Management Training: Delegation

Important: GDPR Email Preferences

As you may already know, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be coming into effect on 25th May 2018. We take your privacy seriously and we are working hard to ensure we comply with the new data protection laws. You can find out more about how we're doing this in our privacy policy on our website.

We want to make sure you continue to receive the latest newsletters, blogs, special offers and more.

As someone who has opted-in to receive our emails in the past, we’d like to give you this opportunity to confirm what you wish to receive:

Just so you know, if you don’t let us know what kinds of emails you want to receive from us, we’ll stop emailing you on the 24th May 2018 - you'll be missing out!

You are of course free to change your mind at any time – just follow the link at the bottom of any of our emails.

Management Training: Delegation

Delegation is an important management skill.
Delegation is the act of entrusting a task to another person.
Many managers need training on how to delegate properly.
Why don't many managers delegate properly?
Because they don't know HOW to delegate; or because they are AFRAID to delegate; or BOTH.
So we have two things to discuss.

1. Why it is important to delegate.
2. How to delegate properly.

Why it is important to delegate

It is important to delegate because, the following is true: You can't do it all on your own.
Nobody has sufficient brains, energy, information, time or motivation to do personally everything that needs to be done. So, to get the job done properly, you must: Delegate the right task to the right person.

There are other reasons to delegate:

1. Delegation frees you up for more valuable management activities.
2. Delegation can be a good way to train others.
3. Delegation is a good way to get the best performance out of the team, by matching the correct task to the correct person.
4. Delegation is a way to balance the load across the whole team.

How to delegate properly

There are six parts to proper delegation.
Here is the list of six parts you need to memorise.

1. Does the person have sufficient skills and knowledge?

Are you delegating the task to a person who has sufficient skills and knowledge to make good the task?
If you are giving a task to a person who obviously does not have the relevant skills and knowledge you are sowing the seeds of failure for yourself, the other person and the organisation. Be careful to whom you give the task.

2. Does the person have the necessary material resources?

Are you sure that the person has the materials to do the task?
Here "resources" means: money, authority, technology and time.
If the person has the skills but does not have the authority to do the task, then again you are making a delegation-error.

3. Is the deadline you have given, reasonable or is it over optimistic?

Don't give people tasks that are linked to an over optimistic deadline.
Make sure the deadline is reasonable and not unreasonable. Discuss the deadline with the person doing the job and negotiate a reasonable deadline.
If you give an unreasonable deadline, you can expect the other person to fail.

4. State the delegated task as a general statement

Make the request for the delegated task, starting with the phrase, "Would you please..."
"Would you please, do some of my cold call marketing for me, whilst I am away?"

5. Describe the task numerically. Put numbers on the task

For example:
"Would you please, do some of my cold call marketing for me, whilst I am away? Would you please try to make 100 calls over the next three days and try to make at least four sales appointments with qualified prospects. "
Describe any unclear terms used: For example, in the above script you may have to explain what you mean by, "qualified prospects".

6. Agree a feedback method

How will you, the delegator, be able to track whether the person given the task is either;

• Making good progress.
• Not making good progress.
• Messing it up?

You need to agree a method by which progress can be monitored.

Here is the six step delegation method in brief

Please memorise the 6 steps and use them later today.

1. Ensure the person does have sufficient skills and knowledge.
2. Ensure the person does have the necessary material resources.
3. Ensure the person does have a reasonable deadline, NOT an over optimistic deadline.
4. State the delegated task as a general statement.
5. Describe the task numerically. Put numbers on the task. Describe any unclear terms, such as "Qualified prospects".
6. Agree a feedback method and check the level of progress made by the delegated person, as he she does the task.

Thank you.

Leadership Training - The Effective Leader Manager

Leadership Training - The Effective Leader Manager

As the team leader or manager, you know that, on the technical level, you are very good. In your role as an effective and inspirational leader-manager, you recognise that there may be some gaps. Now you are searching for a method to help you to improve your skills as a team-leader and manager - click here to find out more!

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Your Comments

Further Reading in General Development

• Don't you trust me?
  Handling difficult people: "Don't you trust me?" Last week a female delegate on my course asked me a good question relating to the issue of trust. She said, "Can I ask you a question related to trust? I don't know how to handle the situation when my daughter, or anyone else...
  Read Article >
• How to gain more confidence as a new manager
  How to gain more confidence as a manager Are you just starting out in the role of leader or manager? If yes, then you would probably agree that it is sometimes difficult to feel as confident as you would like to feel. You may lack confidence because your situation is new...
  Read Article >
• Make Friday Thirteenth a Great Day!
  Many people think Friday the 13th is unlucky because many people still believe in numerology.
  Read Article >
• I have made an amazing discovery
  Apply this discovery and you will be better able to persuade people to accept your proposal, buy your products, and accept your ideas.
  Read Article >
• How to Prevent Burnout at Work
  Working long and hard without support is a recipe for burnout. Find out how to recognise and prevent burnout in this article from training expert Chris Farmer.
  Read Article >

Advert