Tip of the Month: Delegation Tips

Consultants, pundits and columnists are constantly telling you that you need to delegate more, and focus more on the highest-level tasks, things that only you can do.  You know they’re right; chances are there are at least four or five tasks on your desk that really don’t belong there.  But have you ever, anywhere, seen somebody tell you HOW to delegate?

The truth is, delegation is not easy.  It requires you to take an enormous leap of faith–trusting somebody else to perform a task that you believe to be important.  It also takes effort: you have to explain how you do this particular task, train somebody else to do it, and then monitor that person.  The time commitment feels daunting; isn’t it easier just to do it yourself?

So how do you overcome all of these obstacles?  Try this three-step process.

Step One: Document how you perform this task.  Actually, I’m not recommending that YOU do this; have an employee or (better) an intern follow you around and write down exactly how you perform the task.  Then you review what they wrote, make changes, elaborate, and, finally, try to perform the task using only the written instructions.  If you succeed, then you’re ready for…

Step Two: Identify an employee who will take over this task, and give that person your written instructions.  Have that person handle the task, and make yourself available to answer any questions that may come up.  Then look at the results.  If they’re NOT up to your standards, help the employee identify what’s missing.  If they ARE, then go to…

Step Three: Formally delegate the task to the employee.  But instead of delegating the task as you did it, delegate responsibility for the results: they must be equal to or better than what you were accomplishing, but how the work gets done is up to the employee.  That leaves the employee free to figure out a better way to do what you were doing, unlocking his or her creativity to improve not only on the process but also the result.

Try it.  If it doesn’t work as described here, post a message explaining what happened, and we’ll start a discussion.  But I’m guessing the process will hold up for virtually anything you want to get off your desk.

Bob Veres
Owner
Inside Information
San Diego, CA

Read Full Post »