Delegation is about learning to trust

If you are looking for some tips on how to delegate, then read on. Delegation is an essential skill for anyone in a management or leadership position. It requires that you learn to trust your staff and let go of the detail of how tasks should be performed You simply monitor whether outcomes are being delivered.

Effective delegation can allow you to focus more on strategy and forward planning for your business. However you need to learn to trust the capability of your staff ….. although this doesn’t mean blind trust.

When it is done skillfully, delegation is a management tool offering benefits to the manager, the employee and the organisation. Many new managers are advised when they are appointed to their new management role that they now have to delegate, but often they are not shown how to delegate or given any guidance about the delegation pitfalls to avoid.

Six steps for effective delegation :

Decide what you can delegate.
Analyse the task. Consider the skills and knowledge that might be needed to complete the task. Or, perhaps you can chunk the task down, and part of it lends itself to delegation
Select the staff member. Consider who in the team possesses the necessary skills – but also consider who might benefit from gaining some exposure to the task in terms of development
Brief the employee. Explain the outcomes required, and the opportunity the task offers the employee in terms of gaining some extra experience. Check the employee has the interest and reasonable time availability to complete the task. Agree a reporting schedule and some performance progress milestones that you will monitor
Monitor the delegated task, providing some positive feedback and ensuring that the task remains on track. Be careful to avoid checking up outside of the agreed checkpoints – otherwise it may show distrust.
Task review. Was the task completed satisfactorily and what did the employee feel they gained from the opportunity?

Common delegation pitfalls to avoid

Neglecting to properly monitor the task, and discovering too late that the task went off-track
Expecting the employee to perform the task in the way that you would
Making assumptions and neglecting to explain some important aspects of the task
Taking credit for a delegated task performed well by your employee
Failing to make clear how much authority the employee can exercise with the delegated task
Not delegating at all …… because you think “No-one can do it as good as me?

Even though in this video clip they are promoting their film, there is still some good advice on how to delegate effectively…

And here’s another short video clip that offers some good advice on how to overcome that inner reluctance to delegate

How to delegate effectively is covered in our management training program, Management Course Melbourne

You might also like to look at How To Manage People for some good quick practical tips

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