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Last week, I wrote about the difference between delegating something and “passing it off”. JoLynn, over at The Fit Shack commented that she wants to start delegating but hasn’t gotten there yet. I don’t think JoLynn is alone on this one, and the question she’s hinting at is incredibly relevant to most small business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs.
Essentially, the question is “How do I learn to delegate?” or “How do I start delegating?”
While it may seem like something you’re either born with or you’re not, the ability to delegate effectively is a skill that can be learned and practiced by anyone in leadership. It’s not hard, and a little practice yields amazing results.
Here’s what to do, in easy to follow steps, to turn yourself into a masterful delegating machine!
The first set of steps describes the process of preparing to delegate a task. This is what you need to do before you delegate:
- Choose one specific task that you would like to delegate. Start small. Pick something very simple and easy to to do.
- Get very clear about the task you have in mind. Determine what steps are involved in performing the task effectively. Are the steps obvious or do they require explanation?
- Determine what desired result the task allows for. What specific, measurable result is produced by completing the task?
- Create a reporting system. This sounds technical, but it’s not at all. A reporting system is a tool that exists outside of your head, in physical reality, that tells you whether or not a specific task has been completed. A checklist makes a very effective reporting system.
The second set of steps describes the process of delegating to another person. Set aside some time to meet face to face with the person you’re delegating to. You need to have a conversation with that person, and the conversation needs to accomplish several things:
- The conversation you have must clearly address the fundamental five W’s (Who, When, Where, What, and Why). For example:
“Jack (who), I’d like you to start performing this task on a regular basis. It needs to get done every Tuesday and Thursday, between 1p and 4p (when). You’ll need to go to Jane’s office (where) and get the invoices, then sort them and bring them to Bob (what). I need you to do this so that Bob can start paying the invoices on time, every week, with no exceptions (why).
- Make sure the person you’re delegating to understands exactly how to perform the task. What’s obvious to you may be completely hidden to Jack! After explaining the task, ask if the person has any questions about what to do or how to do it.
- Tell the person what specific, measurable result you’ll be expecting to see as a function of this task getting done consistently and reliably.
- Train the person how to use the reporting system to let you know each time they complete the task, so you can stop worrying about whether or not it’s getting done.
- Ask the person, now that they understand the task and everything the task requires them to do, if you can count on them to get it done as you’ve asked them to. This is really, really important, because it marks a shift in the person’s relationship to the task. If they relate to the task as something they said they can be counted on to do, they experience a greater degree of ownership and accountability for getting it done.
The final step is not really a step, but a fundamental attitude toward the work you delegate. Even though you delegate the work, you’re still accountable for the results! Remember, it’s the tension on the kite string that keeps the kite aloft. Use your reporting system to make sure the task is getting done how and when it should be, over and over again. Immediately address any slips or mistakes you see, so that Jack knows you’re counting on him.
Remember that as leaders, whether we delegate or not, we’re always on the hook!
Possibly related:
Delegating is not an easy thing and must be skilfully done, to minimise problems down the road and to reduce frictions in working relationships, on top of getting the work done in good time.
Very useful tips you have here. Thanks for sharing!
Evelyn
Hi Erek!
Very cool, thank you so much for outlining how to start delegating! I could so use the help of an intern or a VA and I will refer back to your article when I do get that help that I need.
Erek, these steps are great and very clear. The only thing I would like you to expand on is the “addressing slips and mistakes” because I find that’s where I give up on delegating when someone doesn’t do what they’re supposed to and I feel awkward about confrontating them. When I get awkward, nervous or uncomfortable, I tend to not address the issue and then I give up on delegating and go back to doing things myself (because I won’t make the same mistakes). Any information you can provide about this would be great. Thanks.
Thank you all for your great comments!
@ JoLynn: You’re welcome! Thanks for the inspiration.
@ Kelly: This is a great subject to expand on! I’ll do a post on it so I can get into some detail. In the meantime, I have an assignment for you! See if you can recall some specific examples of the situation you wrote about, then go back through the 10 steps in this post and see if you followed them all when you delegated the task.
Many slips and mistakes are the result of skipping some piece of the initial conversation!
I really like the notion of asking the person if you can count on them not just to do the job, but to do it as you asked. Of course, even if they answer yes, there will be plenty of cases when they don’t — perhaps because they didn’t allocate time to get the job done, or because they didn’t understand something and didn’t want to look bad, so they didn’t ask. Reports really do help here — and the ones that are vague or ambiguous are your wake-up call to go get more information. And still things don’t work out — there’s a mismatch in understanding assumptions, or techniques or goals which sometimes don’t get discovered until too late.
It’s tempting (if you don’t just give up and do things yourself, as Kelly notes) to immediately think about improving or adding reports and other processes, and sometimes that is the right thing to do. But it’s equally important to improve reflection and communication — to create a culture where the people you delegate to think about whether they’ve got the assumptions, techniques and goals right, raise their own questions, and discuss them with each other and with you. Of course, creating that culture could be a whole other article.