Delegation: the how to

Delegation is one of those words that comes up frequently and seems to have its own definition depending on who is saying it. The meaning of the word as defined by the free Merriam Dictionary is: :”the act of empowering to act for another” Now that’s about as clear as mud. In simple terms it means giving another person the responsibility and power to complete a task or series of tasks.

For managers, the art of delegation can be a tricky one. It depends on your level of trust in the employee, their past performance and what is riding on the tasks to be completed. Then there’s the part where you have to decide on how often the employee needs to check in, how much involvement you should have and when your involvement is too much.

As an employee there is a land mine of missed opportunities and dashed expectations that lurk waiting to pounce. So, how to avoid all this?

Start with clarity, end with clarity and accomplishment.

Ask these questions and you can get a lot more done. (hint to employee, if your boss doesn’t ask them, you need to)

1. What specifically is the task? Ask as many questions as you need. Assumptions of knowledge at this stage can easily lead to failure. Remarks such as “you know what to do” presuppose the employee is a mind reader.

2. What is the required outcome? How will you know the project is complete? What will you see, what will  you hear?

3. What is the final due date?

4. Are there dates along the way that require specific actions to take place?

5. How often should the employee check in on an ongoing basis?

6. How available as the boss will you be if the employee needs direction? As an aside, I once had a contract with a boss who gave me 4 hours of instruction and said “now put on a national conference.” She then left town for a month. Needless to say the project became increasingly fraught with problems. If I had know that I needed to ask more questions it would have been a less painful process.

7. At the end of the conversation ask the employee to tell you what they are to do. They should be able too give you back all the information you provided. Yes, I know, you are busy and follow this process and you shouldn’t need to put out a bunch of fires along the way.

Start with clarity, end with clarity.