Mastering the Fine Art of Delegation

When two of the three Partners at The Lovat Loch Ness in Inverness-shire took more of a back seat, remaining partner Caroline Gregory found herself facing a radical re-shuffle. After completing an ILM 3 course with Tickety Boo Training, she approached us with what we saw as an exciting opportunity to shake things up, in the best possible way.

The Lovat ticks all the boxes you might ask of a holiday destination. Its winning combination of idyllic Loch Ness location, eco-conscious ethos and 3 Rosette restaurant make it an ideal spot for a getaway. Customer service is also an inherent part of the culture of this luxury Inverness-shire retreat. After all, it’s the people that make a good business great.

So when the two business partners moved into the background, Tickety Boo Training supported Caroline in establishing a hierarchy, and appointing a new level of management to underpin her role.  Disseminating authority, dividing up roles and establishing long-term performance management systems was all part of giving Caroline the support she needed to delegate her estimable workload.

The team at The Lovat progressed to one-to-one coaching, with Caroline and other members being encouraged to find a space in which to open up and develop into the demands of their new roles and relationships. And the benefit of working with someone who understands your business was that Tickety Boo already had the insight needed to help push Caroline’s unique vision for the company, without having to revisit old ground.

Caroline would encourage anyone considering training to think carefully about who they plan to work with.  She advises ‘It’s not a quick fix. You have to build up a relationship with someone, and that’s really important.’ She found that having a sounding board like Annie helped her to find her own answers, which is always more important than taking direction from someone else.

Additional restructuring is ongoing but perhaps the most valuable lesson Caroline has learned is that, before you can give autonomy to others, you have to learn to let go yourself.