Clear Concept Inc. | Clear Concept Inc.

“Virtually every top executive has honed to a fine art the instinct to delegate. It’s as basic as breathing.” (Stephanie Winston, Organized for Success, 2004).

All of us in management positions find ourselves delegating frequently. To stay on top of client needs and ahead of pressing deadlines, mobilizing our teams for maximum output is the only way. But what is the most effective way to do it without sounding like a dictator or begging for help?

Let’s stop for a moment to reflect on the key steps that bring employees success from beginning to end.

Empowering Delegating Style – Key Success Factors:

Make time to delegate – obvious, yes, but just a friendly reminder that delegating does require an investment of your time, one with a high return when done correctly.
Help employees understand why their role is important. Let’s face it, we all have a little ego that we need to feed – our employees are the same. Build some excitement: clearly explain how their role is a critical cog in the wheel and you’ll have a more motivated employee.
Describe the final output, but not the path. Feel free to provide some suggested approaches, but enable your employee to develop their own approach. Often, they’ll amaze you with their new thinking.
Set a deadline, and make sure you allow for a buffer. Enough said.
Estimate the work effort. Is it bigger than a breadbox but smaller than a bunker? Providing some guidelines upfront can help to avoid overruns down the road.
Schedule interim reviews. Always check in. We may think we’ve clearly communicated our vision, but this may not always be the case.
Clarify responsibility and authority. Everyone needs to own something. Be very specific about what your employee ‘owns’ and what boundaries they have to work within.
Conduct a post-mortem. At the end of every project, ask your employee to evaluate their performance and to provide you with feedback. High performance athletes consistently evaluate their performance – we benefit in the workplace by mirroring these habits.

When things aren’t going well, it’s tempting (and often easier) to take things on yourself. Catch yourself before doing so. Remember, delegating requires an upfront investment of your time. The key with the empowering style of delegation is to let them own and finish what you’ve entrusted them to do.

The benefits that you stand to gain are evident: achieve more in less time and free up more of your valuable time for strategic activities. The delegate also has an opportunity to expand their skill base, work with new people or clients and demonstrate that they can follow instructions and deliver results. A true win-win situation, which makes everyone productive.