| Effective Delegation – Finally Letting Go of the Reins

Effective Delegation – Finally Letting Go of the Reins

Posted by Caitlin McCuaig

Jun 26th, 2019

Effective delegation is one of the cornerstones of productive employee management. However, many mangers find it challenging to let go of control and delegate important tasks to employees for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include: it is quicker to do it yourself, the employee may have no interest in taking on the task, the employee cannot be trusted to complete the task on schedule or the belief you will just have to redo it in the end so it is easier to do it yourself in the first place. Though it may be challenging to let go of these hesitations, delegating work to employees will offer you more time to manage and focus on the larger scheme which will help your organization grow. There are a few steps that can be followed when delegating tasks to employees, this will help them successfully complete any project on time and with great results.

1. Planning

• Have a clear picture of what exactly needs to be accomplished and communicating this clearly to the delegatee, such as budget, deadline and the end result. This phase should include specifications of the project, level of detail required, how the result will be used and by whom, what exactly needs to be in place, deadline, budgets.

• Selecting the right individual for the task being considered is another significant part of the planning phase. Be alert to training and/or coaching required, current workload, natural skills and strengths and fit with career development.

2. Delegate with Enough Advance Notice

• Give the delegatee enough time to review the assignment, to ask questions, and to develop a plan for accomplishing the task.

3. Schedule Progress Update Meetings

• Progress meetings will ensure that tasks and projects are moving forward and will allow for timely changes to be made at appropriate stages. Depending on the size and complexity of the task, the number of progress update meetings will vary.

• If the project encounters problems, allow the person working on this project an opportunity to offer a solution before intervening. Progress meetings will give this person a chance to confer with their manager to generate a variety of ideas.

4. Be Patient

• Though it may take longer initially for a project to be completed by someone else, once they have mastered project management for themselves, you will save time in the long-run.

Being able to delegate effectively is a skill that a successful manager must master. Not only will it free you up to focus on your own projects, but it will help develop junior members of your team and show your superior that you are achieving results through your leadership skills.

References

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