But delegating is about much more than how you're going to get all your work done. It's also a key way to develop staff. You can make delegating a win/win situation by thinking of the project in terms of what someone would learn by doing it and who needs to learn it. That way, the person you enlist won't feel burdened by a new task.
Thinking about how your delegating looks from the other side of the fence. Do you delegate busy work? Do you delegate the tedious, boring tasks and save the juicy stuff for yourself? Do you delegate so quickly that you don't stop to think about whether the task needs doing to begin with? Put yourself in your delegates' shoes and see what they see.
Thanks to Tom Foster of Management Skills Blog for inspiration!
Claire,
I'm willing to delegate big stuff. There are two mistakes that I make if I am not careful.
One, if I don't provide - and my person understand - the "successful" outcome of what is delegated, it will fail.
Second, if I don't get one task back quickly (virtually all of my delegations take more than one task) to see if the person is on track, a lot of time could be wasted because what I thought I was getting isn't what I got.
Leadership is required of the individual taking the delegation - knowing the business, working without supervision, and working through issues are all important skills of individuals as well.
My two cents!
Scot
Posted by: Scot Herrick | June 26, 2006 9:31 PM | Permalink to Comment