Tip #484: 7 Steps to Effective Delegating

      

Whether you are assigning a task to one employee, or divvying up parts of a large project to a group of people, knowing how to effectively delegate oftentimes is the difference between a good outcome for your organization and a negative one.  Delegating is an undervalued management skill and could always be improved upon.

The 7 Steps To Effective Delegating Are:

Step #1: Identify The Goals Of The Project - Identifying the goals creates a workable scale of the project.  This helps determine how many parts the project will have and how many people will be needed to produce an effective outcome.  Write down the different parts of the project and how they will support the goal. 

Step #2: Select The People - This is arguably the most important step in effective delegating.  Knowing your team's strengths is key to delegating, giving each person the opportunity to shine and grow.  People work more productively when they believe that others are directly dependent on their results.  To that effect, delegate wisely

Step #3: Distribute Work Evenly - Once you have decided on the different parts of the project and which people will be assigned to each part, write it down as an action plan.  Some of the parts of a project will be larger than others.  Writing down the details of each part of the project will help you, as a manager, delegate evenly.  Even distribution of work will keep people from being resentful of their own assignment and help cultivate a good team atmosphere.

Step #4: Hold a Delegation Meeting - Meetings use up a valuable commodity: time.  Make the most of it.  Be prepared to present the project to your team and be sure to leave time for questions.  The meeting should cover the following items:

• Identify The Project And Goals: Clearly state the purpose of the project and the goals that are to be achieved.  Use visuals to outline the different parts of the project and how they support the overall goal.

• Assign: Clearly assign the parts of the project to different people.

• Set Performance Standards: It will give clarity to everyone involved if you set performance standards that meet the SMART formula (specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented and time-phased).

Step #5: Create An Action Plan - Once the task or project has been delegated, a plan of action to accomplish it needs to be created.  After the plan is created, resources can then be identified and assigned to complete each sub-task needed to accomplish the overall task.  Be sure to meet with the person who has been assigned each part of the project.  This allows the plan of action they developed to be agreed upon and for any modifications discussed to be incorporated into the plan. 

Step #6: Implement The Plan - They are now ready to implement the plan, with your support and modifications, in order to reach the targeted goal in an efficient manner.  And yes, all plans should be fluid in design, because things change as the environment changes.

Step #7: Follow-Up - Many executives find their staff losing focus on their assigned tasks if they are not following up on the project.  Successful leaders establish designated checkpoints at the onset of the project in order to follow up on the status and the progress being made.  They can then offer support and guidance to the recipient in the event they are meeting roadblocks or obstacles.  However, do not get drawn into micro-managing a project's details; concentrate on factors and/or resources which can help your support staff achieve success while also allowing them the space and time to complete their assigned task.

Executive Summary: When you delegate complex projects effectively, it is much easier for individuals and teams to understand your expectations.  This is why delegation meetings are so important.  Even though you may think everyone is on board, you need to make sure they are continuing down the right path - to do so, monitor and measure where they are on a regular basis.  If they are steering off course, provide the resources and support needed to get them back on track.

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