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As a manager, you can perform business coaching not only to develop your staff and overcome issues which they are having, but also to benefit you! The majority of managers will have so much to do that they often struggle to find the time to do it all. This is where effective delegation can be of tremendous assistance, freeing up the manager's time and allowing them to get on with more important tasks.
One of the reasons which causes many managers to be fearful and shy away from delegating work to employees is a fear of losing control or that the employee will not do a very good job of it, causing the manager to not only take time to check it all, but then to do it all properly anyway.
This is where business coaching can play a pivotal part in the success of the delegation process however. By having business coaching meetings with employees, a manager can obtain a much greater understanding of not only the skillset of the employee, but also allows them to gauge how receptive that person would be to taking on the additional responsibility. If they are quite resistant to the idea, they will be far less likely to apply themselves fully and do a satisfactory job. Some may see it as additional work being dumped upon them and be quite opposed to the idea, whereas otherwise may view it positively as the manager trusting them with responsibility for completing an assignment which must be quite important if it was the manager's task to begin with.
So not only can performing business coaching with employees be a tool for addressing issues and implementing action plans, it can also be used to assess the attitude and willingness of people to take on tasks which the manager is looking to delegate to them, and so can help to avoid potential problems before they manifest themselves into a reality.
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Effective Delegation Online Course
This online course comprises nine modules covering such issues as what delegation is, why it is so important, overcoming barriers to delegation, choosing what to delegate and determining the best person to delegate it to.Find Out More
To Delegate or Not to Delegate?
Are There Enough Employees to Take on the Work?
Managers who are struggling to find enough time in the day to get everything done will usually know that they need to start delegating some of the work to members of their team. If these employees do not have the capability or the capacity to take on any of the tasks, the business may need to employ one or more person so that the manager can then give them some of the workload to reduce the burden upon themselves.
Issues for a Manager to Consider Before Delegating
Whether it is an existing employee or a new person who is brought into the company with the specific intention of receiving some of the work that the manager has needed to do, the manager will need to determine which tasks are suitable to be delegated to them, and which they should really keep to do themselves.
The fundamental question that a manager will need to ask themselves, once they have used business coaching meetings to determine the person's capability and suitability for the proposed task(s) of course, is whether the time taken to explain the task and provide any required support is worth it in terms of the amount of time saved. This time does not just apply to the present, as a vast majority of tasks would take longer to explain and monitor than it would actually take for the manager to sit down and do it, but needs to consider all of the future times this task will need to be done. This short term pain for long term gain is a critical concept for both delegation and time management issues.
Type of Work
Along with the time aspect, there will be some types of work which are not suitable to be delegated to others, or at least not to others outside of a specific department which deals with that sort of thing. This can include work involving data of a personal nature or tasks which simply have to be done by a manager such as salary or bonus payments, planned restructuring and associated redundancies, and writing performance reviews.
How Delegating Can Greatly Increase Output
When managers delegate tasks to employees the vast majority do so because they wish to free up more time so that they can concentrate their efforts on their other requirements such as making decisions which affect the whole organisation, or any of the likely multitude of other requests and demands upon their time from other employees, other managers and people external to the company.
Having Many Employees Able to Perform a Task Provides Cover in the Future
Whilst this is a good reason for delegating, another positive benefit that comes with delegation is the fact that employees will be able to learn new skills and be able to complete more tasks.
As well as improving motivation through job enrichment and diversification, having more employees with the knowledge and ability to perform certain tasks will not only provide cover for those who are off work sick or away on holiday, but will also mean that more staff members can be called upon to work on a project. Provided that they have sufficient capacity and can either get their usual workplace duties done or are able to set them to one side for a bit, the more people that can work on a project either the quicker it will get done, or the greater the output of finished products which can be manufactured.
So by delegating to employees and affording them the opportunity to acquire the ability to do a task, they can easily be called upon when it becomes necessary for extra hands to work on a project, and can make the difference between successfully fulfilling a large order and not.
Developing and Coaching an Employee to Take Over Your Role or Workload
Workplaces are Constantly Changing
The constantly changing nature of business means that there will be times when a person will be required to change their job role within a company, either through a promotion (or possibly even a demotion), or through a sideways move from one department to another and a different set of responsibilities and duties.
A Smooth, Orderly Transition is Far More Beneficial
Where this transition is orderly and over a period of time, rather than an emergency transition to cover a worker who has had to take time off work suddenly through illness for example, then time can be taken to ensure that the changeover causes as little disruption to normal operations as possible.
Handovers, Training and Coaching
When an employee is taking over your role because you are moving onto other things either within the current organisation or are working your notice period, you will to a large extent be the one upon which the success of a smooth transition rests. Management (which may also be you) should have provided or are at least currently providing any training required to teach them the skills needed to do your job.
Your role is to provide suitable coaching to explain the various functions of the job to the person taking over from you to ensure that they are fully up to speed with what needs to be done and to give them an idea of the workload which they will face (and to give them an opportunity to pull out whilst they still can before anymore time is wasted in teaching them the ropes).
The Dangers of an Insufficient Handover
A failure to suitably prepare a person to take over a role or provide a suitable level of support during and after the transition period can result in not only poor quality work, but can also be a danger to the health and wellbeing of a worker by bringing on conditions such as stress and unhappiness at the new situation.
Business Coaching During Changing Job Roles
Business coaching before, during and after the move can tremendously assist during the settling-in period of the new person whilst they get used to their new surroundings and responsibilities, as it provides them with the opportunity to discuss problems and issues as well as creating action plans with the coach, who may also be their manager if they have been suitably trained as a business coach, which will assist the person to overcome these challenges and settle into being the effective worker in their new position which the company requires and expects.
A Manager Does Not Need to Delegate a Complete Task
The Amount of Attention a Manager Gives is a Fine Line
One of the main obstacles that prevents managers from delegating tasks to employees is the fear of losing control of the task and entrusting its outcome to one of their employees. As described in the section Delegating - Finding the Right Balance further down in this article, providing too much or too little assistance/interference/input etc can prove extremely damaging to both the success of the task or project that is delegated, not to mention the relationship between the manager and the delegate.
Delegating Small Chunks of a Project is an Option
However, many managers who are afraid of entrusting total control of the project to a subordinate do not stop to realise that they will often be able to delegate small parts of it rather than the entire thing. Those managers not comfortable with delegating to others will often focus on a project in its entirety and the potential consequences of it going wrong, without realising that instead of giving the entire thing to someone else to do, they may be able to assign tasks or functions which are necessary for its successful completion but do not mean that it is "all or nothing" with regards to an employee getting it right or wrong.
Collaborating on a Project Can Provide Many Benefits in the Future
By delegating a part of the task to one person whilst retaining some for themselves, managers will often need to collaborate and work closely with that employee. This can often result in improved teamwork, as well as making the employee more comfortable when talking to the manager, which can be extremely beneficial when there is a need for effective communication in the future in the likely event of there being problems or issues to sort out.
Delegating a Part of the Project at a Time
Delegating an Entire Project Can Prove Too Much for Some
Delegating an entire project or task all in one go can overwhelm the employee that receives it. This is most likely to occur when it is a task which they have never done before, as not only will the size of it threaten to engulf them, but the seemingly complex composition of the work required can immediately put them off and resist being given the job.
Delegating Parts of the Project at a Time
A far better delegation strategy for managers to use is, wherever possible, to delegate small components of an overall large project at a time. Rather then dumping the entire project on the employee in one fell swoop, giving them a small task at a time allows them to get used and learn how to do that piece before taking on the next part. By delegating a project in manageable increments, the employee should not feel overwhelmed and as such is unlikely to simply throw their hands up in the air and declare that they cannot possibly achieve such a major undertaking.
Focusing on One Piece will Facilitate Better Learning
Taking on one piece of the project at a time will also afford employees more of an opportunity to learn about the processes/subject, not to mention learning and remembering how to do it the next time they are asked. Over time this will enable the employee to be competent and feel confident about tackling these issues and hopefully even the entire project in the future with little to no managerial input, which will provide a tremendous benefit to the manager in terms of freeing up their time and allowing them to get on with their other duties.
Delegation and Business Coaching
Combining this incremental delegation process with business coaching sessions to discuss their progress and help resolve any issues encountered will greatly aid the development of employees and relieve some of the time pressures that blight a manager as they try to run their particular department or the business as a whole.
Using Business Coaching to Overcome Resistance when Delegating
Employee Buy-In is Important for Success
Whilst managers are in charge and are the ones who can tell employees what to do, the reality of the situation is that without employees wanting to do a certain task it can be exceptionally difficult to actually get them to do it, or at least to get them to do it to the required standard or within a specified timeframe.
Avoid Delegating Too Much to One Individual
Managers will in most instances avoid delegating tasks to people that they think will complain or be most resistant to it, and instead delegate to those who are often more compliant and willing to take on the additional work, even if they do not possess the same skills, level of training or as much technical knowledge as the other employee.
This can sometimes result in this person being given too much to do which in turn makes them stressed and demotivated by feeling that they are being put upon to do all of the manager's work which they do not want to do themselves, and that it is not shared out amongst them and the other employees.
Business Coaching for Overcoming Resistance
But a manager should not give up on the resistant employee. Their feelings of resistance often come about because of past experiences or a feeling that they will not be able to handle work which may be different to anything they have ever done before.
Just as training and development is important for managers to develop their skills and ability to perform actions such as delegating, so too is it important for employees to acquire new knowledge and abilities, in conjunction with hands-on experience.
The performing of business coaching can help to ascertain the precise feelings of resistance of the employee and uncover why they are so resistant to taking on additional responsibility, not to mention the creation of an action plan to help overcome their opposition. This will then allow the manager to make better use of the employee's skills on particular tasks and projects which they delegate to them.
Be Firm or Not When Facing Resistance to Delegating?
Using Business Coaching to Assuage Employee Concerns
Throughout their years of delegating, managers will often come up against employees who are resistant to taking on the task which the manager is trying to delegate to them.
The section Using Business Coaching to Overcome Resistance when Delegating above explained how business coaching can be utilised to both identify and begin to overcome the issues which are making the employee so resistant to receiving delegated work. Not only does the session provide a dedicated opportunity for these issues to be discussed directly between the employee and the manager, but also allows the manager to put the case from their side and explain why it needs to be done to benefit the company as a whole, why this specific employee has been chosen to take on the task and how the manager will allocate resources and provide support for them to successfully complete the objectives.
If the employee has had a bad experience in the past which has made them reluctant to accept delegated work, either with the company/manager they are with now or in a previous position, this is where the manager has the opportunity to state how things will be different this time in terms of steps taken.
Should a Manager Force Work on a Resistant Employee?
But what if the employee is still resistant to be given work? Should the manager command them to do it? Unfortunately there is no magic answer to this, as it will depend upon a number of variables such as the employee in question, the task being delegated and whether it is essential to the success or function of the business to name just a few of the most important ones.
What is likely though is that if the employee really is adamant that they do not wish to do it, no amount of coaxing, threats, promises or pleading is likely to get them to change their mind. With the labour market being more mobile than it ever has been, an employee is quite likely to tell the manager where to stick it and leave! Plus if the task is outside of their normal employment duties there is a high risk of the company being taken to an employment tribunal.
Incentives May Get Individuals to Change Their Minds
Sometimes however a manager may be able to be firm and assertive and actually get the employee to take on the task after agreeing to certain conditions or offering incentives.
Whilst employees have more power than ever before at work, managers are still the ones who are in charge and pay employees to work for the benefit of the business, so sometimes they may be able to make the point that everybody has to do tasks which they do not enjoy but that it needs to be done for the greater good of the company.
Business Coaching and Asking Questions when Delegating
Regular Business Coaching Get-Togethers are Vital When Tasks Have Been Delegated
A number of business coaching articles talk about why a manager should have regular business coaching meetings with the employee or employees that they have delegated a task to in order to discuss issues so that they can be dealt with or, more preferably, avoided in the first instance. A failure to provide any support to the employee or monitor their progress after delegating will often result in either a failed task or work which does not satisfy the expectations of the manager.
Providing Business Coaching at the Very Beginning is also Extremely Important
Managers need to provide support during a long project, but should also not forget that a significant determinant of the overall success or failure of the project will come with appropriate discussions at the very beginning.
Key questions for a manager to ask an employee are ones which gauge the suitability and willingness of the person to take on the additional responsibilities, but also to ask and discuss with them what resources they believe they will require in order to successfully carry out the project. Not only does this allow the employee to put forward suggestions regarding requirements that the manager may have forgotten to consider, but it will also provide them with a greater sense of ownership, responsibility and ultimately a determination for the project to succeed if they feel that the manger trusts them and value their opinion regarding what is needed rather than simply providing them with a finite amount of resources which they have chosen for the person and telling them to get on with it.
Business Coaching to Increase Employee Motivation
This is one of the most significant properties of business coaching in that not only can it be used to discuss and resolve issues, but it can also be a powerful motivational tool which really empowers and motivates workers by making them feel like they are to a certain extent masters of their own destiny in terms of tackling the project which has been delegated to them.
Business Coaching, Delegation and Creativity
Delegating to Free Up Time and Improve Skills
Delegating tasks to employees has a number of benefits for managers in terms of freeing up their time and allowing their staff members to acquire and develop knowledge and skills which can be called upon if needed at a later date, and could be particularly useful in times of crises or a large project which has a tight completion deadline.
Extra Responsibility will Typically Lead to an Increased Will to Succeed
Along with these advantages, delegating tasks to employees usually allows them a degree of autonomy and extra responsibility, which it is well-known that for the majority of employees will result in an increase in motivation and a desire for the project, for which they have ownership of to a large extent, to be a success.
Business Coaching Will Complement Increased Delegation
By setting broad guidelines and occasionally monitoring their progress to check that they are on the right lines, managers will enable and empower employees to be creative and use their own initiative to complete a task or find a solution to the problem which they have been set. Providing them with business coaching will also give them a dedicated forum where they can discuss through any issues they may be having and also bounce ideas off the business coach which they could utilise to further achieve the goals and objectives set.
Delegation as a Tool for Developing Staff Skills and Abilities
A combination of business coaching and delegation will greatly improve and develop a worker or group of workers, who will then be an even greater asset to the organisation in terms of being able to help it achieve its long-term ambitions and targets. So rather than simply a method of freeing up time for a manager, delegation can be seen in the same light as training and development and used in conjunction with business coaching programmes.
Business Coaching, Delegating and Employee Involvement
Delegating Tasks Can Look Like a Manager Just Wanting to Avoid Work
Delegating tasks and projects to employees can be viewed by both managers and those employees alike as the manager simply passing work which they do not want to do themselves onto one of their workers to do for them. However, true delegation when it is combined with business coaching should provide an opportunity for the employee to acquire or develop certain skills and to take on more responsibility than they otherwise have in their current job role within the company. Rather than being just an opportunity to shift work from the manager's desk onto someone else's, delegating tasks can be viewed more in the bracket of staff training and development.
Support and Explanation is Also Required
However this can only be sufficiently achieved if workers are given enough support before, during and after the particular task or project. Being given something to do with little or no explanation of the requirements is likely to result in completed work that does not fulfil the criteria which the manager wanted or expected. Also, employees who receive delegated work as part of a development plan are likely to need additional training and support so that they have enough knowledge to correctly carry out the task. Simply designating the task to them and expecting them to acquire the skills on their own as they go along will often result in failure, demotivation, and a rise in stress levels and worker unhappiness as they feel they are being given something outside of their job specification which they are unable to cope with.
Business Coaching for Identifying Skills Shortages and Performing Reviews
The utilisation of business coaching sessions at all stages of the project in question will allow managers and the employee to identify which skill sets and areas of knowledge where the person requires training in order to improve in these subjects. These meetings also serve as a time for periodic reviews where the manager can ensure that the employee is still fulfilling the objectives required of the task, as well as allowing the employee the opportunity to discuss any issues that they may be encountering and any additional training or resources they require in order to achieve the set goals.
Make Use of Business Coaching Right From the Beginning
Initial business coaching meetings at the planning stage of the project which allow the employee to provide a valuable and meaningful input will greatly increase their sense of involvement, and subsequently their commitment and determination to achieving the task. Collaborating with employees rather that simply assigning them a task to do will significantly improve the probability of the task being completed to a high standard.
Delegating - Finding the Right Balance
A Delicate Balancing Act That Can Take Years to Master
The art of delegating is something which can take many years to master. Even then it may still be beyond many managers to delegate tasks to their employees properly and effectively. As well as the need to delegate the right tasks and communicate them appropriately, not to mention using business coaching or informal meetings to determine their capability and capacity, successful delegation owes an enormous amount to the manager finding the right balance regarding how much of an input they themselves should have.
Too Little Attention
A manager who has little to no contact with the employee after initially delegating the task to them is likely to sooner rather than later find that the employee may be going down a different path than the manager requires, and so may be producing something which does not satisfy the criteria that the manager wishes or was expecting. This is probably the greatest fear that managers have and is the primary reason for many choosing not to delegate or only delegate very simple, mundane tasks. It is why those that do delegate become overly cautious and act in the manner described in the paragraph below.
Too Much Attention
More common than providing too little attention or communication, many managers who delegate feel the need to constantly monitor and check on the progress of their employees. They are afraid that the employee will do it wrong, which will reflect badly upon the manager as others will say that they had ultimate responsibility for the project, and/or that the manager will themselves have to do the task themselves anyway if the employee screws it up, by which point a lot of time will have been wasted.
As a result they will want to ensure that the employee is doing things right first time. However, constantly looking over their shoulder and checking up on their progress will soon give off the impression that they are not trusted by the manager to do the task correctly. Also, the manager may be constantly chipping in with advice, or be even more direct by telling the employee what should be done at every little stage. This can be particularly damaging to the employee's morale and motivation, especially if it is a task such as a creative one where the employee wishes to use their own creativity and ideas but is prevented from doing so by the manager telling them how it should be done, or rather how they want it to be done.
Finding the Right Balance
Successful delegation depends upon determining the happy medium between too much and too little attention and communication. Whilst too little managerial input is likely to lead to incorrect work or a feeling from the employee that the manager does not care very much and so what they are doing is unimportant, too much interference can lead to resentment and demotivation, as well as the employee feeling that they are not trusted.
So whilst neither end of this spectrum is desirable where delegation is concerned, finding the correct balance will allow for managers to delegate tasks to employees which will keep them happy whilst freeing up more time for the manager to get on with other things. Finding this balance is a skill that only the best managers learn and are capable of applying. This level will vary slightly depending upon the task in question and the personality of the employee, which means that the truly great managers will be able to determine how much, or how little, attention to pay when they have delegated a task.
Delegating Important Tasks
The Importance of the Task Makes a Big Difference in Delegating
A large part of the success of delegation is due to the nature of the tasks that are being delegated. For employees to be motivated to complete the work and gain the sense that they are being trusted with responsibility, it is important that the tasks that are delegated to them reflect this. If they are just given small, meaningless jobs they will probably begin to lose motivation and feel like the manager is simply dumping their boring tasks onto them. If they have been employed as an assistant with a clear understanding beforehand that this would be the case they should not be too surprised, but if they are supposed to be doing something else and find themselves taking on the tasks that the manager cannot be bothered with, they will rapidly become unhappy.
How Delegation is Enacted Also Plays a Key Role
The way that the tasks are delegated can also play a big part in the motivation and desire of the employee to take them on, which obviously has a great effect upon the quality and thoroughness of their work. If they are simply dumped onto the employee's desk with no further checks or input until it is finished, the employee will soon feel disgruntled as they will feel that what they are working on is unimportant and that the manager does not really care about it or what they do. If however the manager takes a little time to explain its importance to them and the company, and occasionally checks on progress without constantly looking over the staff member's shoulder, the employee will feel like what they are working on has tremendous value and as a result is likely to work diligently and effectively at the task in question.
Delegating and Training
Delegation Can Initially Require Additional Training
Training and training courses often go hand in hand with delegating tasks, as various aspects of delegation can require training in order to succeed, or to provide a person with the ability to complete a task/project to an even higher standard than could otherwise be achieved.
Delegating Can Often be a Difficult Task for Managers
For managers, particularly those new to management, delegating tasks to employees can frequently be quite a frightening prospect and a concept which in some ways goes against their natural managerial instincts of being in total control and being the one who makes all of the decisions.
Whilst managers should still perform some degree of checking to ensure that the employee is not going off track and producing work which does not fulfil the manager's requirements or expectations, it is important that they find the right balance when it comes to delegation between too much interference and scrutinising, and too little.
This makes delegation a particularly tricky skill to master or even become semi-proficient in, meaning that management training courses which either focus exclusively on how to delegate effectively or include it as part of a wider management training course syllabus can be indispensable for any manager whether they are new to the position or even one with some experience already.
Employees are Likely to Require Training Along with Management
It will not just be managers though who may require and will benefit from training. Employees may not have all of the necessary knowledge or skills to successfully complete a project. In this case, attending training courses which teach them the relevant information are a must before the manager can delegate the task to them.
The skills and knowledge required will vary tremendously depending on the particular tasks that are delegated, but can include requirements for knowledge in areas such as health and safety, financial issues, human resources management, legal matters... the possibilities are virtually endless. It is the responsibility of managers to match the skills of workers to the tasks required, or make provisions for them to attend training courses in order for them to acquire the necessary skills.
Delegating Tasks to Employees May Require Additional Training
Everyone Can Benefit from Training
Training is a subject which is closely related to that of delegating. Not only will a manager benefit from management training courses which teach them about delegating as well as associated skills such as time management and effective communication, but employees too may need training if it is necessary to use skills or knowledge which they do not currently possess to complete new tasks.
An Example - Health and Safety Knowledge
For example an employee whom the manager has delegated the organisation of health and safety procedures is likely to need some sort of health and safety knowledge. If they currently possess little or none, they will need to attend a health and safety training course to learn about necessary information such as hazards, risk assessments, accident investigation, reporting procedures and safety control measures to name but a few.
Employees Need This Knowledge to Complete the Task to a Sufficient Standard
Without this knowledge they will not be able to perform as effectively or complete the project to the standard required by the manager. They are also likely to become frustrated or feel out of their depth if they do not fully-understand what is being expected of them.
Business Coaching for Identifying Skill Sets and Training Needs Analysis
By engaging in business coaching with an employee, a manager will be able to determine what knowledge and skill sets are lacking or need improving before a particular task can be delegated to them. It will identify their training needs for future development with the intention of taking on additional challenges and tasks within the business, which includes having tasks delegated to them by the manager. Whilst it may require them to take time away from the workplace in order to receive the training, in the long term it will be worth it.
Delegating Tasks or Elements to Those with Better Skills
Managers Do Not Need to Delegate an Entire Task
Sometimes managers will try and tackle an entire task or project themselves, either because they are afraid of "losing control" of it or are worried that the overall quality or accuracy of the finished project will not be of a sufficient standard. However in the section A Manager Does Not Need to Delegate a Complete Task above, we saw that it is not necessary, and is even inadvisable in most cases, for a manager to delegate a task or project in its entirety to an employee. Instead it can often be far more productive and beneficial for them to delegate just a small part of it.
Utilising the Skills of Others
This is especially true when an employee has a particular set of skills or attributes which makes them ideal and highly proficient in a certain area or aspect of the project. For example a worker who is particularly diligent and has a knack for collecting, handling and processing large quantities of data will be perfect for the data collection part of a project and presenting it into an easy-to-understand format, from which the manager can then take over and use it for the analysis and recommendations section of a report.
Sharing and Specialising In Tasks Can Result in a Much Higher Quality Finished Product
By utilising the skills of others that are better suited to the particular requirements of a task or component of a project, the overall quality of the finished project is likely to be far higher than if either the manager or the employee tried to complete the whole thing on their own. This collaboration will often lead to an improved working relationship between manager and employee and allow for enhanced cooperation and team working on future projects.
Delegating to Different Employees
Managers Need to Try and Spread Tasks Between Different Employees
After overcoming some of the difficulties which come with delegating work to employees such as getting over the fear that they are somehow losing control of the project or how to match up the work to the right person, a manager needs to ensure that they do not inadvertently (or perhaps sometimes they may be doing it intentionally) delegate everything to one person or to a select few, as this can result in a number of problems.
Overburdening One or Two Employees
First off, the ones that are receiving all of the work may begin to feel like everything is being dumped onto them. Not only can they become demotivated if they feel the manager is taking advantage of them by pushing all of their work onto them, but it may become the case that these employees do not have the time to actually do their own work that they need to get on with before having to do the work which the manager has delegated to them.
These workers are likely to be the ones that the manager trusts the most and believes them to be the most capable at completing these and other tasks. This makes it even more imperative that they do not risk making them unhappy and pushing them towards looking for alternative employment by delegating too much to them and causing them to becoming stressed or resent having to do everything which they consider outside of their job role.
Not Giving Some Employees Enough
In contrast to these employees, those who do not receive anything from the manager or are only given trivial, unimportant tasks may feel that the manager does not trust them or does not believe in their abilities and capability to undertake the tasks to a sufficient standard. This can cause them to become demotivated which is likely to affect their motivation and the quality of their current work.
Conclusion: What and How Much?
So managers need to pay close attention to not only what they delegate, but also to whom they are giving the work as giving too much to some and little or nothing to others can lead to problems later on down the line.
Delegating to Learn New Skills and Avoid Dependency
Learning New Skills Enables a Person to Cover for Colleagues
Aside from the other many benefits of delegating tasks to employees, one of the strongest is that by doing a variety of different tasks, workers will acquire new skills and be able to complete these tasks again in the future. The more people that are able to carry out and accomplish these responsibilities, the less likelihood that a major problem will occur if the only person or persons that can do it are off sick or on holiday, as this can bring entire operations and processes to a grinding halt, and can be particularly damaging if it is something like creating and sending out invoices or processing payments for example.
Managers Can Match Tasks to Those Employees with the Best Skills in That Area
Not only can having more people with the ability to perform certain tasks reduce the likelihood of the above scenario, but it will also allow the manager to identify which employees are best at different tasks and allow them to delegate specific work to the ones whose skill sets and attributes provide the best match to the particular requirements and demands of the job. This should result in a better overall quality of the finished project and reduce the likelihood of any mistakes or errors being made.
Job Diversification Will be Received Very Differently by Different Employees
Another benefit is that most employees will often be thankful for a bit of job diversification and the opportunity to work on something new instead of doing the same thing that they do every day, which will lead to an increase in their motivation. Managers also need to keep in mind though that not every employee will respond well to this, as some may resent being given what they perceive to be "additional work" and being taken out of their normal, comfortable routine. This individuality of employees and the fact that they will each react differently is one of the most important considerations and issues for any manager to deal with (Related Business Coaching Article: Rewards, Resentment and Embarrassment).
Delegating Without Interest is a Hiding to Nothing
Matching Tasks to Employee Skills When Delegating
We have already seen earlier in this article that a crucial part of successfully delegating an entire project or part of one is to match up the task with the right employee. This will be the one who not only has the knowledge and attributes suitable for such as task, but also someone who has the spare time and capacity to actually do the required work to an acceptable standard and within the timeframe set. For more information on this see the section below entitled Delegating - Capability and Capacity.
Success is Far More Likely When the Employee Has an Interest in the Project
Along with these requirements though there is also a need for the employee to actually have an interest and want to do the tasks being delegated to them. Whilst some will argue that managers are the ones in charge and that employees should do whatever they are told, in reality the happiness and motivation of workers is more important now than ever with it being far easier to switch jobs than it was say a hundred years ago when the labour market was much less mobile. This means that managers need to pay close attention to the happiness and willingness of workers to do particular tasks. Even if an employee is not considering leaving, a worker who does not embrace the work being delegated to them will often complete it slowly and to a lesser quality than someone who is happy to receive it and care more about its successful achievement.
Using Business Coaching to Identify Skills and Provide Two-Way Feedback
Many managers use business coaching sessions to ascertain not only the capabilities of their employees but also their interests in particular areas of the business and their subsequent willingness to take on additional work and responsibilities. Along with resolving issues, this is another great advantage of business coaching and highlights its tremendous worth to an organisation in terms of getting the best out of its employees.
Delegating - Capability and Capacity
Can the Employee Do It and Do They Have the Time?
As well as communicating the desired outcomes effectively and being able to step back and let an employee get on with doing the task without constantly hovering over their shoulder and butting in with suggestions, two additional factors which are necessary for successful delegation are the employee's capability and capacity. Engaging in business coaching meetings with the employee can be employed to determine the status of both of these criteria before delegating a task to them, and so avoid such issues occurring.
Capability refers to the ability of the person to achieve the task delegated to them to the standard required by the manager. Often this will depend upon criteria such as their knowledge of the product/topic/market or whatever is necessary for the completion of the task. It may also depend on their characteristics and attributes such as their ability to concentrate on complex subjects, attention to detail, presentation skills... In fact, the list is virtually infinite as every task that can be delegated will require different skillsets and attributes to complete them successfully.
Capacity refers to the amount of time that the employee has to do the additional work which is delegated to them over and above their normal duties from their job role. If they do not have the spare capacity they are not likely to either complete the project at all or to a suitable standard if they do not have the available time, even if they have the capability to achieve it. A lack of capacity will result in the project or task being rushed to try and get it done within the available time, which will often result in mistakes and sub-standard work.
Delegation and Communication
Clear Communication is Essential when Delegating
Effective communication is a fundamental requirement in making the process of delegating tasks to employees function as intended. For starters, managers need to communicate what the desired outcome for the project is, otherwise the employee is likely to do things according to how they think that they should be done. Whilst it is important to allow the employee freedom to use their own creativity and initiative, particularly if the task is a design project or similar, the manager should not attempt to spell out every last detail and exactly how to do the task. If this happens, the employee will not feel like they are trusted or receive much of a boost in motivation that would come with feeling empowerment from taking on new responsibilities.
Communicating Effectively and Business Coaching
Business coaching sessions are a perfect forum for this communication process to take place. Whilst initial business coaching meetings allow managers to assess the willingness and suitability of the employee to carry out an assignment, regular get-togethers like this will not only allow the manager to keep a check on progress without appearing too controlling or stifling, but will also allow the manager and employee to discuss issues which the employee is having and suitable action plans to remedy the situation, which is one of the primary purposes of business coaching.
Communication before and during the delegation process allows potential problems to either be avoided before they become a reality or quickly resolved. A failure to communicate often results in incorrect work taking place, which means wasted time and frustration for all concerned.
The Importance of Describing Tasks to be Delegated
A Clear Initial Brief is Key to a Project Being Done Right First Time
When delegating a task to an individual or group of employees/team, a manager will need to take the time initially to explain certain criteria to them before they start, otherwise there is a great danger of the project being completed not to the desired outcome or standard that the manager hoped for.
Whilst managers need to find the right balance between too much interference and not enough, a failure to make clear the exact parameters and requirements of the project will almost certainly result in it being doomed from the beginning. If employees are not made aware of what is expected, they will not know what the end goal and objective is, which means they will find it difficult to work out what they should be doing and will often end up with an end product that is different to what the manager wanted.
Managers Need to Explain to Employees Why They Are Being Asked to Do Something
Not only do managers need to explain what they would like, but it is also highly beneficial for them to explain to workers the purpose for doing it and how the project is important for the success of the organisation. By doing this, particularly if it is a particularly onerous or menial task, workers are more likely to do it because they can understand how they are contributing to the business and that what they are doing is important and has value, otherwise they may feel that they are being punished or that there is no point in doing whatever it is they have been tasked with.
Setting Guidelines and Parameters
In this initial pre-commencement description managers can also make employees aware of any constraints that they must work within such as time or budget pressures. If these are not spelt out and made clear at the start, the workers may go over them and cause a problem for the manager to sort out later on.
Checking Understanding After Delegating
A Manager Needs to Ensure Employees Understand the Work Being Delegated to Them
One of the thorniest issues regarding delegation is how much checking or monitoring the manager should do once they have delegated a project or task to an employee. So much attention is often paid by a manager who is trying hard to find the appropriate balance between too much and not enough checking and monitoring that they forget that most of the problems which can occur do so because of a lack of initial understanding by the employee as to what the manager requires. Whilst different employees will go about tasks in different ways, and there will usually be more than one way to go about it, there will more often than not be certain objectives and criteria which need to be satisfied in order for the delegated project to be deemed a success.
It is therefore essential that managers ask an employee if they understand the requirements of the task. This should be done in an open-ended way, such as asking the person to explain their understanding of the task and the requirements. This is far more beneficial than asking a closed-ended question which requires a yes or no answer, as the employee may believe they understand what is being asked of them and say yes, when in actual fact it is different to what the manager actually wants. By asking an open-ended question and getting the person to explain their understanding, it allows the manager to check that the employee does indeed share the same objectives and that there is much less chance of them going off at a tangent with work which is delegated to them to complete. This reduces the chances of wasted time and resources, not to mention potential embarrassment and demotivation that is likely to come about if the employee came to the end and discovered that they did not fulfil the objectives, requirements and expectations of their manager.
Why Should Managers Not Be Specific When Delegating?
What is Delegating and Why Do It?
Delegating involves a manager assigning tasks to an employee that they would otherwise have to do themselves. Not only does this create more time for the manager to concentrate on other more important subjects, but it can also be a powerful motivational tool when utilised correctly as the employee feels trusted by the manager to take on this additional responsibility. This can make the employee feel more valued, and subsequently raise their performance levels and desire to help the company succeed, which obviously makes them a valuable asset to the organisation.
Why Do Managers Struggle to Delegate Effectively?
Many managers struggle to "let go" and make use of delegating. Either that or they only delegate simple, mundane jobs which certainly do not instil a feeling of responsibility within the person being given the task as they feel they are just getting the rubbish to sort out that the manager cannot be bothered with.
Even if they do manage to delegate an important task the vast majority of managers will keep a constant watch over an employee's progress and frequently offer their opinion or even specifically state what should be done. Although this will keep them on track, it will not motivate them as they are not allowed to think for themselves, nor will it instil any sense of taking responsibility, ownership and initiative for themselves.
The whole point of delegating tasks in the first place is to free up manager's time by enabling others to do the work. If the manager spends the whole time watching the person doing the work they may as well have done it themselves! Also, by creating a controlling atmosphere where the employee has to ask and check every minor detail with the manager rather than thinking for themselves, it will certainly not free-up the manager's time in the long-run.
For delegation to be successful, the manager needs to strike the right balance between too much interference and not enough guidelines and clear communication of them.
Regular Business Coaching Meetings When Delegating
Micromanagement Can Lead to Employee Frustration
The top complaint that most employees will have when they are delegated a project or task to complete will be about managers who are constantly checking up on them or trying to control every little aspect rather than letting the worker get on with the task as they see fit, otherwise known as micromanaging. Whilst it is important that managers do keep an eye on how the project is progressing, too much interference and micromanagement can result in a highly frustrated employee who will begin to wonder why the manager doesn't just do the task themselves in the first place!
A Manager Needs to Ensure the Employee Has Understood the Task Set
We have seen in the section Checking Understanding After Delegating above how necessary it is for a manager to ensure at the outset that the employee has fully understood what is being asked of them, and that their understanding of the objectives matches the manager's desired outcomes, so that the project gets off to a productive beginning. However it is important that this is not the end of the scrutiny. Whilst too much checking and interference can be detrimental, so too can too little as not only does it allow for employees to start going off at a tangent, but it can also give them the impression that the manager does not care or does not view what they are doing as overly important if they cannot be bothered to check on progress. (See section above: Delegating - Finding The Right Balance).
Getting The Balance Right is a Managerial Skill
Checking on progress after delegating a task is a delicate issue with regards to the amount of interference and supervision, and managers need to discover the optimum balance in accordance with the task and the particular employee in question, as some will appreciate or at least tolerate more instruction and interference than others. This managerial skill is something which can take many years of experience and management training to acquire, and even then it is unlikely that a person can ever truly master it as different employees will react in different ways, so what works well with one may not work at all for another.
Business Coaching Meetings to Check on Progress
Perhaps the most effective way for a manager to check and monitor progress without appearing overbearing or too controlling is to schedule regular business coaching meetings where the employee and the manager come together to discuss the status of the delegated project. Because they are scheduled in advance at a regular interval, it does not give the impression that the manager is concerned and has called an impromptu meeting, or that they have just randomly chosen to interfere. The frequency of these meetings can be adjusted to suit the level of experience of the employee and the complexity or importance of the project which has been delegated to them.
How Can Regular Business Coaching Meetings Benefit a Delegated Project?
A Manager Needs to Ensure Delegated Work is Still On Track
The scheduling of regular business coaching meetings after delegating a particular project has numerous benefits in terms of keeping an employee on track and allowing the manager the opportunity to monitor the progress of the individual (or team if it is an especially large task requiring more than one person to work on it).
Utilising Business Coaching Sessions to Monitor the Progress of Delegated Tasks
These sessions are scheduled in advance at regular intervals and provide a dedicated forum and environment for the manager and the employee(s) to discuss progress and any issues which may have been encountered or may possibly occur further down the road. Because they are pre-scheduled at the start of the task, the employee should not feel as if they are being micromanaged by a manager who wants to be involved in and dictate how to do every little task that makes up the project as a whole.
Along with greatly contributing towards the prevention of the employee going off at a tangent, these business coaching sessions also create accountability and a point in time for the employee to have done a certain element or task. The implementation of regular meeting points means that they cannot procrastinate or put off doing something, as the manager will want to know why it has not been done in the next review meeting.
At these meetings, managers need to provide positive feedback for tasks or elements done when it is warranted. Employees that have been praised and been given positive feedback will feel like what they have done has been appreciated and recognised, and so will be more willing to work hard on the next task or element.
Remember to Assign Resources As Well As Tasks
Resources May Need to be Assigned When Delegating Tasks to Employees
It is all very well for a manager to delegate a task to an employee, but it is highly likely that the task or project will require more than simply the employee's time and attention. Particularly for large projects, there will be a need for the allocation of resources to enable to employee to carry out the task effectively. These can include financial requirements such as purchasing additional materials, letting the employee utilise the skills and time of additional members of staff, and letting them complete any additional training that may be needed to complete the task either at all or to a higher standard that can be achieved currently.
Business Coaching Sessions Allow for the Discussion of Resource Allocation
Engaging in business coaching before and during the task will allow the employee and the manager to discuss what additional resources are required. If it is not possible to provide them, the manager can use this opportunity to explain why not to the employee which will be far better in terms of preventing a drop in morale than if they simply told them no without any further explanation.
Why Do Resources Need to be Allocated?
A failure to assign any necessary resources after delegating a task can result not only in a project that is not completed either at all or on time, as well as an employee who becomes frustrated and demotivated when they are unable to complete the set objectives. If this happens they are unlikely to be willing to take on additional tasks in the future after this negative experience.
Business coaching and regular meetings will allow managers and employee(s) to discuss and collaborate over any issues or resource requirements that are needed, greatly increasing the chances of a successful outcome to the task or project.
Why is it Useful to Evaluate a Project After Completion?
Evaluations Play a Major Part in Employee Development
After the completion of a particular project or task, having an evaluation and de-briefing meeting between the manager and those who worked on the project can provide a number of benefits not only for the company, but also in terms of the development of employees.
By sitting down and openly and honestly discussing the success or failure of the project in terms of the desired goals and intended outcomes, the group as a whole can determine what was done well and what could have gone better. This will allow them to highlight the areas where current practices are working and need to be maintained, and the issues which need to be worked on to improve or not repeat the same mistakes again in the future. By continually learning from the past, a company can improve and enhance its service and reputation amongst its customers. These evaluation meetings should not be an opportunity to attribute blame or be allowed to turn into a shouting match, but instead a forum to objectively discuss what happened with the target of improving the process for next time so as to benefit the organisation.
Evaluation Sessions Help Develop Interpersonal Skills
As for the employees themselves, they will often have the opportunity in these meetings to develop their proficiency in areas such as analytical skills, assertiveness, team working and communication.
A manager too will find that this develops their skills by improving their listening ability, delegating tasks which have come about as a result of the meeting such as putting a worker in charge of improving a process that was deemed insufficient, their decision making, and their own communication skills with how they convey points to their workers.
How Will These Meetings Contribute to Business Coaching?
These meetings are a perfect supplement to any one-to-one business coaching that takes place between the manager and employees as it will all contribute to the development of their own personal skills and their ability in certain areas. It also provides an opportunity for a manager to learn a great deal about their employees and their particular abilities.


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The ScanNav AutoCapture software automatically captures and analyses all the ultrasound image planes in real-time, as the sonographer moves the ultrasound probe over the patient's abodomen during the 20 week fetal anomaly scan. The current version of the software then automatically selects and saves the key images required to meet the FASP protocol in the UK.
As the software automatically captures the correct images, the operators do not need to manually freeze and save each image required by the protocol, thereby allowing them to focus on their dynamic assessment of the fetus.
The use of AI software should reduce the operator variability from the procedure, which is expected to result in more accurate and consistent image capture.
Intelligent Ultrasound Group is in discussions with a number of OEMs to bring ScanNav Audit and AutoCapture to market and the Group expect to develop further obstetrics and gynaecology variants of ScanNav AutoCapture to complement the 20-week protocol software described above.
Intelligent Ultrasound announces it is working with the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial to provide quality control of fetal ultrasound images. The work is led by principal investigators at Johns Hopkins, Emory and Colorado State Universities and is funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes for Health (NIH).
The HAPIN study, currently taking place in Guatemala, India, Peru and Rwanda, is a randomised controlled trial to assess the effect of using of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves instead of customary cooking practices on air pollution, child health and adult chronic disease. The data is urgently needed to inform policies on the health gains that can be obtained by scaling up LPG stoves or other interventions to reduce household air pollution among vulnerable populations around the world.
Intelligent Ultrasound has provided valuable assistance to The International Fetal and Newborn Growth (INTERGROWTH-21st) Consortium led by the University of Oxford. The Consortium has developed new international standards describing optimal fetal and newborn growth, which are being incorporated into clinical care around the world to improve health outcomes.
The INTERGROWTH-21st Project involved collecting data throughout pregnancy, including over 500,000 fetal ultrasound images, from healthy women in eight geographically diverse regions of the world.
To classify the anatomical structures in those images automatically, the Consortium applied MedaPhor's ScanNav® intelligent ultrasound technology, which uses AI algorithms and deep learning techniques to achieve over 99% accuracy.

subset: commoncrawl


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What's Next: The Ascent of Native Advertising and the Five Trends Shaping Custom Content
What's Next: The Ascent of Native Advertising and the Five Trends Shaping Custom Content
NEWSROOM: MetLife, Inc.
CAMPAIGN: Financial Inclusion
CONTENT: Article
This content originally appeared in the article "What's Next?" published by The Wall Street Journal.
MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the global insurance giant, recently partnered with WSJ. Custom Studios to build a dynamic, multimedia initiative called the "Multipliers of Prosperity." The goal of this initiative is to educate the general public on the importance of financial inclusion in emerging markets and to communicate that via custom-produced content in the form of articles and videos in a digital environment.
One of the five-minute videos featured on the site is the story of several Indian women micro-entrepreneurs who have benefitted from small-business loans provided through MetLife Foundation's nonprofit partner, Ujjivan. These loans have allowed the women to create viable businesses that have had a positive financial effect on them and their families, as well as for the communities in which they live and work. The compelling human-interest stories these women were able to tell allowed MetLife Foundation to tap into the emotional side of its program.
"MetLife Foundation has long understood and applied the art of storytelling to bring to life the complexities of a topic like financial inclusion," says Nandika Madgavkar, assistant vice president of corporate responsibility at MetLife. "We know that video, visual formats, and client stories help consumers better understand and engage with the issue, hopefully leading to action."
To read more from this excerpt, please download the PDF of the article below.


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ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday sought completed ban on import of luxury items to cut trade deficit.
The policy of imposing regulatory duty on luxury items was good but completely banning such goods would save more foreign exchange, trigger industrialization and create job opportunities, it said. Using imported luxury items have become a status symbol resulting in unabated imports taking a toll on the economy, ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt said.
He noted that bureaucracy continue to resist any move to reform FBR which is damaging the economy through its negative policies. 90 per cent of the resources are controlled by those who don't pay two percent of the personal tax to discharge national obligations, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that a just tax system should ensure distribution of wealth but here a system has been imposed which is robbing poor to help wealthy.
The business leader noted that imposition of the tax policy announced by PTI in 2012 can result in rapid national development.


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Born to work
It looks tough because it is tough. The Volvo FMX is designed to help you get the job done. Minimum downtime. Minimal delays. Every detail there because it needs to be. Except the battle scars. We left those to you. The features listed below may not be available in the local market. Please contact your nearest dealer for more information
The more you use it the better it will look.
Exterior Designer, Volvo Trucks
Bigger. Better. Stronger
All the familiar Volvo FMX elements are there, just enhanced and improved. The bull bar is tougher and larger, as are the corner bumpers. The central towing device is made from cast iron and can pull up to 32 tonnes. And the new headlights are positioned higher up where they're less likely to get damaged.
Time saving design
Notice the exposed fasteners on the corner bumpers and body panels. Not only do they add to the truck's robust look, they mean you can quickly replace panels yourself. It's all part of our philosophy of adding value to functionality – and reducing the amount of time you spend in the workshop.
Designed for construction
Slim mirror arms give you excellent forward vision, and the high air intake improves your reverse view. And don't worry if mud sticks to your windscreen – just climb up the front of the cab to clean it. Every detail has been designed for the life you and the truck lead.
Our Cabs (The features listed below may not be available in the local market. Please contact your nearest dealer for more information)
360° Exterior overview
Below is an interactive overview of the cab. Click on the text boxes to read more. Click the "Full Screen" for an even better experience. Described features and functions are general and might vary from your specific truck.


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The first conference of war injuries in northern and eastern Syria was recently launched at the Aram Tikran Center for Culture and Art in the town of Rumailan of Qamishlo canton.
The conference will be held under the slogan "We do not Forget the Protectors of our Land" with 143 war causalities from different regions of northern and eastern Syria, and the participation of a number of guests from representatives of Autonomous Administration, women's organizations and civil society organizations.
The conference will continue for two consecutive days. According to the preparatory committee, the conference will include the speech of the General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces, discussing the overall political and field situations in the region, reading and discussing the annual report, reading the rules of procedure and approving them, as well as the election of the members of the Council and the Discipline Committee.


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My first born.
When did this happen?
I feel like I've been robbed.
Entering pre-teenage years, not something I am looking forward to. I'm sure there is a manual out there on how to deal with this.
Along the way he has learned to be empathetic, sincere, humorous, kind hearted, curious/annoying, laid back and all around typical boy.
Happy Birthday!
If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. I'll always be with you.
-- Winnie the Pooh
-- Winnie the Pooh


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Published November 8, 2018
Scientists at UB's Clinical Research Institute on Addictions (CRIA) recently received more than $4 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the effects of drinking, smoking and marijuana use during pregnancy.
Roh-Yu Shen and Samir Haj-Dahmane each received five-year, $1.8 million grants from the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) to study fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and how prenatal alcohol exposure affects the brain. Both Shen and Haj-Dahmane are senior research scientists at CRIA and in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
FASD is a group of conditions caused by alcohol use during pregnancy, and can include physical and neurological problems such as small size, attention disorders and learning disabilities.
Shen will investigate how prenatal alcohol use affects executive function, which refers to how the brain governs such skills as planning, organization, time management and problem-solving.
"Although we know FASDs are caused by drinking, we do not fully understand the exact neurological mechanisms that alter the brain," Shen says. "In this study, we will investigate if prenatal alcohol exposure leads to immature neurodevelopment of the medial prefrontal cortex, a brain region controlling executive function, and how this contributes to executive function deficits."
Shen and her team also will investigate if interventions after birth can help the medial prefrontal cortex mature, and therefore prevent or reverse executive function problems. These results could contribute to development of effective interventions for FASDs, which are the most preventable cause of development disorders in the U.S.
Samir Haj-Dahmane will explore the effects of prenatal drinking on psychiatric disorders associated with FASD.
"Not only do FASDs include developmental delays, but they also can include psychiatric disorders, including major anxiety disorder," Haj-Dahmane says. "Dysfunction of the brain's serotonin system is one of the major causes of psychiatric disorders associated with FASD, yet how prenatal ethanol exposure alters the serotonin system has remained a long-standing question in FASD research."
Haj-Dahmane's study seeks to understand the mechanisms and precise neuronal circuitries that are changed in the serotonin system due to prenatal alcohol exposure, which may lead to new therapies to help psychiatric disorders associated with FASD.
CRIA scientists Rina Das Eiden and Panayotis (Peter) K. Thanos are co-principal investigators on a two-year, $461,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Eiden is a member of the Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, and Thanos is in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
The grant is for a translational study of tobacco and marijuana use during pregnancy, using both human and animal samples. The current funding is for a two-year human study that will have four groups of children who were prenatally exposed to tobacco and/or cannabis at various levels. After completion of the human study, funds will be released for an additional three years for an animal study. The animal study will include light and heavy exposure groups for tobacco or cannabis and combination of the two.
"Translational studies with human and animal models are essential for understanding not only the public health impact of co-occurring use, but also the biological mechanisms for such impact," Thanos says.
The subjects will be examined for differences in body weight, behavior, attention, working memory, fetal growth, reaction to stress and inflammation.
"Nearly 30 percent of women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy also report using marijuana," says Eiden. "With many states moving toward legalizing marijuana, that number is likely to increase, so assessing the risks posed by prenatal use are more important than ever."


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Children and adults are getting creative at The Creative Craft Shows across the UK with free children's workshops with every half-price adult ticket purchased.
The creative activities went down a storm at The Creative Craft Show in Manchester last week. There is plenty of opportunity to get involved as we bring you free children's workshops and discounted adult tickets to inspire you and yours in the following locations.
Exeter 26th -29th September at Westpoint
The creative workshops include personalised framed pebble art, drawing robots, slime bubbles and Play-Doh monsters, plus the Christmas focused shows including rag wreath making, festive slime, creative baubles and keepsakes too. You can also enjoy a bit of relaxed chill out time with your little ones in our special quiet corner for sensory play with the lovely sensory Usborne books "That's not my..." range and Play- Doh sensory fun too!.
Here's some of the fun that you can look forward to when you come along:
We are thrilled to be able to bring free workshops for children when you purchase a special half priced ticket, you get the workshops for your child for free!
Don't delay, get your tickets here today:
The Creative Craft Show Exeter - Creative workshops with The Creation Station
We look forward to welcoming you :)


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Reminding Kids of Their Many Roles in Society May Improve Problem Solving
Simply reminding children of their many roles in society — helper, friend, neighbor, son or daughter — can lead to better problem-solving and more flexible thinking, according to a new study at Duke University.
"This is some of the first research on reminding kids about their multifaceted selves," said lead author Dr. Sarah Gaither, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. "Such reminders boost their problem-solving skills and how flexibly they see their social worlds, all from a simple mindset switch."
After considering their own various identities, children showed more flexible thinking about race and other social groupings, which could be valuable in an increasingly diverse society.
The study involved a series of experiments with 196 children, ages 6 and 7. All were native English speakers.
In one experiment, the first group of children was reminded they have various identities, such as son, daughter, reader or helper. A second group of children was reminded of their multiple physical attributes (such as a mouth, arms and legs).
In another experiment, one group of children was again reminded they have various identities. A second set of children received similar prompts but about other children's many roles, not their own.
All of the children were then given a series of tasks to complete. Children who were reminded of their various identities demonstrated stronger problem-solving and creative thinking skills.
For example, when shown pictures of a bear gazing at a honey-filled beehive high up in a tree, these children had more creative ideas for how the bear might reach the honey, such as flipping over a bowl so that it becomes a stool. In other words, they saw a new use for the bowl.
Children who were reminded of their multiple roles also demonstrated more flexible thinking about social groupings. When asked to categorize different photos of faces, they suggested many ways to do so. For instance, they identified smiling faces versus unsmiling ones, and old versus young faces. The other children, meanwhile, primarily grouped people's faces by race and gender.
The findings suggest simple ways to encourage flexible, inclusive thinking for the young, and this could be especially valuable for teachers, Gaither said.
"We have this tendency in our society to only think about ourselves in connection with one important group at a time," Gaither said.
"When we remind kids that they have various identities, they think beyond our society's default categories, and remember that there are many other groups in addition to race and gender. It opens their horizons to be a little more inclusive."
The findings are published in the journal Developmental Science.
Source: Duke University
Pedersen, T. (2019). Reminding Kids of Their Many Roles in Society May Improve Problem Solving. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 26, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2019/07/06/reminding-kids-of-their-many-roles-in-society-may-improve-problem-solving/148439.html
Last reviewed: By a member of our scientific advisory board on 6 Jul 2019
Published on Psych Central.com. All rights reserved.


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Don't let the tempestuous weather of the last couple weeks fool you – summer is around the corner, and for many parents whose children go to traditional schools, that means finding a summer camp. The Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows may be the best option.
For Truckee Meadows youth, summer programming is being offered Aug. 27 at six sites for children 6 months -12 years old ($40 a week with membership), and three sites for teens (FREE with membership). The camp offers 11 hours of supervised programming (7 a.m.-6 p.m.), with breakfast and lunch included. Financial assistance is available.
Most of all, the camp offers a memorable experience with activities as diverse as photography, acting and writing, to bowling swimming and roller skating. Throughout the summer, additional field trips are available as an option (additional fees apply).
Make it a great summer at the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. To register – and to schedule a required orientation session – call the Club at 775-331-5437.
Youth Camp Sites
- Donald W. Reynolds Facility (youth and teen)
2680 E. Ninth Street, Reno
- Neil Road Youth Site
3905 Neil Road, Reno
- Rollan Melton Elementary School
6575 Archimedes Lane, Reno
- Joe Mitchell Center
325 Patrician Drive, Lemmon Valley
- E.L. Wiegand Center (0-6 years old)
1270 Foster Drive, Reno
- Grace Warner Elementary
3075 Heights Drive, Reno
Teen Sites
- Donald W. Reynolds Facility (youth and teen)
2680 E. Ninth Street, Reno
- The Club at the Larry D. Johnson Community Center
1200 12th Street, Sparks
- Sun Valley Teen Center
115 W. 6th Ave., Sparks
- The Club at Hug High School
2880 Sutro Street, Reno


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Writer Pearl S. Buck famously said that the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members. Countless people in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond have passed that test glowingly through their support for local efforts to assist Central American migrants who have come to our borders to escape violence, persecution and poverty.
Now that those efforts themselves are threatened, we count on our community to help McAllen officials find a new location where those refugees can find shelter and solace.
The McAllen City Commission on Monday asked Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley to vacate the respite center it has utilized since December. The diocese moved into the 16,000-square-foot former nursing home at 2nd Street and Hackberry Avenue after it outgrew its former downtown location.
The new facility, however, is in a residential neighborhood, and some residents expressed concerns about having a transient population so close to their families. That prompted city commissioners on Monday to request that the respite center close within 90 days. Commissioners obviously were torn about seeking the eviction, which came on a split vote.
We're certainly not alone in hoping that within that time, a new location can be found.
Norma Pimentel, a local Catholic nun, opened the center several years ago to address the needs of thousands of people, many of them unaccompanied youth, who were arriving at our border from Central America, where they faced gang violence, political corruption and little hope for the future. Sister Norma and volunteers at the center provide services for the migrants after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials process and release them.
The effort drew worldwide acclaim, bringing invitations to visit with Pope Francis in Rome and to address the United Nations in New York. And Pimentel generally has received support from residents all across the Rio Grande Valley — most likely including many who now express concerns about having the center in their own neighborhood.
Generally, the refugees who are helped at the center are mothers and children — just like the neighborhood's residents. But residents' fear of a foreign population, especially one that is constantly changing, is normal and understandable.
Mayor Jim Darling has pledged to help find a new location for the respite center, and we hope other members of the community are willing to help in the search.
A shuttered storefront or other facility might not be as well suited as a former nursing home, which already had a kitchen area, laundry room and bedrooms that provided privacy and relative safety to those who were sheltered there. But, especially in these late-winter days of rapidly changing weather, any facility that can help address the needs of the refugees surely would be welcome.
Ideally, conditions in Central America will improve someday and people won't feel the need to flee; then the respite center won't be needed. Until then, we hope the community will again show that it cares for the most helpless among us, and help the respite center find a new home.
Previous coverage
McAllen orders Catholic Charities to vacate immigrant respite center
Mayor: McAllen will find a new home for immigrant respite center
'We could've done a better job': McAllen feeling heat from respite center decision


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In the March 5 edition of the Race/Related newsletter, we asked you to share explorations of your family history, after Monica Drake, travel editor at The Times, wrote about hers.
A selection of the responses follows.
About 20 years ago I visited Laurens, S.C. to get a feel for the place where two sets of great-great-grandparents were born. I also wanted to understand why they left. I attended Sunday service in the small church they helped found. I stood next to their headstones right outside the church's side door. I met another descendant whose parents elected not to move north or west as mine had.
Laurens is physically beautiful. It has shades of green we never see in Southern California. The people, both black and white, were friendly and helpful. In contrast, the city also boasted the only working KKK museum in the country. The robes and hoods were proudly displayed in the front windows. A cousin told me the Klan still marches through the city from time to time.
I remembered what I'd read about advances blacks made after slavery in South Carolina, both politically and financially, and the brutal backlash during Reconstruction. I know why they left and when I think about who I might have been, I'm glad they did.
Dee Dee Lonon, Carson, Calif.
Last year I recreated my family's journey during the Great Migration by traveling from Jackson, Miss. up to Detroit by train.
My late mother's family lived in the Mississippi Delta until 1941, so I flew down to Jackson, rented a car, and drove to Lexington where my mother was born. I found a tiny, aging town square and an ominous, gray Confederate obelisk reading: "The men were right who wore the gray and right can never die." I struck up a brief conversation with an older black man on the square whose name was Otha Redmond. My grandmother's maiden name was Alga Mae Redmond. I asked if he was related to an Alga Mae and he said he didn't think so, but I still wonder.
I also found the site of my grandfather's Colored High School just outside Lexington. Tracking down these specific places was difficult as government record-keeping for black Americans was poor to nonexistent during Jim Crow and slavery. The white side of my family is brimming with accurate government documentation.
The next day I took Amtrak for 31 hours from Jackson up to Detroit and thought about what it would have been like to cross into Illinois during Jim Crow, then walk into what was moments before a whites-only car.
In Detroit I tracked down my mother's childhood home and high school, but at this point in my life I hadn't been able to find any maternal family members. I'd never met them and everyone lost touch when she left Detroit as a young woman. She recently passed away.
Five months later, a first cousin of mine in Detroit found me on Facebook via my Ancestry.com family tree. I was elated! She'd been doing the same genealogy research all this time, wondering if she'd ever find me. I met my long-lost family over Thanksgiving last year and truly feel like I've turned a new page.
Sarah Enelow, Brooklyn
In 1950, when I was about five years old, my family traveled from Wilmington, Del. to Richmond, Va., for a family event, the nature of which I no longer remember. My parents decided I was too young to attend the event, so I was left in the care of an older cousin at my great-aunt's house. While I was there, I was taken upstairs to meet Mary Jones. She was a very old African-American woman who was living in my great-aunt's house. For whatever reason, meeting her made an impression on me, and I have remembered it these 67 years.
When my father was a baby, his family moved into his maternal grandmother's home, and Mrs. Jones was their cook. When she became too old to work, she was guaranteed a home there for the rest of her life. She died in 1961. She was thought to have been about 100 years old.
The memory of meeting her spurred me to unravel my family's genealogy and our involvement in American slavery. It turns out that John Veneable Hardwicke, my father's maternal great-grandfather held three people in slavery in 1860: a young woman and her two young sons. I believe, though I cannot prove, that this young woman was Mrs. Jones's mother and that Mrs. Jones was the last living person to have been enslaved by my family. Slavery was not all that long ago.
Subsequent research has uncovered the truth that one branch or another of my family held people in slavery from our arrival in the Virginia Colony in the 17th century until Emancipation. I know the names of about 40 of these people, and, of course there are more whose names I do not know. I have written a book containing this family history and my reflections on the legacy of slavery that I am attempting to get published.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth W. Collier, Santa Barbara, Calif.


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Looking for something fun and different to do on "date night"? Well I have the perfect suggestion for you. Atlanta Culinary Tours is a great way to spend the day tasting and touring different historic Atlanta districts. I had so much fun with them on my first tour of Sweet Auburn Market, that I took another tour of Historic Norcross. The Historic Norcross tour consisted of 9 restaurants –Taste of Britain, Blue House Market, 45 South Café, Mojitos-Cuban Restaurant, Paizanos, Zapata Tacos and Tequila Bar, Iron Horse Tavern, Norcross Station Café, and Dominick's. Some restaurants even included drinks! =)
Atlanta Culinary currently tours the following districts:
Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roastery
Historic Norcross
Sweet Auburn Curb Market
Suchuan: Beyond MaLa
Inman Park/Old 4th Ward
Click for more information and tour dates
Taste of Britain – Tea and Scones
Blue House Market – Chicken Salad
45 South Café- San Francisco Coffee, French Toast, and Sausage
Mojitos-Cuban Restaurant — Mojito
Paizanos- Spinach Salad, Margarita Pizza, and homemade Sangria
Zapata Tacos and Tequila Bar- Moljacetos
Iron Horse Tavern- Smoked Salmon
Norcross Station Café- Stuffed Portabella Ravioli mushrooms, and dessert
Dominick's- Calamari and Garlic Bread


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Drum pendant lighting – Lampshades are drum-shaped fashion again. These screens were popular until about 30 years ago, when they fell into disuse. Now, they are enjoying a strong comeback hand decorators homes. The drum-shaped screens are a good choice for any lamp in a room providing adequate lighting, since light from the lamp is reflected both to the ceiling and to the sides of the screen and down. Learn how to create a drum-shaped screen and incorporate it into your home decor.
Determines the size of the drum pendant lighting screen you will create. The lower and upper rings must be of the same diameter. An example of a size that could be performed is a screen of 9 inches and a half high (24.1 cm) and a lower and upper diameter of 18 inches (45.7 cm).
Drum pendant lighting stretch fabric covered styrene on a flat surface. Using the example from step 1, measures 9 inches and a half (24.1 cm) of an edge of styrene and then measures 58 inches (147.3 cm) long around the edge. Make small marks with the pencil to create cutting lines for a piece of screen that is 58 inches (147.3 cm) long and 9 inches and a half (24.1 cm) high.


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5 Things That are Stealing your Time as a Homemaker
If you're looking for more hours in your day, a great place to start is by finding those stolen moments. Is there time that you are spending on something that you really should be spending on something else?
Not all the things in the list below are wrong things. Some of them are simply things that we can become so wrapped up in doing that it steals time from more important things.
Take an honest look and see if any of them apply to you:
1. Social media
We start out innocently enough – hopping on Pinterest to find a recipe for dinner or deciding to post that photo we just took to Instagram. But all too often, 5 minutes turns to 25 minutes, and before we know it, it's past dinner time before we get off our phone, still half-dazed.
We must be very intentional about the time we spend on our phones or computers. Turn on a timer when you sit down if you find that you have a bad habit getting lost in the black hole of the internet.
2. Work
Many of us work from home, which is perfectly fine, but we must keep in mind that our family needs to come first. Where do we find the balance between contributing to the family income and keeping our homes orderly, plus having plenty of time for spending with the people we love? I've not met many people that seem to have the time to do all of it well. The balance of that is going to be different for different families, and your priorities may be different than mine depending on your circumstances.
Regardless of whether you are in great need for the income or not, the potential for earning "just a little more" is always there, and we must all guard against going after another dollar at the expense of family time and a house that becomes so messy that everyone is stressed and grumpy.
So please hear me when I say that I'm not equating working from home as something that's not worth spending your time on. It may actually be very much worth your time. However, when it begins stealing your time from the people you love and from taking proper care of them, it's time to re-evaluate whether you need to cut back on the amount of time you spend working.
3. Hobbies
Every homemaker needs to make time for the things she enjoys. It will bring joy to your life (and keep you a little more sane in the chaos of life!)
However, we need to be conscious of how much time we're spending on those things. When the housework begins to slip or our children are clamoring for our attention, we need to be honest about whether or not it's because we've become too engrossed in our own interests. Are we diligently caring for our families or we only looking out for number one?
4. Lack of focus
I am pretty bad about this. Lots of jobs go half-done because I get distracted by another job halfway through. At the end of the day, I have laundry that's half-done, dishes that are half-washed, and floors that are half-cleaned. I've done a lot of work but the house is still a mess.
Learning to focus on one job at a time saves time because you're not doing everything twice.
Flylady's book, Sink Reflections, is probably my favorite resource for helping what she calls "SHE's" (Sidetracked Home Executives.) 🙂
5. Laziness
No, I'm not calling you lazy. I have no idea who is reading this, so I wouldn't know anyway. But if you're struggling with getting things done, just ask yourself honestly, "Could it be because I am being lazy?" Are you snoozing the alarm multiple times (hey, I have to preach to myself about this too – maybe I should get one of these, haha!) or sitting on the computer (not literally!) when you really ought to get up and do your chores?
I think sometimes wives and moms hate chores every bit as much as kids do. The problem is that we don't have anybody to with-hold our allowance or tell us we can't have screen time until we get our chores done.
Some good old-fashioned self-discipline is what we need. Perhaps we shouldn't complain about feeling overwhelmed with the housework until we first take an honest look at whether or not we can do anything about it.
Maybe this article sounded a little harsh. It's not meant to be; it's just that sometimes admitting that we can do better and be better feels pretty uncomfortable. But I promise that if you see any areas here that you need to address, it will be so worth it to make the necessary changes! You'll find more time and feel less frustrated, and those are good things!


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They face a secular culture and the effects of church scandal. But they were called, and they answered. Read about young Catholic priests (including Fr. Andrew Brinkman, 29, the skateboarder pictured above and doing tricks after the jump) in the Star Tribune here: A Youth Movement in the PriesthoodRead More
Tag Archives: Priests
Posted in Misc: Article | Under 20-somethings, Millennials, Ministry, Misc: Article, Priest, priesthood, Priests, Skateboarding, Vocation, Young Adult |
10.21What It's Really Like to Be an Exorcist
Posted in Misc: Article
Under Evil, Exorcism, Fr. Gary Thomas, Misc: Article, Prayers, Priests, Satanism
Fr. Gary Thomas, a priest and exorcist talks to Cosmo (of all places) about his ministry: What It's Really Like to Be an ExorcistRead More
10.11Norbertine Stands Strong Amid the Ruins
Posted in Misc: Article
Under Communism, Czech Republic, Misc: Article, Norbertines, Priests, Vocation
Melissa Musick on meeting Fr. Adrian, a Norbertine priest, in the Czech Republic. Under Communist rule, Fr. Adrian had to keep his vocation a secret: Norbertine Stands Strong Amid the Ruins. Photos after the jump:Read More
10.6Mexico Emerges as the Most Dangerous Place to Be a Catholic Priest or Lay Minister
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Under Mexico, Misc: Article, Murder, priesthood, Priests, Religious Persecution
History repeats itself. Mexico is once again a fatal place for priests. Viva Christo Rey! From Crux: Mexico Emerges as the Most Dangerous Place to Be a Catholic Priest. And today: Four Catechists Murdered in MexicoRead More
7.29The Anchor: African refugees look to a priest as their savior
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Under Africa, Compassion, Eritrea, Europe, Immigrants, Immigration, Kinship, Ministry, Misc: Article, Priests, Social Justice, Solidarity
Fr. Zerai, an Eritrean-born Roman Catholic priest, ministers to and helps save African immigrants risking their lives to reach Europe. Read his story in The New Yorker here: The Anchor: African refugees look to an exiled priest as their savior. Photos after the jump:Read More


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Published by Woodfield in 2010, 140 pages. Paperback (N4488)
From the rear side cover: Anyone old enough to recall the innovative BBC TV programme 'Tonight', broadcast in the late 50s and early 60s, will remember Cy Grant, whose regular appearances on the show made him the first black entertainer to have a regular spot on British television.
What television viewers were unaware of, however, is that in addition to his career as an entertainer, Cy had been one of a small number of West Indians to qualify as aircrew officers and fly with the RAF during the Second World War.
Cy, originally from British Guiana, travelled to England to join the RAF in 1941 and, after undergoing flying training and qualifying as a navigator, was posted in 1943 to No.103 Squadron, based at RAF Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire, as one of the seven-man crew of an Avro Lancaster bomber. Cy and his crew were shot down over occupied Europeon only their third mission, and Cy was captured by the Germans, spending the rest of the war as a POW.
Incidentaly, the title of this book comes from a German propaganda article in a newspaper during the war, which showed a photograph of Cy Grant under the caption 'A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race'. The book also includes around 18 pages of black and white photographs towards the end of the book, although please note these photographs are of 'photocopy' quality.
The condition of the book is generally excellent. The covers are clean and bright, the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. There is a small price sticker on the rear side cover