Achieve Great Results with 4 Steps to Effective Delegation

Effective managers delegate … a lot!

They understand they cannot do everything by themselves and that it requires a strong team willing and able to accept delegated duties to succeed.

Great managers eagerly embrace and employ solid delegation tactics within daily routine, and are often well known throughout their company for being an effective, results-oriented professional.

Effective Delegation Is So Simple

Step 1: Choose the Right Task

The first step in effective delegation is to choose the task. Ask yourself which tasks you can and cannot delegate. In most cases, you should never delegate such core supervisory responsibilities as performance appraisals, reprimands, performance counseling sessions, terminations or confidential staff issues. Although not a comprehensive list, you must think carefully about those duties that only you should and must perform as a manager, and therefore are not eligible for delegation. After that, all other duties are open for delegation consideration.

Step 2: Choose the Right Person

The second step to effective delegation is to choose the right person. Only after you have chosen the task should you begin considering who should be delegated the task.

So what should you consider in choosing the right person? Here are several things you should consider:

• Does the employee have the skills and abilities to handle the assignment?
• Is s/he a beginner or an expert or somewhere in between?
• Will s/he need training? If so, when and what type?
• Would the employee eagerly accept this task?
• How could you maintain the employee’s motivation? Or would s/he be demotivated? If so, why?
• How could you frame the delegation to ensure the employee’s ready acceptance of the task?

Step 3: Communicate the Delegation

The third step in effective delegation is to communicate the delegation assignment. These guidelines should be communicated with every delegated task:

• Review the results to be achieved
• Define the task
• Set performance parameters (quality, quantity, time and cost expectations)
• Provide appropriate direction and support

Step 4: Checkpoints

The final step in effective delegation is to set checkpoints to ensure progress. You may wish to include these checkpoints within the quality, quantity, time and cost parameters.

For example, you may negotiate with the employee to show you his/her first completed customer feedback report before processing (quantity and time parameters), or to call you immediately if the feedback report indicates it will cost more than $200 to recover the customer (time and cost).

Set reasonable checkpoints that encourage the employee to continue learning and doing, not to condemn or slow down efforts.

Build Your Strong Team Today

Delegation is appointing another to act in your behalf. Great managers follow the four steps of delegation by first choosing the task, then choosing the person, communicating the delegation and setting checkpoints for follow up. Through effective delegation, 24/7 managers build a stronger team today as they prepare the team for the challenges of tomorrow.