It was great to introduce our two job-share receptionists to Robyn’s Getting a Grip on The Paper War text. It became a catalyst for us to improve our administration proce..."
Marie Collins,
Business Manager, The NZ Institute of Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery
Thank you for all the tips and words of advice you and your team have sent through.I have been constantly reading it and it does wonders to my line of work and also being a wife and mot..."
Anaseini Liku,
Communication & Media Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Cook Islands
I have just finished reading 'Getting a Grip on Time' and 'Getting a Grip on the Paper War'. Particularly your book on 'Time' got me back on track, and during the day I catc..."
Ingrid Geerlings,
Owner, www.houseofmilk.com
‘I’ve just been reading ‘Getting a grip on Leadership’. It is very good and has had an impact on me. I realised I’d lost my way a bit re who I am ..."
Heather Millar,
Manager, Professional Practice, Central North Island Kindergarten Association, New Zealand
I have personally known Robyn Pearce for around 16 years.
From time to time my firm has contracted Robyn on a project basis to work with our professional staff as well as partners in the fi..."
John Hackett,
Partner, A J Park, New Zealand
The kick-start that I needed was delivered by a velvet glove, but make no mistake the iron hand within the glove ensured that the message was received and understood. If you are going to spend some..."
Heather Jenks,
Associate University Librarian (Research and Learning Services), University of Canterbury
Having worked already very successfully with our NZ Team, Robyn's support of the Australian Team over a 12-month period was fundamental to helping us cope with increased day to day workload - espec..."
Julia Braun,
General Manager - Marketing, Beiersdorf Australia
I have used Robyn as an Executive Coach for key Senior Staff for a number of years now and couldn't recommend her more highly. I've found as people step up in the organisation they often struggle t..."
Merilyn Havler,
Then General Manager, Beiersdorf New Zealand
When we reviewed the progress made as a result of your concepts, a staggering number of them had become an integral part of our day to day business, collectively making a huge difference to our eff..."
Wayne & Lisa Hughes,
Occupational Therapy Helping Children, NSW, Australia
I'd like to highlight the benefits felt both by the staff members attending your sessions, and the motivational flow-on effects experienced throughout the Hotel.In the developmental sta..."
Human Resources Manager,
Wentworth Hotel (part of the Rydges chain)
Thank you for your interesting and indeed challenging speech. I could see all the people who've ..."
Australian Institute of Credit Managers,
Sydney Branch
On behalf of the team at Strategic Lifestyle Management and our client Lend Lease I would..."
SLM Conference and Incentive Manager,
for client Lend Lease
"Thank you for the practical and informative Time Management seminar you recently gave to our senior m..."
HR Manager,
ANA Hotel, Sydney
The response to the program was extremely positive, with an average rating of 4.4 out of ..."
Noel Cook,
GM, Outdoor Network, Australia
Your time management seminars are one of the best things we've ever done. Weeks l..."
Centrelink,
Dubbo, New South Wales
Now several months later and my productivity has increased between 30% and 50%. I'm seeing more and bette..."
Senior financial planner,
IPAC, Australia
A wonderful surprise to learn how much I had improved since the first programme with you nine months a..."
National Sales Manager,
Personal Insurance, GIO Australia
Feedback from the staff was very positive... all felt they had gained a great deal of control and di..."
MD,
C.Y. O'Connor College of TAFE, Northam, WA
A lot of great new ideas and some very good new tools that I shall start implementing immediately.
Group Services Trainer,
Adecco
"Many practical hints which helped me reorganise my office, to operate efficiently." ..."
Senior Partner,
Baldwins (Patent Attorneys)
I would like to take this opportunity to commend you on the flexibility of your approach, and..."
Human Resources Manager,
Professional Services Review, Canberra
You presented a most informative and challenging training session. Your ability to gain q..."
Human Resources Manager,
Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal of NSW
Once again you combine an enthusiastic presentation style with useful tips and techniques. Succinct and fun ..."
Manager - Training & Development,
Real Estate Institute of NSW
Your presentation was brilliant, and your thoughts on how to make time management beneficial to eve..."
Barbara McCarthy,
President, Chatswood Chamber of Commerce, Sydney
We could not have chosen better. Your contribution was just what we wanted and needed, and I was t..."
Raewyn James,
Tamaki Teachers' Conference
Robyn, you gave a fantastic speech, and I am still having positive feedback about your talk to this day..."
Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator,
Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi, and co-ordinator of Eastern Suburbs Women's Breakfast
I know everyone who attended was fascinated by all your planning tips and I know many have put t..."
Solo Home Business Network,
Sydney
We were very impressed... everyone gained considerable insight to effective ..."
MD,
IT software company, Auckland
Following a number of very positive reference checks we invited Robyn Pe..."
Godfrey Pembroke National Conference,
Hobart, Tasmania
"Thank you! I'm sure you could tell from everyone's enthusiasm that they enjoyed your presenta..."
Programme Director,
Pioneer SWAP
Robyn gave much more than the professional information imparted in this kind of session...."
Principal Heritage Officer,
Heritage Council NSW
Thanks for your wonderful presentation. I've had a lot of positive feedback from our staff, and they c..."
GM's assistant,
Austereo, Australia
Your down-to-earth common sense certainly hit home to a lot of people, and the feedba..."
Lyn McDermott,
Ass. Director, Marketing and Communication, L.J. Hooker Ltd
Robyn, in light of this morning's session (and comments about short emails!) I could leave it the..."
Wilf Marley,
Principal, Marley Loft Systems (Accountants)
We've had great feedback since your last session with the NZ Institute of Charte..."
Denise Bovaird,
Past President, New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
Since your time management course our managers have found that they ca..."
John Moore,
Then-HR Manager, International Cricket Council, Dubai
Robyn spoke to four of my Academy groups in the space of 11 days. I wa..."
Barrie Barrett,
Chairman, Academy for Chief Executives, United Kingdom
I just thought I'd spend a few minutes in the Proactive/Value-adding quadrant and let you know ho..."
Law Clerk,
Bell Gully, New Zealand
I would like to extend a huge thank you for making your valuable time av..."
David Greenslade,
Managing Director, Strategi, New Zealand
Since we worked with Robyn 5 months ago our team of 12 underwriters and support staf..."
Senior Underwriter,
QBE Insurance, New Zealand
Thanks very much for the Time Management programme you have conducted over the ..."
Gareth McCulloch,
National Sales Manager, Southern Hospitality Limited
I agree. Since appointing a project manager and a team of Virtual Assistants for my online business I feel a sense of great relief. Now I can focus on creating different income streams and other profit making without worrying about the nitty gritty. You don’t know how good it feels before you haven’t tried it. :)
That’s great to hear, Heike! You’re so right – I’ve recently hired Sanchia to ‘run’ with me – the sense of relief when we know someone else will keep the ball rolling when we’re working on other long-term developments is huge, isn’t it.
Be sure to keep abreast of my upcoming blogs over the next couple of weeks because I will really be focusing on this issue. I will also be making an announcement this week that will not only enhance people’s delegation skills but also help those around us to get onboard and learn how to delegate also!
My delegation curve ball:
I’ve just come from a review where I was told (as an aside) that I take on too much stuff! One area that was identified was that my name appears beside too many items in the minutes of meetings. I’m curious how I can delegate tasks from my desk, but not in meetings. The principles might be the same, but the context seems to throw me. (any ideas would be appreciated)
Alongside this I have a ‘snatcher’ – my PA. She will take stuff from me that I shouldn’t do – before I get the chance to delegate. That feels good too!
Nigel, Hi!
It’s great to hear from you. I am so familiar with the comment you have made. (Some of the comments below may be similar to some of the discussions we have had face to face, but will make my response general enough to be of value to others as well).
Sometimes it is the most capable people who find it the hardest to delegate! However, I promise you that the benefits of loosening your grip on parts of the workload will enable you to GET a grip on the wider responsibilities of your role!
For a start why don’t you try this: every time a piece of work comes to your desk ask yourself “is there someone else that can do this so I can get on with more meaningful tasks?”. If the job is something that stops you from getting on with those more meaningful things but there is nobody to give the lesser stuff to, then you need to look at upskilling someone around you who CAN take on that work in the future.
For a broader approach, take a look at the people around you and start to think about whole work streams you can delegate to them. So rather than a small piece of individual work here and there, there may well be a whole area or file you can oversee someone else working on. You will free up more time for yourself and also empower those you work with by entrusting them with things you normally try and do yourself!
I am positive that you will reap the benefits of delegating… you can always go back to dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s if it doesn’t work out. But I bet you won’t!
p.s it sounds like your PA is already on board
Delegation is something everyone needs to learn to do successfully.
Once a task or position is delegated there must be trust in that person to carry it out to the best of their ability.
Everyone makes mistakes so let them make some and learn from them, maintaining contact but also confidence in them to do the job, even if it may not be how you would have done it.
Mutual trust is a huge aspect of successful delegation, I believe.
Nicely put Winsome – thanks for your valuable contribution!
Hi there everyone – Sanchia here, Robyn’s assistant. Robyn has gone sailing and to visit her new grandchild, and true to her recent series on delegation, she has asked me to stay abreast of any comments that come in while she is away.
We had an email comment from Donna in Ontario, Canada. Donna commented that delegtaion is critical and noted that many entrepreneurs who have always “done it themselves” find it hard to let go.
Donna was also kind enough to remind us that in our pursuit of better delegation skills we should use leverage a little more. Leverage is all about tapping into the skills of others around you. Just think of who you know, and who they know – and you might find you also have plenty of leverage. Donna herself has written a really interesting article on this topic, and we are just waiting for the electronic link to come through – expect it soon!
Henry Ford said something like “I would rather have 1% of the work of 100 people, than 100% of the work of one person” I couldn’t agree more!
Well, as grateful as I am to work with somebody who understands the importance of work/life balance, we can’t all be out sailing at once. Back to work for me!
Hi, for some cause when i place your feed into google reader, it won?t get the job done. Can you give me the Rss hyperlink just to be positive I?m utilizing probably the most appropriate one?
Hi Debby,
Thanks for your comment. We are unsure why the feed is not working in google reader, it seems to be working for us. You could try the following link as an alternative however, good luck! http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobynPearce?format=xml