Recently I posted a six part series on effective delegation. Often discussed in leadership, supervisory, and management circles as an elusive competency this six part series bundles together six steps to help you achieve effective delegation. Effective delegation has many benefits and may serve as a catalyst for the growth of aspiring leaders.
Effective delegation can be easily accomplished by utilizing the following six steps:
- Give the whole task. When we give the whole task the person feels a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Clearly define the expectations. Effective delegation includes a clear and concise definition of the expectations.
- Share and clarify the big picture. Employees who know and understand the mission of the organization will be better positioned to tackle projects, assignments, and day-to-day job duties.
- Establish meaningful timelines and milestones. Delegation efforts that include the use of meaningful timelines and milestones also provide the opportunity to ensure accountability.
- Establish metrics and measurements. Effective delegators will consider what is measurable and achievable; and what will be the most important to demonstrate in the future.
- Give thanks and reward. Post delegation efforts and evaluation of the outcomes, we need to be sure we are giving appreciation to those who have made it a success.
Effective delegation will not only make you more efficient and effective it will serve as a catalyst for growth of those around you. We know that planting a tree requires great care, but once the roots are established and the tree starts to develop it isn’t long until it will stand tall amongst the others in the forest.
Dennis,
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! There are so many benefits to delegating in this manner. I write a blog aimed at being a resource for HR people and this ties into so may things I've been writing about - employee engagement, building trust, retention and attracting top talent. If you follow these rules when delegating it is hard to believe you wouldn't have employees who are inspired. (That's a post too - if they are inspired you don't have to continue to motivate.)
Excellent read and thanks - if you want to check it out mine is www.careercurve.com/blog.
Jen,
ReplyDeleteGreat observations and of course I like (and agree with) your comments. From my experience delegation, empowerment, and motivation all tie in together. I will check out your blog!
One of the most imperative and crucial decisions in project management is delegation of tasks among team members. Many project managers face this dilemma while analyzing new projects. Delegation requires perfect judgement of who should be assigned which segment or vertical.
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