A Leadership Trap Almost Every Manager Falls Into

My dad had a poster hanging on the arched wall in the tiny bathroom of his Quonset hut blacksmith and welding shop where I grew up working.
I saw it several times a day.

And it taught me something important about assigning work to people.

I don’t know where it came from, but there’s a pretty good chance I was at least part of the reason he got it and strategically placed it where I would see it often.

It looked something like this.

As a leader, you know this feeling don’t you?

Assigning tasks can be hard.

I know this has been difficult for me at times, and I suspect you’ve faced similar challenges.
So, I want to share three tips for being more effective as a leader when you’re assigning tasks to your team.

Before I tell you what’s worked for me, let’s consider why assigning tasks can be so hard.

Why Assigning Tasks Can Be Hard

Assigning tasks can be hard, but not because it’s really all that difficult.

The problem is that we want it to be easy.

We want someone on our team to read our mind and do what we want done immediately.

Sometimes.
But, in some cases that’s not what we want at all.

Sometimes we have no idea what to do and we want someone else to figure out what needs to be done and do it.
We know there’s a problem and we just want them to make it go away.

They do that and we’re happy. Right?
Not always.

In other situations, a team member may make the problem go away but they didn’t solve it the way we would have done it.
So, we’re not really all that pleased with them if we’re honest about it.

Or, in a different circumstance, they do fix the problem, maybe even like we would have, but they cause 17 other problems that are way worse than the original one.
We wanted the problem to go away but not at that cost!

And, sadly, there’s another unintended consequence of poor task assignment that has a much more negative, and often completely unexpected, outcome.

Here’s what can happen if a leader’s not careful.

The person we assigned to do a job does it, almost to perfection.
They do the work just like it needed to be done, and everyone is thrilled.

Or so it seems.

Until they tell you they’re leaving the company.
Suddenly you realize something unsettling.

The delegation that looked like a success…
actually had a huge negative impact on your business.

That’s a devastating and heartbreaking error for any leader, especially when it could have been avoided.

What on earth might have caused such an extreme and devastating outcome?
And, more importantly, how can you prevent this from happening to you?

We’ll cover that in the last of these three techniques I’ve used to help me avoid this kind of catastrophe and assign tasks more successfully.

1. Get Clear on What You Really Want

This is the most critical step and it’s the one many leaders skip.
That’s an easy mistake to make and I’ve done it myself more times than I can remember or want to admit.

It’s important for every leader to take time to pause and think before they ask someone to do something.
(I suggest “asking” instead of “telling” based on what my dad taught me. You can listen to his wise words to me in this podcast episode I recorded with him.)

Ask yourself this question:

What am I really trying to accomplish?

Knowing this is critical when you’re assigning work to someone. And so is sharing your answer with the person to whom you’re assigning work.

Here are some thought-prompters to help you clarify your thinking:

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Are you just wanting something done regardless of how the person does it or the fallout?
Usually this isn’t the case. But this quick, simplistic answer is dangerously tempting.
You’ll likely be tempted, as I often am, to not invest any more time or thought and get on with your day.
I encourage you to resist this powerful pull!

Do you want to let the person take your simple guidance and use their good judgment to interpret your request and do what they believe should be done?
When you’re giving work to a person you know well and trust deeply based on their proven track record, this is often an obvious choice.

In this particular situation, is it important that your team member complete a task exactly the way you know it should be done even if he or she might want to try a different way?
This may be appropriate for a less experienced team member. If so, they’re going to need specific detailed instructions from you, preferably in writing so your communication is clear and effective.

Do you want to see what they can do on their own without step-by-step instructions?
This may also be appropriate for a less experienced employee you want to learn more about.

Is your goal to help an employee develop confidence?
When you believe a person can do something before they believe in themselves you might intentionally assign them a task that is challenging, or even a little scary, to them.
In this case your overarching goal is much bigger than simply having them complete a task. You care about their long-term growth more than their delivery of immediate results.

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Getting clear on what you really want does take some thought and time.
But the payoff will come when you can later compare the outcome with your true purpose of assigning work.
When you see that the results meet your original purpose you’ll be satisfied even if the work was less than perfect or didn’t meet other goals.

You’ll also be positioned to encourage your employee if they feel like they haven’t accomplished exactly what you wanted them to do.
Along with encouraging them, you can train them too.
You can teach them how to be more intentional and thoughtful with their delegation by clearly explaining how you went about it with them.

Your approach sets an example of strong leadership that they can follow.

Being open and direct about what you do and why you do it is a powerful leadership practice.

You can apply it when using this next tip too.

2. Describe How You Want Progress Updates

Do you want this person to check in with you periodically as they work on the task you assign to them?
If so how often?

Or would you prefer they provide you with updates when certain milestones are accomplished?

Another option is to simply have them tell you when the job is complete.

In addition to getting clear on when you want updates, decide on the format you prefer for the checkins and explain that to your team member too.

You have countless options to choose from:

• Emails.
• Presentations.
• Text messages.
• Formal reports.
• Instant messages.
• One-on-one meetings.

Often the format isn’t as important as clearly defining and communicating your expectations to your employee.

Have a conversation to discuss what communication vehicle might work best for you and for your team member and go with it.
You can always adjust and improve later if necessary.

Being clear and direct about communication expectations sets a pattern that will be carried out through the project and provide ongoing benefit.

These first two tips have been valuable for me, but I think this final technique I like to follow when I’m assigning work is perhaps the most valuable.
This is the one that can prevent the nightmare scenario I described earlier when a seemingly successful project ended with a resignation.

3. Know Your People Before You Assign Work to Them

Each leader takes a different approach to assigning work.

Some apply a rigid mechanical methodology.

They say things like:

“This is your job description therefore you are going to do it.”

Others look only at availability.

“Bob’s not busy so I’ll assign this to him.”

Some get sucked in by the eager volunteer when they float this out in a team meeting:

“I need this work done. Does anyone want to volunteer?”

They give the task to the first person who raises their hand even if they’re already overloaded or completely unqualified.
This is an easy path that rarely ends well.

Here’s what I like to do instead.

I like (actually LOVE!) being able to assign people work that brings them joy and fulfillment, the kind of tasks they’re designed to do and that energize them. I can’t always do that of course, but when I can it fires me up.

So how do I, and how can you, know what kind of work people like to do?

It can be as easy as asking them.

For years when I interviewed candidates I would ask that one of these two questions:

“What kind of work gets you excited and makes you want to pound the table (in a good way!)?”

Or

“What type of task would you be tempted to do even if you weren’t getting paid?”

The answers I got told me a lot about each person’s passions and how they were wired.
And it helped me put them in a position where they could thrive and flourish.

I love doing that as a manager.

You can do this too by applying this third method of assigning work well by simply having an open conversation with each of your team members.

Be genuinely curious and just ask them the types of work they like to do.
While you’re at it, ask them what they don’t like to do too.
Encourage them to share the tasks that they don’t enjoy even if they’re good at them.

This is important for you to know as a leader because we can all fall into this common pitfall.

A Leadership Trap Almost Every Manager Falls Into

You assume an employee enjoys doing something because they’re good at it. That’s reasonable.
And you continue to give them this kind of work because they deliver excellent results every time.

But here’s what you don’t know, because they’ve never shared this with you (or maybe anyone else).
This is the trap many leaders don’t realize they’re creating.

They actually hate the tasks they can do with amazing competency.

But they keep doing them for you, just like they’ve done for others their entire life.

Why?

Because they lead to certain types of success.
Rewards like praise, money, and security.
But not joy, energy, and fulfillment.

They do this over and over throughout their career until they just can’t take it any longer.
And then they quit.

That’s a real risk for thousands of leaders who are assigning work without really knowing their employees.

The direct conversations I had with my employees using the approach I described served me well for years.
Recently, however, I’ve developed a methodology that’s more efficient, consistent, and delivers even better results.

Two Tools to Help You Assign Tasks More Effectively

The first tool to help you assign work more effectively is the Leadership Clarity Scorecard™.

This is the first step to take as a leader so you can get a more accurate view of yourself, your team, and your organization.
That’s data you need when assigning tasks to your team members.
It’s free, easy, and takes about 5 minutes to complete.

Take the Leadership Clarity Scorecard™ assessment here.

You’ll discover your areas of strengths and opportunities for you and your team to improve.

When you take the assessment, you may find that you’re doing great!
You’ve got all the clarity you need about yourself and your team to assign work in the way that’s best for you, them, and your business.
You may be able to apply the three tips I shared and be all set.

Or your assessment results may reveal something you haven’t yet been able to recognize.
There may be some gaps you didn’t even know were holding you back.

The Leadership Clarity Scorecard™ assessment is a diagnostic tool that can identify them for you.

If you decide you want to close these gaps in the knowledge of yourself and your team members, I use and recommend a second tool.

It’s called the Six Types of Working Genius assessment.

In about 10 minutes or less it will identify the types of work that bring a person joy, energy, and fulfillment as well as the tasks that drain them.
Additionally, it highlights the things someone can do for a while but will burn them out if they do them for too long.

That’s the information you need to avoid getting blindsided with a resignation letter from one of your best performers!

This tool is what I recommend leaders use with their teams when they lack personal clarity or clarity about their team members and aren’t sure how they can assign work in the most productive and effective way.

With these two tools, you can invest less than twenty minutes and be much better equipped to assign work to your team so they’re more productive, effective, and fulfilled.

They’re both both super easy to use on your own and you’re welcome to do that.
Or, if you’d prefer to talk through your results and next steps with me, I’d be happy to serve as your sounding board and guide.

Just reply to this e-mail and let me know how I might help you.

I read all my emails personally and respond to all that I can.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

P.S. Here’s the link again to the Leadership Clarity Scorecard™ assessment.
It really is the best tool I’ve found to help you quickly see where clarity is strong, developing, or needed across your leadership, your team, and your weekly operating rhythm. And, it’s completely free!

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