-provoking, it can also be exciting and enlivening, opening up possibilities only previously dreamed of. Consider embarking on a journey toward something better.

© Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors - www.aipc.net.au

Coaching teams within an organisation is one of the most on-demand areas of Coaching. And when it comes to teams, the number one aspect that dictates the results attained by that team is effective communication amongst its members.

In this article, we discuss some elements of effective communication within a team environment and provide a range of strategies that coaches can successfully apply when working with teams.

What is effective communication?

Effective communication does more than just convey information. In an effective communication transaction a message is conveyed with shared meaning. It may be helpful to reflect on the following key areas to assist you in developing or enhancing your communication with other team members:

The message you think you are sending may not be the same message being received. Within a team environment, members still bring their own experiences, beliefs and interpretations. When communicating a message, expect to be misinterpreted and make adjustments to your message to account for potential areas of misunderstanding.

Seek feedback. As misinterpretations are common in communication, it is often advisable that you continually seek feedback to ensure that your messages have been received accurately.

Make it your priority to express rather than impress. The aim of communication is to express an opinion, idea or to transfer knowledge.  It is important to remember that your primary aim is to get your message across, try not to obstruct it by being focused on sounding impressive or knowledgeable.

Choose the right medium. Effective communication means choosing the appropriate medium for your message. Some information is best conveyed in a team meeting, whilst other information may be received more appropriately in an email or memo, other information should be communicated face to face. Select the medium to suit the message and the person you are communicating with.

Be conscious of your non-verbal communication. Be conscious of what you are conveying non-verbally. Avoid diluting the impact of your message with mismatched or incongruent body language. Where possible, adjust your body language to align with your message.

Why is communication important for a team to be effective?

Team communication processes that function effectively can increase team motivation, foster trust and respect between members, greatly improve decision making processes and contribute substantially to the overall productivity and performance of the team.

Yet, communication processes that are ineffective can decrease member motivation, lessen team commitment, increase team gossip and lower productivity. Effective communication processes, therefore are vital to team performance.

What makes a communication process effective?

Effective communication processes are:

Regular. Regular communication within, and between teams helps members to maintain focus, allows all members to keep up to date with team progress and ensures that difficulties or setbacks can be dealt with promptly and collaboratively.

Transparent. Transparent communication processes provide all team members with the same information where possible and keep all members adequately informed.

Transparent processes maximise the likelihood that team members will be aligned in their concept of where they are going and how they are going to get there. Failing to adequately inform all team members, equally, may greatly compromise their ability to contribute equally to team processes and decision making.

Focused and related to team goals. Communication processes that are focused and related to team goals encourage team members to similarly remain goal focused and outcome directed.

Modes of communication

Within the work environment, communication can occur through a variety of modes depending on personal preference. Some of the more popular modes for team communication are:

1. Team meetings
2. Newsletters
3. Email updates

When using these modes it is important to remain mindful of the 3 characteristics that make communication processes effective (i.e. should be regular, transparent and goal focused).

1. Team meetings
One of the primary forums for team communication is the team meeting. When conducted with structure and purpose, regular team meetings can be an effective and productive means of team communication.

However, team meetings can evolve into a drawn-out procedure that fritters away valuable time and results in decreasing motivation, frustration and productivity. To conduct an effective team meeting the following principles should be considered:

What is the purpose of the meeting? Prior to the commencement of the meeting, all team members should be aware of the meeting’s purpose. Set an agenda and stick to it. The meeting should remain focused on team goals and objectives. It may be necessary to note down some of the areas of discussion that arise as side issues or tangents to the purpose at hand. These issues may need to be addressed in a later forum.

Are members aware of what they may be asked to contribute to the meeting? It is helpful for team members to have a clear idea of the kind of information they may be asked to contribute. Contributing facts, knowledge or recommendations may require different preparation than contributing opinions or brainstorming.

Team members, who are provided with an idea of what they may be asked to contribute, are thus provided with an opportunity to prepare accordingly. If you put team members on the spot - it can decrease their commitment.

Has a meeting agenda been distributed to all members prior to the meeting? In addition to understanding the purpose of the meeting and their likely contribution, team members should all be furnished with an agenda prior to commencement of the meeting. A meeting agenda will state the purpose and focus of the meeting as well as outline the proposed topics and areas for discussion.

Has a time-frame been established prior to the commencement of the meeting? Team meetings should commence and finish on time. When members are aware of a finishing time from the outset they are better equipped to budget time accordingly.

Finish the meeting on a note of accomplishment. The completion of a meeting should be a reflection of what has been accomplished within the meeting’s time-frame. The original goal or objective should be revisited and comment should be made on its achievement (whether the achievement was partial or full).

2. Newsletters
Newsletters can be a creative and effective method of regularly conveying information to fellow team members. Newsletters may also serve as a useful mode for distributing information from your team to other teams.

Constructing an effective newsletter
In the process of constructing an effective team newsletter, consider the following points. Decide on the basics early on:

• What is the purpose of the newsletter?
• Who are its intended audience?
• How frequently will it be circulated?
• How will it be circulated?

Clear concise information. Effective newsletters are concise and easily understood. They should provide relevant information that is both up to date and useful.

Informal and humorous. Newsletters do not necessarily need to be formal documents. A light, humorous tone may encourage regular readers and consequently increase the newsletter’s effectiveness.

It may be helpful to remember that newsletters are an ideal tool for highlighting team achievements and recognising individual accomplishments.

3. Email updates
Email has fast become the one of the most widely used mediums for business communication. Mastering email correspondence is one of the simplest and most effective ways of ensuring that your messages are not only read but followed up accordingly.

Inboxes are often overloaded with numerous messages of varying importance. If you are sending emails as a means of communicating with your fellow team members you will want to ensure that your message gets read and is clearly understood.

Constructing an effective email
To construct an effective email it may be helpful to remember the following key points

Make use of the subject line. The subject line provides an opportunity to inform the receiver of the purpose of the email. A subject line ideally should describe exactly what the email is about. An appropriate subject line will maximise the possibility of your message being read.

Use concise language. Like any written business correspondence it’s important to keep business emails concise and to the point. Often the viewing area for emails is limited, so if possible limit messages to a few short paragraphs. Everyone is busy - don’t waste their time - be clear and concise.

Make any required follow up clear. If your email is a request for action or follow up from a team member make this clear in your message. Remember to include any contact details (such as phone or fax numbers and addresses for snail mail) that the receiver may require.

Respond to emails in a timely manner. Prompt responses to emails not only promotes efficiency but often encourages team members to respond in a similar timely manner.

A client approaches you with the question below. As the coach, how would you assist this client? Below is a script from Zahava Starak, LCI’s Master Coach. 

What tools and resources should I use to help me become more relaxed and enjoy my life more?

The first word that comes into my mind when I read this question is the word “balanced”. By maintaining a balanced life-style; introducing relaxation strategies and avoiding unhealthy coping mechanisms we can be assured of optimising our ability to cope with the demands of our modern life-style and finding the enjoyment we so desperately want.

Clients who ask this question are usually on that ‘notorious’ treadmill and see the life they want passing them by but don’t know how to stop the machine and go for it!

They are no longer controlling their lives (although they may think so) and are so stressed that they do not know how to relax and enjoy anymore.

Case Study: Joe Charles

A case in point is that of Joe Charles. Joe is a 35 year old married man with 2 boys five and seven years of age. He is a highly sought-after electrician.  His success is largely due to the high standards that he sets for himself and he himself states that “he feels that he is driven by the need to make sure everything is perfect” so that “everyone will praise him for his work”.

Joe owns up that he occasionally subjects his wife and two sons to his perfectionist needs. Besides working he in the past has enjoyed making model planes but has found lately that he has not got the patience for this anymore. Besides that he claims that he has no time for fun as he needs to earn a living to support his family.

Joe’s life is comprised of a 50-hour work week, evenings dedicated to paper work and weekends to chauffeuring his children and visiting various family members. Joe admits that with his wife working part time there is not that much pressure on him to work as hard -but he does not know how to stop. He feels stressed!

Joe has sought coaching as he wants to be more relaxed and start enjoying his life. In this case as Joe’s coach I could venture down any number of paths to help Joe in his quest. I could start by asking Joe what he has done in the past to help him relax and enjoy himself and determine what is stopping him from doing this.

Joe has already told me a little about what he likes to do and about his attitude so I could continue along this line. Or  I could tackle the problem by determining what Joe’s values are and help him see that part of his inability to relax and enjoy is due to an imbalance in the life he is living and the values he holds. I could have Joe then look at creating a vision for the future in which he can live by his values and sets goals to attain his more enjoyable life.

What I would like to do is have at my ready the above strategies but would also like to introduce Joe to the concepts of stress and the need of a balanced life in order to be able to relax and enjoy. My plan is quite simple: If Joe is to have a balanced life we need to see how unbalanced his present life is. Secondly we need to determine what this balanced life will look like and then we can introduce the tools required to achieve this balance.

Click here for more information on stress, stress prevention techniques and exercises…

In this process Joe will hopefully begin to realise that the greatest resource he has to reach his objective is himself and all that he really needs are a few strategies and tools.

Where do I start? In this case I might employ the “wheel of life exercise” to help Joe get a clear picture of the present state of ‘balance’ in his life.

In this exercise Joe is presented with a huge circle representing the wheel of life. The wheel is divided into eight sections each depicting an aspect of life.

They are:

• physical environment;
• career;
• money;
• health;
• friends and family; 
• significant other/romance;
• personal growth;
• fun and recreation. 

Joe is asked to regard the centre of the wheel as zero and the outer end of each spoke as 10. He is then to put a cross on each spoke to represent a mark out of 10 for how satisfied he is with each aspect of his life (0=not satisfied at all and 10= completely satisfied).

Joe is then asked to join the crosses he marked with a curved or straight line. The new perimeter of the circle represents Joe’s Wheel of Life. With the wheel complete, the question is: How bumpy would Joe’s ride be if this were a real wheel?

We can probably answer - very bumpy - but at least Joe now has a visual picture of his life and can take some steps to smooth out the wheel.

It becomes clear to Joe while viewing his wheel that the balance is most missing in the areas of: fun and recreation; health; friends and family, significant others and to a lesser extent in the other aspects.

And it is now possible to take concrete steps to rectify this and determine what for Joe is a balanced life in which stress is controlled and he can relax and enjoy. To begin with we might set specific goals for each section.

We could also introduce another approach. For each aspect of Joe’s life that is out of balance we can determine what specific changes he can make. For Joe a time map is a perfect start as he can look at his daily and weekly routine, he can prioritise his time and set enough time for the activities that support the goals in each segment of his life.
 
This also prevents activities from spilling over into others and ruining Joe’s ability to concentrate and enjoy the moment he is in.

With goals and time map Joe can determine what he needs to change in each aspect of his life to reach the desired balance. For example, Joe has decided to add more hours to fun and recreation and reduce work hours- or more specifically make his work hours more efficient.

To this end he is learning how to delegate jobs - he is allowing his staff to undertake jobs requiring less expertise thereby freeing himself to do the more challenging jobs and the ones that do require a more perfectionist attitude. As well with the hours gained Joe is setting aside one evening a week to attend a modelling class he has always wanted to attend.

He can now do his paper work during the day and has more evening time for himself and his family. Changes in each aspect of Joe’s life will allow more time for relaxation and fun.

In addition, Joe is beginning to realise that in order to take control of his life and reduce stress he needs to work on his attitude and his belief system in which every thing has to be perfect and there is no room for failure. As long as he holds this view Joe will not be able to relax and let go enough to enjoy himself.

As Joe’s coach I can challenge Joe’s cognitive distortions and work with him to change self-defeating thoughts into more constructive ones. Joe can explore his self talk and learn how to move from negative talk to more positive. This change in attitude will not only relieve Joe of the pressures he puts on himself at work it will allow him to relax more with his two boys and enjoy his family time.

To complete this program we introduce stress management techniques that Joe will readily do. There is no point adding stress.  Joe is clear in that meditation and yoga are not for him. He however sees the merit in learning some relaxation strategies particularly ones he can do when he feels he is becoming stressed.

He is therefore taught two stress exercises. Although Joe is physically active he does sit a lot while doing paper work which he finds stressful. Joe is therefore taught two relaxation exercises to use at work and elsewhere - deep breathing and stretching exercises.

The breathing will allow Joe to put aside conscious stress and focus on relaxation- visualisation exercises can be added to this. The stretching coupled with progressive muscle relaxation will help alleviate the physical effects of stress.

Once Joe begins to see the merits of these exercises he will be encouraged to add them onto his time map as a daily activity to prevent stress