Delegation is a key part of leadership and management roles in all sectors of industry. National Training has a Diploma of Leadership & Management as well as a Certificate IV in Leadership & Management that provide in-depth coverage of how to delegate effectively.
However, we’ve put together a fundamental process of how to productively delegate tasks to employees in order to provide a service and product to consumers your business can take pride in.
Step 1: Be Prepared
Develop an understanding of the task that needs delegating. This assures clarity in assigning the task later, as well as allows you to be a resource when questions arrive during completion of the task.
Step 2: Assign the Task and Be Specific
Choose a specific person or team and outline exactly what outcome you expect, when it’s expected, and the resources the delegation team have at their disposal. Be sure to listen to and respond to any task-related questions as soon as they arise. The more specific you are now, the less questions you’ll have to answer later.
Step 3: Confirm Comprehension
A lot of managers skip this step and pay for it in time and resources later. It only takes about a minute, but request a verbal or written summation of the task you’ve assigned from the person you’ve assigned it to. This check seems redundant, but again, will save you a ton of time later.
Step 4: Beware “Reverse Delegation”
This is an easy trap to fall into. Managers who are overworked often wind up with the delegated tasks back in their ball court as a result of confusion or a lack of resources in whatever department they’ve delegated to. Avoid this by creating checkpoints in the task and mentoring where necessary, but create learning opportunities. You should never be completing a task you’ve delegated yourself. If you need to walk an employee through it once, that’s far better than completing the task several times over and the employee never acquiring the skills necessary to do it themselves.
Step 5: Check Progress and Keep Everyone Accountable
Never wait until the deadline to assure a task is completed. Instead, check in on progress at halfway points and just before the assignment is due to assure that everything is running smoothly.
When you’re ready to become a master delegator, contact National Training. We have the resources to optimise your leadership and managerial skillset.
