The Secret of Successful Delegation

Managers are often reluctant to delegate because they feel they can do the job quicker and better than a team member and they fear that they will lose control of how things are done.  There is certainly an art to successful delegation but, once you've mastered it, you will be able to manage your workload more effectively and free up time to focus on the activities that create most impact in your role.  Follow our 8 steps to master the art of delegation:

1. Review your job description and decide which tasks can be delegated.  Some tasks will obviously not be suitable for delegation (e.g. where confidentiality is an issue).  You will need to assess the rest based on degree of difficulty and responsibility.

2. Delegate a mixture of enjoyable and not so enjoyable tasks to get buy-in from your people.

3. Use delegation to develop the skills of your team members by assigning tasks that will challenge and interest them.  This helps to build confidence and staff morale.

4. Match the delegated tasks to the skills and experience of the team members.

5. Provide training where required.  If you're too busy, just make time for the training.  It will pay off in the long run.

6. Provide appropriate instructions, including:
           WHAT needs to be done?
           HOW does the task need to be carried out?
           WHEN does the work need to be completed?
Allow as much autonomy as possible, taking into account the ability of the individual you're delegating to.

7. Ensure that your instructions have been understood.  Ask the person to talk through their understanding of what needs to be done to make sure you're on the same page.

8. Retain accountability for the overall outcomes and deadlines.  Check in with team members to make sure they're on track and provide coaching and support as required.