How Delegation Does Double Duty as a Development Tool
We’ve all heard the phrases, the excuses, and the sarcastic remarks surrounding articles and people who tout the reasons for and benefits of delegation….and how many times did you roll your eyes! Ask any parent, administrative assistant, professional, entrepreneur, or manager at any level about the dilemma entertaining delegation can cause. Why is this?
Career Development, Delegate, Development
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There are already skill gaps today and the future will only increase that gap. Technology is, of course, the most obvious. It isn’t that technology is taking jobs, but also creating them faster than we can keep up. There is already a skill gap in areas around managing tasks and people that too will grow as there will be increasing needs for cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, writing, and analyzing. Social emotional skills have a high gap, but an increasing demand. This includes skills such as continuous learning, advanced communication, and empathy. Is your organization getting ready and staying ready for the future jobs it will need?
There are many critical thinkers who have literally changed the world. A few examples are, Edwin Hubble, discovering that galaxies are expanding. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his “I have a dream speech” that still resonates and has impact after 50 years. Simone de Beauvoir arguing for the individuality and voice for women. And Madame C.J. Walker who was the first female black self-made millionaire. What have what these people did have to do with team and career building and how is critical thinking critical to both?
To suggest that networking and career building is a new way to build teams may seem a bit odd. However, we stress collaboration to conduct projects. We want team members to share knowledge to help getting tasks completed. We encourage sharing expertise to train, mentor, and coach for our succession planning. When we talk about collaboration, sharing knowledge, and training, how are we to accomplish these without networking and career building?
Employers are “putting on the dog” to attract new employees. There are sign on bonuses, enhanced health benefits, flexible schedules, better development programs, and more. The lack of talent is driving this. According to the Department of Labor, there are 4.2 million fewer workers and 10.9 million job openings. This demand is also being driven by the demands of those that are available for hire. Is all this an innovative idea or just an expensive trend with no real ROI?
Keeping employees happy, engaged, and on the payroll can sometimes be challenging. Keeping up with trends takes effort. But keeping up with chaos can prove almost impossible. Yet these are real time demands every business is encountering. While all these challenges can and do crop up at any time, the recent chaos has brought about more and bigger changes in a shorter amount of time. What does this mean for career and team building and how are the two connected?
Building a better career is important to people who want to get ahead and create a better life for themselves and their families. Careers come in all shapes and sizes. Trades people have a career, administrative assistants have a career, real estate agents have a career, CPAs have a career and on and on. Electing not to get an MBA or a Ph.D., does not mean you do not have a career. You most certainly do. For organizations, creating career path programs is an important strategy regardless of the industry or the size of your organization. How can your company be career strategic?
The title of this article asks the question about the connection between career building and high performing teams. Here’s the answer, in a word, everything. Some may think of building one’s career as an egotistical endeavor as in the old trifecta of power, prestige, and profit. However, career building is important for both the organization and employees. Here’s why.