5 Tips for Effective Delegation

Posted by Ian McKenzie
Written on January 18, 2010

As a manager/supervisor, you just can’t do it all. To achieve effective results, you need to able to delegate projects and work to others. By effective delegation, you communicate to your employees that you have confidence in their ability to complete a job or project.

  1. Define the task and identify the outcome, not the process. The process that works for you may not work for others. Maybe you’ve been doing a job one way, because that’s how you were taught 20 years ago. When delegating, describe the successful outcome and let the person to find their best way to completion. Who knows, you might learn something from them.
  2. Give enough authority to accomplish the task. If the person receiving the task has to get approval at every or most step of the way, you might as well have done the job yourself. Turn the employee loose, with the resources to achieve the desired outcomes.
  3. Monitor the process, but allow people room to work. Don’t micro-manage! (See tip 2.)
  4. Make yourself available for support or feedback. Just because you’re not micro-managing doesn’t mean you disappear completely. Let the delagatee know that you are there to answer questions or to review milestones.
  5. Reward and recognize effort as well as results. An employee who is trying a task for the first time, may not get the whole thing correct. Make sure you recognize and reward the effort expended and the steps done well. Then, the next time you delegate, they will be able to build on the successes of the earlier effort.

Plus: Don’t dump your garbage jobs on your employees. Delegation is not an excuse to get rid of the crap your don’t want to do. You employees will recognize that strategy and will not see it as a development opportunity.

Through effective delegation, you can expand the range of what you can accomplish, as well as developing the skills and strengths of the team you manage.

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