The Elements
of Delegation
The point of
delegating is to free you to focus on things
that create greater value for your company.
There are five elements in
successful delegation.
- Give the job to someone who can do it. The
person may not have all the skills for
execution, but he or she should be able to
martial the right resources. Sometimes education
will be the first step in the project. You might
have to send your staff member to a seminar or
course to get up to speed.
- Communicate the conditions of satisfaction in
precise terms. The timeframe, desired outcomes,
budget constraints, and any other relevant
factors must be spelled out. Anything less
creates confusion and the conditions for
failure. Like the old story about basketball,
without nets the players don't know where to
shoot the ball.
- Work out a plan, even for a simple project.
The plan should include the resources needed,
the approach or methodology, a timeline, outcome
measures, and milestones.
- Set up a structure to ensure accountability.
If the project is to be accomplished over the
next six weeks, you should schedule an interim
meeting two weeks from now. Or you could
establish a weekly conference call or have
status reports e-mailed to you. You need to
provide some mechanism to allow you to jointly
evaluate progress and make mid-course
corrections. This will keep the project and
staff on track.
- Get buy-in from staff. Although timeframes
are often determined by external circumstances,
if you say a task must be completed by Tuesday,
your delegate must agree that the timeframe is
possible. Ask, “Can you have this done by
Tuesday?” This may seem unnecessary, but this
step is often overlooked. When possible, have
the delegate set the timeframe and create the
plan for your approval. You only have to provide
guidance and sign off. General Patton once said,
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them
what to do and they will surprise you with their
ingenuity.”
If you skip any of these steps, you will
dramatically reduce the likelihood that things
will turn out the way you want them to. On the
other hand, if you follow these steps, you will
greatly increase the odds in your favor. You
might wonder whether this isn't more work than
doing it yourself. No, it isn't, considering the
time it takes to establish the goals, review the
plan, and monitor progress. Execution takes far
longer. Delegation is how you gain leverage and
multiply your efforts. Even when it does take
longer the first time you delegate a project,
delegate it anyway, because the next time it
will be easier.
Remember, too, that delegation is not reserved
for special projects or problems. You should
also delegate ongoing tasks and functions. The
process is the same in either case.
As an exercise, ask yourself what you are
unwilling to delegate. Make a list of the
reasons why you don’t want to delegate it.
Identify the best person (besides you) in your
company who could take on this project or
function. Then call a meeting and begin with
step one.
If you don’t have the staff with the aptitude or
ability to delegate key functions to, you need
to look carefully at your staffing and decide
whether it’s time to hire new staff. If you
don't have the revenues to support new staff,
consider what is restraining your growth and how
to remedy it. Have you given your assistant or
secretary their fair share of the workload?
Could they possibly handle more sophisticated
work? Are they ready to upgrade their skills?
Sometimes a situation will require your
expertise. You may be the only one in the
company with particular technical knowledge, or
your insight will accelerate the design process.
You might have a longstanding relationship with
a particular vendor or customer. If so, dive in,
but make it brief, and quickly resume your
leadership position.
One more thing: The point of delegating is to
free you to focus on things that create greater
value for your company. You don’t need to
delegate the hiring function if it means you’ll
be spending your time fiddling unproductively
with the corporate web site. Don't hire a new
vice president of sales and spend your time in
purchasing. Your greatest leverage as a CEO is
in leading your company. Lavish your time on it.
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