Many business owners and managers that I speak with daily share their frustrations about staff not performing at an acceptable level.

There are many reasons for underperformance, however, commonly it’s that the employee doesn’t have a clear understanding of exactly what’s expected of them. This is typically due to a lack of systems, training and/or understanding of the tasks at hand.

The ‘knowledge-responsibility-control’ (KRC) model is important to understand, in order for the tasks you need to delegate to get completed effectively.

Without knowledge, it’s difficult for employees to be responsible for something or to control it. Likewise, there is no incentive for them to try and control something, or know anything about it, without them also having a degree of responsibility for it. And lastly, if they don’t have control, it’s hard for them to commit to fully knowing or being responsible.

The key to the KRC model is to commit to increasing your staff members’ knowledge, responsibility and control, consistently and systematically, and in the right areas. This will enable them to take over the tasks you wish to stop doing.

Effective management is the link between control and the knowledge in the KRC model.

Being a great manager takes time, patience and persistence. There are many different management styles that work, so it’s important that you’re clear on your own style. But regardless of your specific style, there are nine key characteristics that all great managers possess:

1. Motivated. They seem to love what they do. In particular, they are motivated to build a team and help their team succeed.

2. Motivating. They exude a positive energy that inspires and motivates their team to work hard.

3. Confident. They are confident in their decisions and in their people.

4. Knowledgeable. They tend to commit to continuous and never-ending learning practises, resulting in them being aware of current best practices and trends

5. Respectful. They show the same level of respect to all team members, irrespective of performance or position title.

6. Trusting. They understand that to get the best from their team, they must trust them to perform in their role.

7. Direct and honest. They aren’t afraid to have the tough conversations with people. Their communication is always clear, constructive and

8. Flexible and adaptable. They understand that not everything is going to go to plan. They are often prepared for this and lead their team through the challenges to deliver on the agreed outcome.

9. Grateful. They appreciate the efforts of their team and regularly communicate this to their team. Whether it’s small daily wins or the achievement of a larger strategic objective, great managers will be sure to sincerely thank their team.

Another aspect of being a great manager is ensuring you set your team up to win. What do I mean by this?

Too often, as business owners or managers, we are moving fast. We have so many things to do each day that we can be vague when we delegate tasks to others and simply expect that our people will know what to do. Then when they ‘fail’, we have thoughts like, ‘Why did I hire this person when I could easily be doing this work myself and saving the money?’ So, to set your people up to win, develop a management system that includes:

• being clear with the outcome you expect;
• providing an example or demonstration of what you want;
• setting clear benchmarks and checkpoints along the way that will help both of you understand if the project or task is on track and meeting the expected standard; and
• allowing people to do their job freely by not micro-managing, which often leads to people being nervous and not performing their best work.

You want to be a fair manager who doesn’t have to micro-manage, get upset with your team, or use overly direct language to get things done. So, it’s essential you become a great communicator and understand that your ability to set your people up will ultimately determine their success or failure.