The Big D – how to delegate effectively
High-performing actuarial teams are led by managers who know how to allocate work fairly, safely and efficiently to maximise the contribution of their teams, while creating opportunities for team members to reach their potential and be more engaged at work.
A common question I hear from new actuarial managers is “How will I find the time to do my work AND be a manager?”. There are many solutions to this question, but a key skill that actuaries need to master to manage their workloads is the ability to effectively delegate.
A trap for new actuarial managers
New actuarial managers often find themselves managing very junior or inexperienced actuarial team members while still having professional responsibility for the production of high quality technical work. The manager might assign some of the easier tasks to the junior person and perform the review or more difficult tasks themselves. In addition, new managers will be learning and mastering a range of new skills as they manage and develop the people in their teams.
A trap for new managers is that it can be hard to make the distinction between what they need to do themselves and what they could delegate. Sometimes, out of fear or habit, they end up doing most of the work themselves and the junior team members don’t have enough work to do. This is unproductive and also a missed opportunity for the manager to teach and upskill the junior team members so they can do more and more over time.
Sometimes new managers can feel like it’s their job to do everything themselves. They may be the most experienced person in the team, so can feel like they are best placed to complete important tasks. However, great leaders know that by sharing the work, thoughtfully allocating tasks to their team members and managing risk, everyone gets the chance to develop without burning out. Read on for some tips on how to avoid this trap.
Top tips for effective delegation
Experienced leaders practise and refine their delegation styles over time. But if you are new to delegation, it can feel quite awkward at first. Start with these considerations to help develop your delegation style and effectiveness.
1. Should I delegate?
Not all tasks can be delegated. Consider the tasks that need to be completed by your team and identify those tasks that you could delegate. Ask yourself:
Is this something that must be done by me? For example, is it something that requires a certain level of qualification, or a sensitive HR matter that you need to handle yourself?
Some tasks can’t be delegated, so keep these on your to-do list. However, some tasks can be divided and shared. For example, while Appointed Actuaries are responsible for producing annual Financial Condition Reports, very few will complete all the analysis and write the report without assistance. Responsibility can’t be delegated, but with suitable review procedures many of the tasks can be delegated to other team members.
“TOP TIP: Know what can and can’t be delegated before assigning work to your team members”
2. Delegate with clear communication
Once you’ve identified a task that can be done by someone else, it’s time to delegate! Since delegation involves at least two humans, it will usually require an interesting mix of art and science. Knowing your team members and establishing clear communication is key to successful delegation.
Check capacity for the person to help. Workload balance across the team is important, and it can be easy to overload your top performers. Find out who has more availability by asking “What else do you have on at the moment?”
Know your team. What do they need to know to be most effective? For example, some team members like to understand why the task is important, while others are more interested in knowing when it needs to be completed.
Be clear about what you need and when you need it to be finished. Check that the other person can meet the requirements, by asking “We need this finished by the end of the week, is that possible?”
Let them know how they can ask questions and when you will check in on progress. Say “Please email me today if you have any questions, I’ll check back in at 4pm to see how you are going”.
Knowing your team members and creating an opportunity for open dialogue will increase the chance of your task being completed on time and to a high standard.
“TOP TIP: Clear communication is critical for effective delegation.”
3. Delegate to deliver
Effective delegation and assignment of work will enable your team to deliver agreed outcomes for your business or clients. Once you’ve identified the actions that your team needs to deliver, and you know which ones can be delegated, consider for each action:
Is there someone else that could do this?
If someone else that could do this but will need support?
Sometimes some creative thinking can be a worthwhile investment in helping your team deliver agreed outcomes. Perhaps the new graduate has lots of capacity and can start updating the assumptions in the valuation model but will need input from yourself or someone more experienced in the team to ensure the results make sense and the technical work is completed to a high standard.
“TOP TIP: Work out who is best placed to complete a task and identify any support they might need to complete the work to a high standard.”
4. Delegate to develop
Great leaders know that delegation provides an opportunity for team members to develop important skills. New managers typically have more experience than the junior members of their team, so it can be tempting to do everything themselves. Ask yourself:
Is there someone else who wants to learn how to do this?
While taking the time to teach junior team members how to do things might feel inefficient or time-consuming, the investment will often pay dividends when the new manager finds themselves with more time to develop their own skills.
“TOP TIP: Investing in the development of your team members is also an investment in your own career development”
5. Delegate to improve
Great actuarial managers know that while their team members may be less experienced, they might also have better ideas to improve the team’s processes. When I first started delegating work, I thought my job was to explain to my colleague how I would complete the task so they could do it the way I would do it. I realised quickly that telling someone what to do and how to do it is a sure-fire way for them to feel demotivated and disengaged, but also rarely delivers the best outcomes. After sharing the context around a task, as well as the outcome required, involving your team member in developing the solution can often result in some fresh insight and often a more accurate, efficient or otherwise improved process and / or outcome.
Of course, quality of technical work is critical and sometimes a certain process needs to be followed. For a very junior team member, you might ask them to follow a pre-determined process but say “I’m interested to hear about anything you think could be improved –we can discuss these once you’ve finished the task.”. However, for a more experienced team member, you may be able to outline the outcome you need and let them determine the best process to follow.
“TOP TIP: Risk manage the technical work but remember others might have better ways of doing things.”
6. Apply a control cycle over your delegation
The tips above will help you plan and execute effective delegation, but once the task is complete, take some time to reflect on your own. What went well? What could be improved?
When the right person is assigned the right task, managers often find that the output is better than they could have expected. However, sometimes things don’t go according to plan – perhaps a deadline is missed, or the output isn’t as expected. In these situations, it can help to reflect and identify the weak links in the process. Should the task have been completed by a different person? Did the person have enough skill/experience/support to complete the task? Could you have communicated better or followed up more? Were there external factors, such as a change in the timeframe, that couldn’t have been expected?
Talk to the person you assigned the task to. Give them feedback on what went well and what could be improved next time. If you need help giving feedback, check out these tips from other great actuarial leaders. Ask for feedback on your delegation process. Remember that you are building a working relationship with your team member, and open communication and feedback will help strengthen this working relationship.
“TOP TIP: Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved and remember to give feedback!”
Conclusion
Great actuarial leaders know that while they are responsible for their team’s contribution to the business, they don’t have to do everything themselves. By allowing others to learn and develop, and providing appropriate support and coaching, team members can become more skilled and engaged. This allows managers to stay on top of their workloads, allowing them to develop further and build their careers.
Effective delegation is an art that takes practice. Try implementing the tips in this article when you delegate your next task and let me how it goes!
