Delegation 101 - [website] Published: 20th of Oct 2011 by: Smart Alec
As managers we know how important delegation is when it comes to meeting deadlines and producing quality work, but not all of us know exactly how to delegate effectively.
Read through the following tips and see if there are any areas where you can improve:
1. Firstly, you should break up the project into specific tasks, and then based on the outcomes of those tasks select the most appropriate person for the job. Selecting the right person to delegate to is extremely important – giving jobs to the wrong people can result in missing deadlines.
2. Communicate clearly with those you delegate to, and ensure that the channels of communication between them as a team are open as well. Be specific when delegating by telling the delegatee exactly what you need, when you need it by, why you need it, and what role it will play in the overall project.
3. Focus more on the end result of the task being delegated than the way in which it is done. If your staff become creative with the project, that’s great (as long as it falls within the project’s outline), but try not to stifle their creativity – remember, everybody has a different style of working.
4. Provide assistance should your staff require it or point them towards resources already available. However, try to avoid work being delegated back your way.
5. Monitor progress on the specific tasks and praise staff where it is warranted. If you are able to offer incentives as a reward for work well done, all the better.
Delegating correctly is the difference between top-class work and mediocre; find out more from Staff Training.co.za.
