Hand the ball off
In order to have an efficient team, you
have to create systems that give people leeway so there isn’t a bottleneck when it
comes to making decisions.
“You have to empower people, you have
to give them responsibility, you try to create an environment of collective responsibility,” Phillips says.
To get that, you can’t be right on top of
your people all the time. Instead, try setting
up regular meetings with your direct
reports where they can give you detailed
timelines, status updates and bring up
points of note. In between those, don’t
poke your head in every day looking to
take on their responsibilities or have everything done the way you would do it.
“I don’t micromanage,” Phillips says. “A
lot of times, I don’t ask for all the details; I
try to teach people, ‘Have confidence in
yourself. It’s OK to take risks; it’s OK to
make mistakes. It’s just if you make them,
try not to repeat the same one.”
While you should hang back and trust employees, you also
have to make yourself a resource. Phillips has regular meetings
with his direct reports, but he doesn’t tell them to hold off if they
are in need of help.
“I always tell people, ‘If there is something critical, you don’t
have to wait for the next scheduled meeting,’” he says.
But all of that comes with a caveat.
“People want responsibility, but they have to have accountability, too,” Phillips says.
Accountability in a culture where you want to empower people can be tricky. But Phillips likes to use his check-in points
with his direct reports as a teaching example. You can make mistakes like lying or stealing fireable offenses, but make other mistakes a learning opportunity the first time they’re made. That
will let employees know that they can take a risk and, instead of
finding themselves on a guillotine, they’ll get positive reinforcement.
“When they do make those mistakes, they start to realize
that you’re not just bringing the hammer down on them; that
you’re using it as a teaching opportunity,” he says. “And after
awhile it gets ingrained in employees that, ‘OK, I understand
that.’ And it all goes with wanting more responsibility and
being accountable. But being accountable doesn’t mean that
you get fired every time that you make a mistake.”
By giving people the rope to make a mistake, you give them
empowerment. But by reiterating with them that a big mistake
is a one-time thing, you keep accountability. If you can keep
doing that consistently, you will have a culture of empowerment.
“You end up building mutual respect and trust in different dealings, and employees begin to trust you when what you say is
consistent with the actions you take,” Phillips says. “It’s easy to
say, ‘Don’t worry about it; you can make these mistakes,’ but
then when you turn around and act a different way, people start
wondering about where you’re coming from. If you’re just consistent in your approach, then, over time, employees start to
realize that there is some method to your madness.”
There’s one last thing that Phillips says can be done to empower people: Give them a little credit here and there. Whenever he
talks to the company about successes, he lets people know who
handled the project and who they worked with. The end result
is people like to take on a little more responsibility because they
know they’ll get recognition.
“I give them credit when something is done well,” he says. “My
direct reports know that the credit gets shared. They like that.
Understand that everyone needs a pat on the back once in
awhile — a simple thank you sometimes goes a long way.”
