A Step-by-Step guide to Successful DelegationSuccessful delegation frees up your time to concentrate on more important tasks. If so, step-by-step guidelines for successful delegation could be an important time management skill for you.
Delegation is one of the most talked about but under utilized time management tools. Delegation not only also develop the skills and potential of the people around you. If your workload is overwhelming, then delegation can be an effective time management tool for you. When deciding what to delegate, ask yourself the following questions:
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 successful delegation.
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:
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:
Asking these types of questions allows you to more easily match the person with the job, and make the transition easier. Another important question to ask yourself is: 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 catalog 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.
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. 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. Finally, make yourself available for further questions.
Give 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. I recommend the "sandwich technique" - put a constructive criticism between two positive feedbacks. 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?
Set up a meeting 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.
For more information on delegation try this 60 minute video/DVD, with two identical 60-minute audios plus a workbook for other ideas on Delegating and Supervising
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