Nine Steps To Delegating Effectively
Kate Smalley
If you're a supervisor, you can't possibly handle all of the
work of your department directly. That's why effective delegating
is one of the most vital skills you can possess. In fact, it's
absolutely crucial to your success.
Consider these words by steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie: "The
secret of success is not in doing your own work, but in
recognizing the right man to do it."
So what exactly is delegating? It's simply the act of entrusting
an activity to another person. More specifically, delegation is
the downward transfer of formal authority from superior to
subordinate. You empower an employee to act for you, while you
remain accountable for the outcome.
Effective delegation involves the following process: working
with an employee to establish goals, granting them sufficient
authority and responsibility to accomplish the goals, often
giving them the freedom to decide how the goals will be achieved,
being available as a resource to help them with the assignment,
and evaluating and rewarding their performance.
Benefits of Delegating
If you're a new supervisor, delegation can be a major challenge
because you might be apprehensive about giving up control or
lack confidence in others' abilities. But effective delegating
offers a variety of benefits. It will free up some of your time,
enhance your leadership skills, plus help subordinates expand
their capabilities - all of which will benefit your company
overall.
Nine Steps to Effective Delegating
To help you delegate more effectively, here are some suggestions
from Thomas R. Horton, the author of Delegation and Team
Building: No Solo Acts Please, and other experts:
1. Decide what tasks need to be delegated. Delegate any task -
from administrative to technical - that someone else can
perform better. Hand off jobs you dislike the most, that are
least critical to the performance of your job or that will
provide valuable experience for subordinates. But never
delegate any task that would violate someone else's privacy.
2. Choose the right person for the job. Assess the skills and
capabilities of subordinates and assign the task to the most
appropriate person. Be sure to delegate the entire task
because this gives the subordinate added responsibility and
increases their motivation.
3. Define the scope of the work and set expectations. Give
detailed explanations for what the job involves; including
all key points. Provide information on what, why, when, who,
where and how and clearly specify your preferred results.
Write this information down.
4. Set deadlines. Employees will usually feel more responsible
for a task when they're held accountable. With no deadline,
people tend to procrastinate and lose motivation. So help
delegates set reasonable deadlines.
5. Identify methods for follow-up. Work with your employees to
set a time for review of performance, such as a meeting to
check progress or a phone call to see if they have any
questions. The follow-up should be mutually determined at
the start. This way, subordinates know you are not trying
to micromanage, but instead are trying to determine how
work is progressing.
6. Train delegates, if necessary. Make sure delegates know how
to do the assignment. If they don't, provide the necessary
training. The initial training may take more time than doing
it yourself. But it will benefit you and them in the long run.
7. Delegate responsibility and authority - not methods. As a
leader, you need to grant your delegates the responsibility
to make everyday decisions. Have trust in them and try to
give them the freedom to work without you looking over their
shoulders. Also, let subordinates complete tasks in the
manner they choose, as long as the results are what you have
specified. Otherwise, they might feel unmotivated and
powerless if they have no room to think creatively and act
as they see best.
8. Evaluate performance. After the assignment has been
completed, evaluate results, not methods. Evaluate the
task based on the expectations and standards set when it was
delegated. If certain aspects were left out when you initially
defined the job, don't hold delegates responsible. Work with
your employees to determine how you and they feel about how
the performance turned out and how it can be improved.
9. Acknowledge accomplishments and provide recognition. Always
give recognition and praise for the work delegates have done.
By recognizing their efforts and letting them know you
appreciate them, they will take greater pride in their work
and may be more willing to help with assignments in the
future.
Copyright 2004, Kate Smalley
Connecticut Secretary
http://www.connecticutsecretary.com
mailto:kms@connecticutsecretary.com
Freelance Secretarial and Transcription Services
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