All of us delegates tasks and outcomes. Even sole proprietors have suppliers and service providers who require direction. Few, if any of us, can get through life without asking others for help.
But delegation can be scary. It's tough to let go of control and trust others to get stuff done. We might think only we can do something well. Sometimes that's true, but most often it isn't.
If you are going to have leverage in this world, you simply must delegate. Here are nine simple ideas to help you delegate more effectively.
Unless you work entirely alone, do it! Delegate! Why?
Because you aren't the best person to do everything - the folks on your team can do some things better than you.
Because you don't have enough time to do everything that needs to be done.
Because you are too expensive to do some of the things that cross your desk.
Because your folks want to do important work.
Delegate the right stuff. Don't just delegate the junk - be sure to delegate nice assignments, too. Delegate those projects the employee can do better than you, and projects that will help the employee build new skills.
Explain how the project fits into the organization's mission and how it fits into the employee's current task list.
Explain what's in it for the employee.
Use the ARIA acronym to ensure that you delegate the
Accountability,
Resources,
Information and
Authority needed for success.
As to authority, clarify which decisions you reserve for yourself, which require consultation with you, and which can be made independently by the employee.
Delegate SMARTly - make sure the outcome is
Specific,
Measurable,
Achievable (given the employee's skills),
Resourced and
Timebound.
Delegate the What (outcome), but ask your employee to come up with the How (project plan). This is a great way to confirm understanding of the assignment.
Be clear about the required completion date, and then agree on milestone and review dates. Design your monitoring and followup to match the employee's experience and skill level.
