A Step-by-Step guide to Successful Delegation

Successful delegation frees up your time to concentrate on more important tasks, while at the same time it can develop the skills and potential of the people that you are delegating to.

If you are constantly working overtime, unable to get jobs completed or missed deadlines, then these step-by-step guidelines for successful delegation could be beneficial to you.

Try this 60 minute video/DVD, with two identical 60-minute audios plus a workbook for other ideas on Delegating and Supervising

What to delegate and what not to delegate

If your workload is overwhelming, then delegation can be an effective tool for you. Download this form to identify which tasks you can delegate. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are there tasks that others can learn from and perhaps do more efficiently/cost effective?
• Do you dislike the task that you are considering to delegate?
• Is the task important to you and your goals?

If you answered an overwhelming Yes to the first question and No to the last two questions, then this task could be a likely candidate for delegation.

Be clear about what you want done

When you have identified those areas of work that you want to delegate, it is important that you identify the skill set for the work involved. In this task analysis, ask yourself the following questions:

• What resources/equipment are required for the task? It may be necessary to provide training for your colleagues before delegating a task.
• What skills are required for the task? For example, does the task involve writing or decision making abilities, or perhaps the task involves communication skills with suppliers, clients and/or consultants.

Select the person that you are delegating to.

If the person has the experience, it is likely they will be able to do the job with minimal training. However, the person who has the ability to do the task may need training or mentoring

Other important questions to ask for successful delegation are: Which employees have expressed a desire to learn? Which people have an interest in the skill sets that you are looking for? Asking these types of questions allows you to more easily match the person with the job, and make the transition easier.

What is the current person’s workload? It is no good giving a task to an already overworked subordinate, resulting in stress, frustration and eventually burnout.

Successful delegation may involve delegating to two people with different skills to get the task done. For example, if you need a brochure or catalogue to be written up, and one person has great writing ability and another person has great graphics, then consider the possibility of delegating these jobs to both people.

Successful delegation relies on good communication of task/objectives

If possible, this should be done in a face-to-face meeting. When communicating, people will often be asking themselves “What’s in it for me” (WIFM). Try to use beneficial language that highlights the benefits to the individual while remaining realistic.

Throughout, ask the other person for their input into the task and objectives. The sooner that you empower the person in the shared responsibility of the task the more likely their motivation will increase.

Discuss the task in detail. If you do not understand the task that needs to be done, then it is unlikely the person you are delegating to will.

Clearly and succinctly state what your expectations are for the task and how the performance of the task will be measured. What are the levels of accountability? Are there measures of success? What resources are available?

What are the deadlines? A deadline creates a priority. Without a deadline the task will fill the time. Try to create status review deadlines in addition to final deadlines.

Make yourself available for further questions.

Monitor, provide feedback.

Clearly identify the status review dates and the reporting method required. Provide positive feedback and constructive criticism with ways that things can be improved.

Make sure that you give credit where credit is due. If task was not done satisfactorily, or you think that you could have delegated more effectively, question whether your requests were unreasonable? Was the right person delegated to? Could you have improved your communication? Did the person benefit from being delegated to?

Review

A meeting should be set so that both of you can review the completed task. What went right and could things have been improved? Communicate in a positive way the achievements of the employee, and make sure that the employee is recognized by the other staff/clients for their work. Ask the employee what they got out of the task? Does the experience highlight any skill gaps that could be corrected though ongoing training. Provide any criticism in a constructing and sensitive way.