As a leader, would you consider yourself a delegator?
There are eleven different leadership styles that have been identified. Let’s talk about the one that most of our clients employ with great success…the “delegating” leadership style.
A delegating leadership style is a low task and relationship behavior approach that sees leaders empowering individuals to exercise autonomy. This style revolves around providing team members with the big picture, then trusting them to deliver agreed-upon results.
Advantages to The Delegating Leadership Style
There are many advantages to a “delegating leadership” style.
Motivation
Providing team members with autonomy is a great motivational tool. When leaders involve themselves with every tiny detail of their team members’ work, they outwardly threaten autonomy, and leaders are not as productive on completed tasks needed to grow their business.
Very few people want to be micromanaged. Far better to give employees time and space to do their work, unfettered by interruptions, sending the clear message that their ability to get things done is trusted, and highly valued.
The past three years of COVID have spoken to this. Employee engagement scores, which had been flat or declining for years prior to 2020, INCREASED during the first 12 months of COVID.
It may sound counterintuitive, with employees at home, and on their own, but the stay-at-home orders translated into employees enjoying more autonomy. Autonomy like that is uncommon in offices, and with the finding that it leads to increased engagement, it will become less uncommon. Even with the challenges of working from home, increased autonomy turned into a benefit, and real assistance in our COVID bubbles.
Morale
Think about it. Trusting team members to get things done led to an appreciated boost to morale, which is likely why there was no downturn in productivity “out of office.” Something to think about… assign the work, and deadline, then allow your team to make decisions, and choices while maintaining the responsibility to deliver what has been requested.
Over the years, many have adopted this style of leadership. Those that have successfully adopted it speak of “going slow.” Start small and build from there so that you may gauge the ability of your employees to take on the “free range” responsibilities being put on them. Some will handle better than others, and those that perform well can be granted additional autonomy as time goes on. Win-win.
At Peachtree Versatile Assistants, our business caters to all sorts of leaders, but the leaders who subscribe to the delegating style of leadership find our Virtual Assistants a delegator’s dream.
Our VA’s are highly motivated, uniquely skilled, and come with a built-in desire to handle tasks in a professional, autonomous, and efficient manner. We also Method Match your VA to your company culture, creating a perfect fit that will free you up to move forward with the other leadership tasks necessary for your business.
We would love to show you what a Peachtree VA can do for you. Contact our Director of Client Services today for a no-obligation phone call to explore the possibilities.
