Delegation

Essay by dewiwilks October 2004

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

How to Delegate Work in Different Situations

From my experience I have learnt that to be effective in delegating one should:

Delegate whole pieces or entire job pieces rather than simply tasks and activities.

Clearly define limits of authority that go with the delegated job. Can the person hire other people to work with them? Are there any finance/budgets involved?

When on the receiving end of delegation, work to make your managers' job easier and to get the manager praised. This will enhance promotability.

Assess routine activities in which one is involved and see if any of them be eliminated or delegated?

Never underestimate a person's potential. Delegate slightly more than one thinks the person is capable of handling. If one expects them to succeed one will be pleasantly surprised more frequently than not.

Do not avoid delegating something because you cannot give someone the entire project. Let the person start with a bite size piece, then after learning and they are ready to proceed on can give them larger pieces and larger areas of responsibility.

Agree on a monitoring or measurement procedure that will keep one informed as to progress on the project as the responsibilities still lies with the manager for the completion. One should also not delegate if you can't measure it as the appointed person wouldn't be praised accordingly.

Delegation is not giving an assignment one should be asking the person to accept responsibility for a project or task. They have the right to say no.

Encourage people to ask for parts the manager's job.

One should never take back a delegated task because you can do it better or faster. Help the other person to learn and to do it better.

Agree on the frequency of feedback meetings or reports between yourself and the person...