Delegation

It’s easy to talk about delegation, but it’s not so easy to do.And it’s a critical decision, mainly because some tasks should behandled only by you but others, which take up your valuable time,can easily be handled by someone else.

What shouldn’t you delegate? There’s no rule of thumb; let yourinstincts guide you. You probably wouldn’t want to delegate deidingwhat products your company will offer next year, but you mightdecide to delegate conducting a customer survey regardingimprovements they’d like to see in your products. Either way, abuilding block for effective delegation is knowing what tasks areyours and yours alone.

The next step is to determine the results you want to achieve.That doesn’t mean telling employees to make some phone calls aboutpast-due invoices. That’s too vague. Be specific. A more definedgoal might be to get customers with past-due bills to agree to aset payment schedule. Knowing the results you want is your job, notthe job of employees to whom you delegate.

Next you must decide which person is right for the task. Asalesperson might not be the right person to make collection calls,but perhaps your bookkeeper is. Either way, match skills andpersonality to the task–that will maximize productivity.

The next step is to decide what controls and checkpoints you’llput on the person to whom you’re delegating. How often will theperson report back to you? Under what circumstances should he orshe shout for help? Be very specific about these details becausethat will make delegation work smoothly, both for you and youremployees.

Next, motivate the person to whom you’re delegating. If you’rehanding off important work, you want your subordinate to be firedup to get results. If the employee is there to learn, present thetask as a development opportunity. If visibility is important tothe employee, present it that way.

The last step is accountability. A common mistake among bossesis expecting the employee to fail–and readily taking the task backto handle yourself. Don’t! That’s a quick way to undermine employeeeffectiveness and guarantee employees will never develop in theways you need them to if your business is to reach itspotential.