Are there any times when I can or should be taking more advantage of my level of authority? <\/em><\/p>\nCarol: Oh. More advantage of and I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s the right part of the question but once you establish what your level of authority is, and I think you have something on your level of delegation \u2013<\/p>\n
Katie: I do I have something that my friend Tim Daniel shared with me, a model that he called the freedom to act model. The aha with that model, it\u2019s around delegating, so it\u2019s settling authority between two people or the level of activity that someone\u2019s going to take when you delegate to them, including the level of authority. The aha around that when I first was exposed to that and this is not huge but if you\u2019re kind of new in leadership it is, is that you don\u2019t either delegate or not. It\u2019s not black or white. It\u2019s a whole continuum.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re thinking, I don\u2019t know if I should delegate this, this is perfect because I\u2019m just thinking about an intern and what I might be holding back with delegating to an intern or to a contractor. What I might be holding back because I don\u2019t want them to go so far as blah, blah, blah. Then delegate everything but the going so far as blah, blah.<\/p>\n
So the degrees look like at one end complete freedom to act and that\u2019s delegating the whole shebang.<\/p>\n
You have the authority to take this issue, come up with recommendations. You can delegate to the extreme degree, the whole shebang. And that might look like, take this project, determine what you think the best options are, pick the best option, implement the best option, follow through on it, no need to follow back with me and report out. That\u2019s the whole thing. I am essentially giving it to you.<\/p>\n
Next step back might be all of the above except report to me what you decided to do.<\/p>\n
Carol: I\u2019m writing this down.<\/p>\n
Katie: Okay. And there\u2019s not much risk in coming back and reporting to me so I don\u2019t know whether those last two would be really that different. Tell me what you did vs. don\u2019t tell me what you did.<\/p>\n
Carol: Well I do think that that keeps the level of authority in your hands rather than their hands. So if they\u2019ve got complete freedom to do whatever, that\u2019s one situation but if they are reporting back to you that\u2019s a different one and I like the fact that that\u2019s part of the model.<\/p>\n
So I\u2019m going to put together this model and make sure that we get it in the show notes. So if somebody is listening while they are exercising or doing something else and can\u2019t write it down, we\u2019ll do that.<\/p>\n
Katie: And the next level down, I won\u2019t go through all the levels because they are kind of obvious but the next level down might be, go look into this, see what the options are, select an option, come back to me, let\u2019s decide together. And then you can go implement it. Or let\u2019s decide together and I\u2019ll implement it.<\/p>\n
See there are all sorts of slices and dices to it. And then maybe let\u2019s go to the other end of the continuum which is not very much freedom and that might be you have no authority to do anything.<\/p>\n
Carol: No freedom, no authority, just sit at your desk and welcome to the job.<\/p>\n
Katie: Go find out what the options are and come back to me. And there\u2019s some value in that because you\u2019re giving them exposure to the project or whatever it might be that you want them to start getting up to speed on but you\u2019re freeing the reigns a bit.<\/p>\n
Remember any time you\u2019re delegating don\u2019t take it back. Don\u2019t take it back. If you set a certain guideline for what someone is supposed to go forward with, now I realize I am taking as the delegator now, don\u2019t change your mind later. That is the kiss of death for your credibility as a leader, and people having faith in you.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen it happen in such a way where it was a big decision and then the decision was taken back after the decision had been announced and so and so was going to go do this and now the boss says, \u201cOh so and so is not going to go do this.\u201d And so and so was kind of caught off guard by it. Now everyone\u2019s on eggshells because they are thinking, is that the way we make decisions around here?<\/p>\n
So you set a pattern for what it\u2019s like to work with you with every decision you make. Stick with it.<\/p>\n
Will things need to change eventually? Sure. Sometimes you have to change a decision but if that\u2019s happening a lot then I would bid that you need to take a look at whether you are making decisions too reactively.<\/p>\n
Carol: Interesting, well very good so that has to do with if you are the boss.<\/p>\n
If you are not the boss and you are being delegated to you might even say, \u201cI understand we have this project. Let me go out and find the options and report back to you. How\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh that\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n
Carol: That\u2019s a ton of initiative right there in that one little sentence and all of a sudden you\u2019ve taken this huge burden off your boss. Now you have to deliver and you report back, \u201cHere are your three options. What would you like to do in the situation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie: But you could do it in a way where it felt a little bit safe for you. Now again we\u2019re talking about taking the delegation from upward, so taking the authority from upward, making sure it\u2019s okay with him or her, and the conversation needs to outline where in that freedom to act are you suggesting? You are probably asking.<\/p>\n
So I would like to volunteer for this project or this decision or this upcoming milestone, whatever it might be. I would like to take this next step over, find out what some of the options are, come back to the table and take a look at it with you and take a look at it with you as to what decision can be made.<\/p>\n
And notice I didn\u2019t say what decision I can make, what decision can be made. I put it in the past so that it leaves it open for debate.<\/p>\n
Carol: That can be made by me or by you.<\/p>\n
Katie: Intentionally vague. Not I\u2019m smarter than you so it should be me. Somewhere around the whole concept of this discussion is the dialogue around expectations. If you\u2019re feeling like you\u2019re not getting delegated to or your authority is not clear, you may have to step back just a little bit and have a conversation around, what are our expectations around one another?<\/p>\n
Am I developing or are you feeling like you can delegate things to me? Are you too busy to delegate things to me?<\/p>\n
Carol: Is there something I can do to make your job easier?<\/p>\n
Katie: Is there something about me that makes you nervous about delegating to me? That would be a raw conversation.<\/p>\n
Carol: That would be but you\u2019re always very good about expectations and expectation-setting and I think that\u2019s something that we\u2019re not always that great at so when you have a project, when you are delegating to somebody, it\u2019s very important to set those expectations and if you\u2019re being delegated to, very important to ask what the final outcome expectations are.<\/p>\n
Katie: Good.<\/p>\n
Carol: So I\u2019m making sure that what I think you want is what you want and you\u2019re making sure that you are getting what you want, right?<\/p>\n
Katie: Yes. It\u2019s kind of a mirrored effect. Here\u2019s what I want. Here\u2019s what I think you want. You would say, here\u2019s what you want. Here\u2019s what you think I want.<\/p>\n
Carol: So that\u2019s interesting and true. We really do need to figure out that expectations and some people are not very communicative and so you don\u2019t know what your boss\u2019s expectations are and you are absolutely flummoxed over how to take initiative within your job. What would you say to that person?<\/p>\n
Katie: Understand that there\u2019s a certain level of emotional intelligence with some people that makes it easier to converse and maybe some of it\u2019s generational.<\/p>\n
For an example my \u2013 I think I can have a conversation around some things with my parents and then I notice if I get too much into it, it\u2019s not that I lose them it\u2019s just that they don\u2019t want to talk about \u2013 my mom with get into depth with stuff with me but my dad and stepmother I think, there\u2019s \u2013 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s uncomfortable or they just don\u2019t ever do it. So I don\u2019t want to assume that they are not capable. I think they probably are I think it\u2019s possibly the role.<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re in a role of a supervisor and a subordinate, is it a little, depending on how your relationship is, is it a little bit uncomfortable starting to talk about expectations of one another if it seems negotiating. I wouldn\u2019t say it should be but I know that it can be. I know that there are some people who can\u2019t have that kind of conversation.<\/p>\n
Carol: It seems confrontational to some people.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yes that\u2019s exactly what it is. It seems confrontational and so it becomes a little bit uncomfortable. But digging up some of that of course this is me coming from someone that\u2019s married to a psychologist who digs that stuff up all day with patients and me, so it\u2019s not comfortable. I would say it\u2019s not comfortable for me but I don\u2019t think of it as not normal or confrontational. It could be done in a confrontational way.<\/p>\n
Carol: And that you want to avoid.<\/p>\n
Katie: That you would like to avoid. So that expectations setting conversation ought to be just the norm and not something to run from.<\/p>\n
Carol: Do an expectations \u2013<\/p>\n
Katie: Practice one?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: An example.<\/p>\n
Carol: I think that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
Katie: Okay let me do it as a boss and somebody that\u2019s working for me who I have on a project \u2013 I\u2019m going to use a fundraising project in the office and I want to spread around the number of hands that are in the project, which is really good because it\u2019s good exposure for the office.<\/p>\n
It kind of goes into what our next topic is. If I find Jeanette, for example just to come up with that name and Jeanette works for me, and I want Jeanette to maybe have a little bit of say so in something I think she\u2019d be good at it. Maybe it\u2019s the registration and money collecting. So I approach Jeanette and I say Jeanette I\u2019d like you to think about how you want to participate and I\u2019m staying real general, participate in the upcoming project. Any ideas? I have an idea but I\u2019m asking the question first.<\/p>\n
Carol: Good.<\/p>\n
Katie: And Jeanette might say, \u201cI don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t really thought about it but I\u2019m really good at organizational stuff or party planning or whatever issue it might be.\u201d So that starts to go to the role setting and then we have the expectation setting so the role setting is around, \u201cOkay Jeanette, can I have you take over the whole registration process? Can you make sure that you have the money collecting in there, the logistics, the paperwork, etc., and then if you need a certain amount of budget, that\u2019s kind of a fork in the road, come to me at that point and let\u2019s determine what your budget might be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carol: Nice.<\/p>\n
Katie: So I\u2019ve given her the outlines of it. You might think that would be enough but I will promise you there will be things that come up that nobody could see.<\/p>\n
Carol: Sure. Do we need name tags? Oh my god we have to print name tags.<\/p>\n
Katie: And is there a target for how much we\u2019re doing? What\u2019s the expectation around what the registration fee is? Is this is a fundraiser, whatever. I would like to have her expect to come to me regularly to renegotiate if she needs to. So I would set that up in the expectation. Jeanette I expect you to feel comfortable to ask me when you\u2019ve got some major decisions to make. I also expect you to go ahead and make the small ones yourself. Is that okay with you? So I get it back from her.<\/p>\n
Carol: Nice.<\/p>\n
Katie: There is kind of a key in there in that expectation setting that I think has to do with thinking first about what is most important to the other person. What is of value to Jeanette? Is it to be in the middle of something? Is it to have authority herself?<\/p>\n
Carol: Is it to do great things behind the scenes?<\/p>\n
Katie: And so we\u2019ve just kind of negotiated what she\u2019s going to go do but most of me was telling her what I expected. There ought to be a conversation that\u2019s really driven around what is she expecting? She might have to settle into the project first before she knows that but I also want to know what\u2019s of value to her and what\u2019s important to her.<\/p>\n
And maybe it\u2019s important to her not have to have to workweek ends to get this thing done and maybe my expectation is well, maybe but the weekend before the event you\u2019re going to be busy so my expectation is you\u2019re going to be there.<\/p>\n
Carol: Nice.<\/p>\n
Katie: Does that help?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah it does. And I do this quite often. I don\u2019t do it as thoughtfully as maybe I should just I delegate to people all day long. If it\u2019s part of their job description it gets delegated to them and sometimes it\u2019s merely an email that goes on to them that says, \u201cDo something about this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Carol: So there is a point where I need to set some expectations and say, \u201cOkay I expect you to report back to me on a regular basis.\u201d And I\u2019m not necessarily doing that with my subordinates and then I don\u2019t know that I\u2019m always asking that of my \u2013 you can\u2019t call them superiors can you?<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah I guess you could \u2013 the board?<\/p>\n
Carol: There are not superior to me.<\/p>\n
Katie: My upper echelon.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah the people I report to \u2013 the board.<\/p>\n
Katie: The reportees. There\u2019s a little bit of danger, this is a good thing, not the danger but it\u2019s a good thing to get comfortable with someone to the degree where you kind of know each other\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n
For example I was using a model about resilience that comes from a colleague organization of mine, the Cumberland Group. They are consultants. I do some consulting with them sometimes and they have some great material that I occasionally adapt and use I generally ask them, \u201cAre you okay if I put this in a book?\u201d Every single time it\u2019s always been, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was putting some material together this morning and it was a model of resilience and I thought I really like this model. I remember it and I\u2019m going to drop it in this class that I\u2019m using.<\/p>\n
I started getting so comfortable about using it myself that my expectation was I don\u2019t even need to ask them. I\u2019d be careful about that. I think their expectation might be \u2013 they might say that their expectation is that I can use almost anything but that I ask every time. I don\u2019t know. We\u2019ve never had that conversation.<\/p>\n
Carol: It might be nice to have it.<\/p>\n
Katie: I just ask every time and they say yes.<\/p>\n
Carol: And maybe next time you ask, you say, \u201cBy the way, is it okay if I use this without asking you? If not I\u2019d be glad to ask you every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie: Exactly. I always put a link in back to their business and so give them a little credit.<\/p>\n
Carol: All right. Well we have talked about how to be clear to your superiors about what you believe your level of authority is and we\u2019ve even talked about being the superior in this case and setting expectations.<\/p>\n
Katie: Everything you need to know.<\/p>\n
Carol: We appreciate you being with us.<\/p>\n
(Music plays)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it for this episode of the Skirt Strategies podcast. Thank you for joining us and please be sure to leave a question or comment at Skirtstrategies.com. Remember that success comes when you lead using your natural female strengths.<\/p>\n
[end of transcript]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Katie and Carol talk about Tip 17 from Skirt Strategies: 249 Success Tips for Women in Leadership. In this episode Katie and Carol give you practical tips to be clear with your superiors about what authority to act you have and don’t have. It’s a great way to start a conversation … one that may […]<\/p>\n
http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/paththreellc\/028SkirtStrategiesPodcast.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>Podcast: Download<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[49,50,51],"class_list":["post-3185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast","tag-authority","tag-initiative","tag-leadershipforwomen"],"yoast_head":"\nSetting level of authority with others<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n