The Key Steps of Delegation
6. Specify your standards
Quality and accountability are two concepts that should guide all of your delegating. As when you create goals, you must convince the person to whom you delegate that you hold high expectations.
Since you’re sharing responsibility with him or her, you expect the best effort. Until his or her per- formance meets your stan- dards, the task will remain incomplete.
7. Discuss deadlines.Has anyone ever given you a job to do without a completion date? Did it somehow feel less important?
How to Delegate Effectively 77
Features and Benefits The following axiom is
basic to almost all sales: don’t sell the features, sell the benefits. It applies to delegation, too. Don’t just outline the aspects of a task without giving rea- sons that motivate.
Sure, maybe you have the authority to delegate the task, but selling it through the benefits to the person means that he or she is likely to con- sider it less an imposition and more an opportunity. And any smart man- ager knows the difference that makes in motivation and performance.
Deadlines help firm up prioritization. When you delegate, always set deadlines, including intermediary status review dates.
Entertain input from the person you delegate to. If you empow- er the person in the process, by sharing responsibility from the start, you’ll reinforce his or her motivation.
8. Establish a reporting method.To leave vague the reporting methods for intermediary and final deadlines is dangerous. Must feedback be written? Oral? Lengthy? Summarized? Articulate your expectations to the person you delegate to. Doing so will ensure professional, responsible, and orderly feedback. An added advantage: if written, the report can be easily shared with others.
9. Encourage questions. At the end of your explanation, encourage the person to ask any questions that may be still unvoiced. If none are forthcoming, do a comprehension check;
have the person summarize the assignment as he or she under- stands it. You’ll almost certainly need to clarify some details.
You may even wish to “walk” the person through the task. This is a powerful, hands-on method for testing his or her compre- hension of the job. Now is also the time to offer trade-offs if you get the it’s-not-my-job reaction. Finally, summarize steps 4 through 9 in a brief, written memo to the person and, if appro- priate, send a copy to your boss.
Time Management 78
Providing Resources
When you delegate a task, you need to make sure the per- son has everything necessary to perform the task:
• Sufficient authority to make necessary decisions.If a certain amount of autonomy saves you time, a reasonable level of autonomy will save time for the person you’re delegating to. Also, if the person needs to come to you for decisions, how much effort and time are you saving by delegating?
• Access to all resources necessary for the task.The person should not have to ask for access, one item at a time.That’s a waste of time, for both of you, and not smart delegation.
10. Conduct unscheduled status checks.Relying solely on offi- cial status reviews can discourage flexibility as a project
unfolds. Feel free to informally drop in on anyone to whom you’ve delegated. Be prepared to adjust procedures and goals as necessary. The worst-case scenario: you may even have to pull the project and find a new person to do it or do it yourself.
No matter how well you plot things out, the unexpected is to be expected.
11. Evaluate results.Ask yourself the following questions:
• Did the person meet the deadline? If not, was it because it was unreasonable?
• Did the person achieve all goals?
• Did the person meet, exceed, or fall short of your expec- tations?
• Were there any surprises?
• Did the person realize the promised benefits?
• Was this the right person for this task? Would you dele- gate to this person again?
• Was the final report thorough?
• Was your emotional reluctance to delegate extinguished?
If not, why not?
How to Delegate Effectively 79
Meetings?
When delegating large projects, sometimes it’s a good idea to have periodic meetings to assess progress. Be careful,
however, not to micromanage via meetings or committees. Remember:
the camel has been sardonically defined as “a horse built by commit- tee.” Any gathering should provide those to whom you’ve delegated a project with the opportunity to get a feeling for where in the process everyone is and to be certain that communication lines remain open.
It should also provide you with a sense of how well the project is pro- gressing and whether or not you should clarify any aspect.
It should not, however, be an excuse for you to reassert control over what you’ve already decided to delegate. Resist the impulse to take back more control over the project than you need.
12. Praise/Suggest Improvements.Physically, it’s not easy to pat yourself on the back. Emotionally, it’s very easy. Delegating was an achievement for you.
If you succeeded, congratulate yourself. But also give credit where credit is due—to the people to whom you delegated.
Their success doesn’t diminish yours; it enhances it. If your own boss is wise, he or she will instantly recognize that.
What if things didn’t turn out as well as you wanted? At least recognize the effort, suggest improvements for next time, and transform the whole process into a learning experience for you and for the person to whom you delegated.
Delegating is a subtle art. It requires careful thought and wisdom. Each solution to a delegating problem must match the needs of the people involved. Effective delegation is a key con- cept in time management. And it’s an old lesson. (Consider this, for example: Santa Claus might have an easier job if he delegated some of those chimneys to elves whose small stature would be better suited to the task.)
But there’s another important way to avoid unwanted or inappropriate work—learning to say “no.” Is it really feasible?
Yes—and Chapter 7 will show you how.