A few days ago I answered a question on delegation on LinkedIn and then on Friday was having a robust discussion on delegation with a friend in my network and thought I would share the discussion with you.

“Delegating could harm a career and promotion prospects”
Was the statement made by the senior manager in my network. He reasoned that obvious errors cost the business money and impacted on mission critical outcomes. Then with the time taken to recover from from errors delegating tasks took up valuable management time and could “harm his career and promotion prospects”.

“Management style didn’t encourage mistakes”
It seemed that his “management style”, and that of the business, didn’t tollerate mistakes. I pointed out that if the management don’t tollerate mistakes then there will be little room for experimentation. If people can’t experiment then, those that use experimentation to learn, will become frustrated and tend to leave to businesses that will allow it.

Experimentation is healthy. It’s how we learn to improve at any hobby, computer programme and game, even how to socialise and make friends. But, it seems that when people become managers they often have to be trained in how to encourage and manage it.

In any event lack of experimentation, from my experience, only helps competitors forge ahead with more efficient processes, products and customer focussed thinking.

The process
I explained the process my mentors showed me and which I’ve have adopted and train:

a) Discuss the subordinate’s idea with them. Be open minded, highlight potential problems as you see them, business issues and consequences of success and failure.

b) If the subordinate still wants to proceed then discuss the process they will be using and then provide support (physical as well as verbal) and have a plan to pick up the pieces.

c) If the subordinate is successful. congratulate and say how delighted you are and tell everyoneone else what a success it’s been. If it’s not a success then discuss the reasons with the person, then ask how they intend to recover the situation. Again provide increased support but don’t blame, chastise or bad mouth to others – (after all you made the decision to allow the experimentation and would have looked good if it had succeeded).

d) Turn the entire process, success or failure, into a learning situation by analysing what went right / wrong with the subordinate and what could be done differently next time. Either way make the subordinate “feel good” about the process and your support.

I’m not sure my friend was convinced by my arguments. Then I must admit he’s been secure in his current job for the past twelve years, despite higher than average team turnover and mediocre company results and doubtless will be there for a good while longer!

The popularity of my short interview clips on how to answer difficult interview questions has surprised and delighted me. Here’s another question mentioned to me by my network.

“What future trends do you see for our industry?”

Interview question TRENDS

You might also be interested in a 40 page report on “Finding a job using social media” that is available HERE

With the UK Government saying that the public sector cuts are likely to “affect the way people live in the UK for years to come” it’s not surprising that job security has risen to the the top of people’s concerns.

The problem is that too often people feel helpless about the situation. After all, it’s the boss and company performance that dictate job security and too often an employee feels unable to affect either.

The advice that I am giving to friends is to develop their network. It is after all, through a network of contacts that most people find their next job. Having a strong network is essential if you are to get the help yopu need when things go “pear shaped”.

However, a network is not just a list of names in one’s address book. It’s the engagement and trust that’s built up that is important.

A friend of mine that I’ve been working with has received three job offers in the past two weeks. One of these he was told was through networking and only 8 people were approached.

He’s encouraged me to post the advice. So whilst I am definitely NOT a head-hunter or run a search firm here goes.

Most job roles are now only advertised on-line and the role of newspapers in attracting job applicants has almost disappeared, along with the advertising revenue that such adverts produced. However, most job roles  use personal networks and aren’t even advertised.

Indeed it’s said that 60% of roles are filled through networking. At one time this meant using ‘the old boy network’ or ‘the golf-club’. Nowadays, however, this is mostly via networking sites such as linkedin.com where professional recruiters source possible candidates and reference them before any formal approach is ever made. The advantage to the employer is that it avoids receiving thousands of applications through the post.

So how do you position yourself to be identified as someone to be “networked for the job” on sites such as linkedIn and Facebook?

Here are my top ten tips to being networked for a job through Social Media:

1. Have a large network. Most people on social networking sites have less than 300 people in their network. When looking to be sourced for a job your network needs to be as large as possible. This also means researching the membership each network will give you. For instance Linkedin will connect you with individual professionals mainly based in UK and USA. Twitter gives you the opportunity to connect with businesses as well as individuals.
2. Have a good mix of people in your network. Link with friends but also link competitors, people in other industries and professions, head-hunters and those in search companies. If you’ve not got a Twitter account then consider doing so. This will allow you to connect with search companies as well as individuals.
3. Communicate with your network. Having a large network gives you no visibility if you aren’t contacting them on a regular basis. Send personal messages and responding to questions and contact a few people each day that you haven’t connected with for some time.
4. Link your Twitter account to your other Social media accounts. This allows your tweets and updates to be read by your entire network
5. Become an expert. Answer questions on Linkedn to be seen as an expert. As a result of answering questions on Linkedin and having 14 best answers logged I’ve received emails and connections from USA, Canada, Middle East and Malaysia.
6. Post slide-shows on Slideshare. This is essentially a PowerPoint slideshow. This also promotes your expertise and link these to your linkedin profile. Linkedin allows you up to three slideshows.
7. Have a facebook profile.Though be careful about your on-line reputation. Lots of people are making a lot of money on Facebook. Those that have used it to promote their drunken parties have often come to regret their posts.
8. Don’t over-promote your products and services. Remember that social media is like “going to a party”. You wouldn’t make many friends at a party if all you did was to talk about work. Create a personality. You also don’t want to be Blocked for spamming!
9. Have a YouTube film about you and your products and services. Place it on your website as well as other Social Media sites.
10. When posting be complimentary about people. Avoid criticism and  try to sound motivated and upbeat. No-one wants to offer a job to “Mr Grumpy”. However also consider that you are wanting to share expertise so be as generous as possible with the advice you offer others.

If you would like further news and updates about using Social Media then subscribe HERE