How to train managers with the 'delegation method'

In today's free sharing session on Friday, we continue the previous sharing part on how to train managers. In order to avoid everyone forgetting, here I reiterate the definition of managers in the leadership series articles - in this series of articles, management Personnel refers specifically to managers-level personnel of each organization, and their subordinates include grass-roots employees, key employees and principal (supervisor-level) employees.

As a leader, for example, if you have already served as the director of a department in the company, how can you help your managerial subordinates improve their personal abilities? Here we will involve the basic training methods of managers.

No matter what you do, you must find the right method. The correct method can make you do more with less. Some leaders find that they are helpless in the training of their subordinates after they take the leadership position; some leaders think that they have reached the management position. The subordinates do not need to continue to work harder to cultivate, and they are completely in a state of laissez-faire; even some leaders, out of fear of their excellent subordinates catching up with themselves, only account for transactional work and let manager-level subordinates participate; the above Of course, the situation is extremely unfavorable for the training of managers.

As a leader, what method should be used to develop managers? There is actually an effective method for cultivating managers, which is the "delegation method".

The so-called "delegation method" means that when leaders train managers, when assigning tasks, they do not simply assign tasks, but directly give the other party the goal, and then let the manager find a way by himself, and the leader observes quietly. The whole process of the manager to achieve the goal: from the confirmation of the problem, to the decomposition of the goal, to the formulation of the plan, to the division of tasks for the subordinates, until the completion. In the whole process, only when the manager needs help to give the necessary help, of course, the leader should be clear that this "necessary" help will gradually decrease with the gradual improvement of the manager's ability.

Some leaders will be worried. If I let go, what will happen to the manager below? It's better that I don't "let go", so as to avoid unnecessary troubles, and secondly, the efficiency is also high, how good it is to help them go. I don't know if such leaders realize that, although the result of not "letting go" is good, for the subordinates who are managers, it will undoubtedly delay their growth process.

Let me give you an example:

Once, a director of our company, S, talked to me about the investment manager under her, saying that an investment manager is under a lot of pressure, especially when facing the boss. Feeling, asked me how to solve this investment manager.

Me: "What do you think about your solution?"

S: "Actually, I didn't have a good way. I tried my best to recall when I was an investment manager, and I didn't feel as powerless as he did when I was asked by the boss. Since my subordinates felt this way, I could only continue Help him share the pressure. During the meeting, when the boss asked questions in the report he wrote, and he couldn't answer the situation, I would continue to answer as a team member, so why be so nervous."

Me: "Then, have you ever thought about why you are so 'light-hearted' with your boss when you are an investment manager?"

S: "My director at the time asked us to treat every preparation meeting as a drill for clients, and whoever wrote the report was responsible for making it clear during the internal drill, and asked us to prepare carefully before each meeting. Even in the face of the boss's questioning, whoever wrote it will answer the question. The director will never help. The boss criticized us. After the meeting, the director will hold an internal department meeting for us to review - so I reported at that time. It's so easy to get up."

Me: "Then do you know why your subordinates are not as calm as you?"

S: "Why?"

Me: "That's because firstly, you didn't set clear goals for your subordinates - you are responsible for the reports you write, and you, as a leader, will never help; secondly, your subordinates are confident - anyway, the director is in charge What are you afraid of? If you keep doing this, it will be difficult for your subordinate to improve his abilities in the short term."

S: "I don't want to be as strict as my previous director, so that we have to write reports every day and peel off another layer of skin when the boss is in a meeting."

Me: "But take off and take off, haven't you grown up quickly? Thinking back now, how do you feel about your director?"

S: "You said that, I really should thank my director, if it wasn't for his strict requirements back then, how could I have grown so fast?"

Me: "Yeah, have you seen a movie called "The Fox's Tale"?"

S: "I haven't seen it, I haven't heard the name before."

Me: "Uh, this is a very old Japanese movie. It was staged before you were born. It's not surprising that you haven't seen it or heard it. There's a scene in this movie that I remember deeply."

S: "What bridge?"

Me: "That's when the old fox gave birth to a little fox. When the little fox was very young, the old fox took care of him in every possible way, but when the little fox grew up and learned how to survive, the old fox resolutely drove the little fox out of the fox. Nest, even if the little fox lingers in every possible way, the old fox will never allow the little fox to come back. So the little fox turned around and left, and next year, the little fox will bring the little fox's other half and the cub back to see the old fox."

S: "What do you mean by telling me this fox story?"

Me: "You, the fox still knows the importance of 'letting go' at the right time, but you, a human, don't know. Look, you are blindly guarding your shortcomings. Although it seems that the team is doing well in front of the boss, it is not good for your team as a whole. The improvement of your body's combat effectiveness has no benefit at all, and it is not easy for you to do so - every time you report, whether it is an internal preparation meeting or an external roadshow, you are under great pressure - because you are the main reporter. , the investment managers under you are slow to grow up and cannot report independently.”

S: "It seems that this is no longer the problem of my subordinates, but something wrong with me."

Me: "There is something wrong with your original intention. Look, you are nominally worried that the subordinate investment manager will have pressure to share for him, but in fact the deeper reason is that you are worried that the investment manager will make mistakes in the process of reporting to the boss. ——Not only does he have a bad impression in the boss's mind, but it may also affect the image and status of your team and even your boss's mind."

S: "Hey, when you say that, it's really the same thing."

Me: "Then think about it, which one is better between you and your director in cultivating subordinates? Your director's method is to set goals, observe from the sidelines, and if there is a problem, instead of taking care of you, you would rather be criticized by your boss. , and then hold the review meeting of your department after the meeting. Why? He just wants to make you grow faster. But what about you? You are called the nanny training method - because you love your 'feathers' and don't dare Let it go, in fact, the investment manager under you is not an investment manager, at most an analyst who writes a lot of newspapers, except that he has worked in the company for a longer time and is more proficient in writing reports. Which competencies match the investment manager position?”

S listened to my words, was stunned for a long time, and then said: "You are so right in your analysis. I really need to reflect on myself. It seems that I really need to adjust my training method."

Me: "That's right, you may not adapt to it in a short time, and you still can't help but 'don't let go', but you have to remember that the faster their abilities grow, the easier it will be for you to work in the future, come on!"