Delegate effectively

Managers must be able to delegate to do their jobs more effectively and develop their subordinates’ skills. However, delegating properly isn’t easy. How to find the right balance between total autonomy and tight management?

Clarify your objectives

Do you want to lighten your workload? Assign a project that the other person can perform autonomously.
Do you want to develop the other person’s skills? Prepare to support him or her on the project.

Choose the right partners

Delegate to the right people, that is, competent and willing to take responsibility for the project.
Take account of your feelings: Are you willing to trust in the other person’s decisions and judgment?

Clarify the delegation framework

Clarify the desired result and the margin of autonomy, as well as progress checkpoints.
Be careful to specify situations where the person should consult or alert you.

Provide support

Be available, e.g. Let the other person know you are there for him or her in case of doubt or problems.
Schedule progress updates in advance to discuss how the project is going.

Passez à l’action !

Identify a subject you can delegate (15 min)

Delegation goes well beyond entrusting some of your tasks to your team members. They must take full ownership.

Select a complete topic rather than tasks: your team members will invest more of themselves, and you won’t need to ensure the coordination yourself. If needed, split the project into modules for which delegation makes sense.

Preferably delegate a topic you master. You will then be able to better define the expected results and the framework in which the delegate can exercise his/her own initiatives. And you’ll be able to play the role of the results’ guarantor!

Identify the right person or persons, by answering three questions: who has the essential technical skills? Who wants to be involved? Whom do you trust to communicate about work progress and its eventual difficulties?

Is delegating frustrating for you? Make a check (10 min)

Even if all managers know they need to delegate, the exercise is not always comfortable.

Think of a recent situation when you delegated an assignment. How did you feel? Did you have conflicting emotions? E.g.: it is very common to be proud to see a staff member develop while also regretting no longer controlling the way things are done.

What was your main source of frustration? E.g.: missing the pleasure of doing certain activities or of finding the solution yourself, frustration at not controlling the quality of the result or of not choosing the method.

Could these frustrations have a negative impact on the quality of your delegation? E.g.: being tempted to take back control, interfering with details, imposing your method…. How could you minimize them? E.g.: make a note of what you did accomplish during the time saved by delegating.

Gather feedback on your style of delegation (30 min)

Looking at things through the eyes of others will enable you to improve your delegation style towards greater efficiency.

Plan a meeting with one of your team members to whom you have delegated an assignment, and explain that you would like to benefit from his or her feedback.

Ask in an open manner how he or she feels about this delegation. What was the most motivating aspect? The most difficult one? What did he/she like? What did he/she learn? Take the time to listen. This may not necessarily correspond to your own perception or to what seems important to you. Reformulate what you have learned from it, and make him or her clarify some points if needed.

Invite the person to look forward: on the next occasion, how could it be (further) improved? If he or she had one piece of advice to give you about your delegation style, what would it be?