Impact Consulting Inc.

April 07, 2008

Successful Delegation - Using the Power of Other People’s Help

Here is a pretty comprehensive, but a quick read on getting better at delegating from Mindtools (wouldn't we all want to get better at delegating?). As I read it I see a few main points:

1. Delegation is a development exercise. You need to think about out what people want to or need to learn before you delegate. You should also think about "leveraging your people's strengths" (delegating things they are good at so they can develop a uniquely specialized skill). If you want a staff member to develop their presence with a client, plan to delegate a client presentation. If they are really good at analyzing data and you want them to keep building that skill, delegate some tough analytical work to them. Personally, I think delegation is the most effective way to train and develop people (far more effective than training courses).
2. To delegate well you need be organized. You need to plan what you will delegate, explain what you want when it is done and plan for follow-up discussions (to monitor progress and solve problems). I have a client who holds weekly delegation meetings. He reviews major projects with his team, delegates out work, asks for brief progress reports on previously assigned work and discusses issues to be solved on any current work. He gets this all done in 30-45 minutes each Monday morning. Simple process. Very effective.
3. You need time to delegate. If time is short and you can`t risk failure on a certain project you probably can`t delegate. Do it yourself and plan enough time into the next project to delegate more effectively.

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