Opinion: Leaders learn to refine, delegate projects

Last month, I explored the idea that leadership development involves inspiration and implementation. As a leader, it’s important to clarify your values – what you always do or never do – and your goals. Most importantly, consider your mission, your purpose for being in business. Simon Sinek suggests you “Start with Why” (also the name of his terrific book and TED talk).

At some point, lofty thoughts and the discussion of purpose need aligned action. As 
Henry David Thoreau said, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.”

The mundane work of leadership development is successfully completing projects. 
In Leadership Material Part One, I suggested assembling a master projects list. By now, that list could be quite long.

Pick a few projects and energize them. Call them Top Projects. The concept is that you green-light two or three projects that are going to get done. Leave the rest on the master list. You can’t do everything at once. As a project is done, another project gets energized.
Let’s say that one of the top projects is creating a Safety Program.

Here are a few ways to engage your team and successfully complete the project: Put the project meeting on your calendar; create the appointment, and invite people who you’d like to be involved in the work.

At the project meeting, refine the scope of the work and delegate it. Ask the basic journalistic questions: What? Why? Who? By when? How? How much?

• What? Create a Safety Program. For this project, you might determine, “We need a written procedure for our Safety Program and regularly scheduled meetings and agendas. We need to determine which position on the organizational chart is responsible for using the procedure.”

• Why? “We want to keep people safe. We’ve seen our team do some dangerous things. We have had accidents and injuries that may have been preventable. Our insurance rates will go down with a formal Safety Program, too.”

• Who? It makes good sense to delegate this project to someone who is really concerned about the issue. “Mary has agreed to lead this project. Sue and Kanye are available to help.”

• By when? Establish your timeline. Set up your team for success. Be generous on the due dates. Schedule project work time on their work calendars. (Don’t expect people to do projects on their own time.) Schedule the next follow-up meeting. 

• How? Let Mary, Sue and Kanye come up with the plan. You don’t have to be the sage. 
This project is an awesome opportunity for your team to develop project leadership skills. You will, too, if you will let go of the how and give them some rein. What I have found is that your team will fix everything. Delegate – don’t abdicate – projects and help them win.

• How much? Discuss and establish the budget of time, money and resources. 
Attend the follow up project meetings. If something is way off, you can coach them.

However, don’t take the project back. Work together to get back on track. As you work through a project, you may find other rocks in the road.

Put those projects on the master projects list. Just keep chipping away at the list. 

In 2017, commit to a formal systematic way to get projects done. I wish I’d learned leadership skills in grade school. I didn’t learn them in college, either. I didn’t pick these tools up quickly, even once I’d been exposed to them. Be patient with yourself and your team. You are leadership material. 

Inspire and implement. And layer on the love. May 2017 be your best year yet. 

Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant offering profit-building tips, trending business blogs and online workshops at EllenRohr.com. Her books include “Where Did the Money Go?” and “The Bare Bones Weekend Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@ellenrohr.com.