Posts Tagged ‘effective delegation’

Ask the vast majority of managers what their biggest challenges are and you can be certain that having enough time will come pretty high up on their list.

At the same time ask them what they are like when it comes to delegating and chances are they may well be avoiding delegating or just not making the time to do it properly.

 

As a manager, I am guessing that you want to be successful and delegating is just part of the process of being successful.  So what are the dangers of not delegating?

 

Danger 1: You become swamped

 

If you are someone who is not willing to delegate you will sooner or later become completely swamped or overwhelmed.  You no doubt are highly capable otherwise you would not be a manager in the first place.  Yet at the same time you cannot be great at everything.  So if you want to avoid being swamped and do what you do best delegate more.

 

Danger 2: You alienate your team

 

Those that you manage probably thrive on having the opportunity to do new things, learn and be challenged.  If you are the manager who just holds on to everything and never gives anyone else the opportunity, sooner or later your team will stop engaging and supporting you.

 

Danger 3: You miss out on the lowest cost development around

 

When you delegate you create space to take on new challenges which help you to grow and develop.  The work that you delegate presents an opportunity to those that you manage to grow and develop.  If you don’t delegate you miss out on this low cost development opportunity for both you and your team.

 

Danger 4: You don’t deliver

 

Whether you like it or not your success as a manager is measured by the results that you deliver.  If you are trying to do it all by yourself you ultimately won’t deliver results.  The non delivery puts pressure on you which can result in your performance deteriorating even more.

 

Bottom Line- Delegating is an important element of your management success toolbox.  So what’s stopping you from delegating and what is it costing you in terms of results?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The number one challenge that many managers face is insufficient time to do all of the things that need to get done.  Yet sometimes there are opportunities for managers to delegate work to others to free up time and grow and develop others. So what are 5 golden rules when it comes to effective delegation?

 

Rule 1: Plan it

 

If you are going to have any chance of effectively delegating you need to plan it.  Delegation is not about passing on something to the fist person who comes over to your desk just to get rid of it.  It is about identifying who would be best equipped to deal with a particular piece of work, ensuring that they have they have the capacity and the skills to do it. A little bit of thought can go a long way towards effective delegation.

                                                                                                   

Rule 2: Invest the time to train

 

I chose the word invest deliberately as a decision to delegate is really an investment decision.  Think about it you assign a period of time once to train someone else to do something and get the benefit over and over again.  Don’t see the time that you take to train as a waste of time but as a real log term investment.

 

Rule 3:  Set the boundaries and get out of the way

 

There is nothing more de-moralising than having a situation where a piece of work is delegated to you but the person delegating is checking up on progress every five minutes.  The answer to this is to set out boundaries or things that need referring back to you and then leave the person to get on with it.

 

Rule 4: Establish review points

 

As the manager you do obviously have to have some form of reviewing progress.  When delegating set some milestones and diarise meetings where you and the person to whom you have delegated since down and discuss progress and problems.

 

Rule 5: Create a buffer

 

Things rarely run perfectly to plan so it is important to recognise this and build in some buffer or contingency so that slippage or delay does not create havoc.  Make a point of leaving some space between the time when you need something and the deadline you set for those that you delegate to.

 

Bottom Line – Effective delegation can help you deliver better results.  So what do you need to start doing to be a more effective delegator?

 

1. It takes too long to train someone else
2. I can do it quicker myself
3. I can’t trust someone else with such an important piece of work
4. Only I can do it
5. I don’t need to

What else would you add to the list?

If you are honest, delegating effectively is one of the toughest challenges you face.  People avoid delegating for a number of reasons:

• Don’t understand the need to delegate
 
• Lack confidence in team to do what they require
 
• Don’t know how to delegate
 
• Tried and failed in the past so have a built in resistance
 
• Like doing a particular job so don’t want to let go of it
 
• Don’t understand their role as a manager
 
• Frightened of making themselves seem easily replaced
 
• Think they have no time to delegate
 
• Have nobody to delegate to

So how can you be more effective at delegating?

• Plan it in advance
 
• Think exactly what you want done

• Consider guidance needed
 
• Brief appropriately and check understanding
 
• Establish review dates and check understanding

• Create a buffer period so that there is time for revisions as required

• Delegate whole jobs, where possible
 
• Inform others who are involved

• Stand back, don’t hover
 
• Recognise work may not be done exactly the way you would do it

• Delegate responsibility as well as task

For many managers delegating effectively is one of the toughest challenges they face. 

Reasons Why Managers Don’t Delegate

• Don’t understand the need to delegate
 
• Lack confidence in team to do what they require
 
• Don’t know how to delegate
 
• Tried and failed in the past so have a built in resistance
 
• Like doing a particular job so don’t want to let go of it
 
• Don’t understand their role as a manager
 
• Frightened of making themselves seem easily replaced
 
• Think they have no time to delegate
 
• Have nobody to delegate to

How to Delegate Effectively

• Plan it in advance
 
• Think exactly what you want done

• Consider guidance needed
 
• Brief appropriately and check understanding
 
• Establish review dates and check understanding

• Create a buffer period so that there is time for revisions as required

• Delegate whole jobs, where possible
 
• Inform others who are involved

• Stand back, don’t hover
 
• Recognise work may not be done exactly the way you would do it

• Delegate responsibility as well as task

In truth delegating effectively can transform the results that you deliver.  So what action could you take to start delegating effectively?