Delegation Skills

Objective Explain What is Delegation Explain Why People Do Not Delegate Describe the Benefits of Delegating List What Tasks Should We Not Delegate Describe the Delegation Process Explain A Simple Delegation Rule Describe the Levels of Delegation Describe the Types of Delegation List the Delegating Skills Explain the Barriers to Delegation

Introduction Look at the thoughts of a Project Manager, Samuel Davidson. I have to submit the project status report to Delivery Head today! Project status report to Delivery Head Oh! I have a client meeting today. I have to get the latest status update from team lead. Client meeting - get the latest status update I have to assign the tasks for the day to the team. Assign tasks for the day I have to interview a candidate for the team lead position today! Interview candidate - Team lead position

Introduction Project status report to Delivery Head Client meeting - get the latest status update Assign tasks for the day Interview candidate - Team lead position Oh! No! How will I do all this in just one day? This is just one of the days out of the hectic life of any manager. Just like Samuel, no manager can deal with all the tasks that he has to finish, if he tries to do it all by himself. This is where the art of delegation plays an important role.

Introduction Project status report to Delivery Head Client meeting - get the latest status update Assign tasks for the day Interview candidate - Team lead position If Samuel decides to delegate a few of his tasks to his sub-ordinates, he can get all his day’s tasks done and accomplish much more than if he tries to do it all single handedly. Delegating is a skill and it is important to know the nuances of delegating a task. So, let us learn about delegation skills in detail. Let me delegate a few of my tasks! DELEGATE

What is Delegation? Delegating is: ‘The act of delegating, or investing with authority to act for another’ or ‘the distribution of responsibility and authority to others while holding them accountable for their performance.’ Hence, delegating means asking someone else to perform a task that is one of your responsibilities or work that you are being paid to do. It is entrusting responsibility and authority to others who then become responsible to us for their results but we remain accountable to our boss for what our subordinates do.

Elements of Delegation Authority Responsibility Accountability Let’s look at each in detail.

Importance of Delegation Delegation is one of the most important management skills. Delegating is nothing but ‘Internal Outsourcing’. Delegation is done mainly for “time management” and you can concentrate on other important assignments which requires your attention. Good delegation saves you time, develops your team, grooms a successor, and motivates them. Poor delegation demotivates others, frustrates you and fails to achieve the goal.

Goals of Delegating To show that leadership does not mean you have to be in charge of everything Train team member to perform tasks To empower team members to perform the task Free up manager to be manager and not a doer Let team members handle complaints Push down work to lowest level that can perform the task Motivate associates Not micromanage team members To relinquish authority Free them to perform the tasks Delegation can be used to achieve various goals such as:

Benefits of Delegating For Your Team For You Increases associate responsibility, ownership, and enjoyment Builds team environment Associates gain knowledge and skills Ensures tasks are done timely Allows for days off and flexibility in scheduling Reduced turnover because motivated and engaged employees don’t terminate Increased consistency as people know why we do things Teamwork – gets all involved - no more you telling them, but them doing and motivating each other Trains individuals for the next level Allows to meet all deadlines as lots of us are doing Lets things run the same way when manager is on leave as when manager is present

Why Delegate? To use skills and resources already within the group. To keep from burning out a few leaders. To develop new leaders and build new skills. To get things done. To become more powerful as a group. To allow everyone to feel a part of the effort and the success. To effectively manage time. To increase productivity. To allow growth of the deputy. To prevent the group from getting too dependent on one or two leaders.

How to Delegate The following are the steps for how to delegate: Let’s look at each in detail. Choose the Right Candidate Communicate Objective Relinquish Authority Decide What to Delegate Monitor ProgressLet GoGive Credit

Delegation Process Select what to delegate Decide on how much authority you will give them Clearly communicate precisely what you are delegating Check for mutual understanding around what was agreed Follow up, evaluate and recognize work well done Let’s look at each in detail.

Six Principles of Delegation 1.Know yourself and team members 2.Assess strengths, weaknesses, job, situation and skills 3. Understand the limitations, and job descriptions 4. Know the job requirements 5. Keep communication clear, complete and consistent 6. Evaluate-review what happened and measure results

Levels of Delegation Delegation is not only assigning task to someone, but you can give freedom to the person in completing the task. Degrees of freedom vary depending on the person’s experience and knowledge. Let us look at the levels of delegation with their examples. The Levels range from 1 to 10 and these different delegation levels progressively offer, encourage and enable more delegated freedom. Level 1 is the lowest level of delegated freedom (basically none). Level 10 is the highest level typically (and rarely) found in organizations.

This is a DEMO Course On – Delegation of Authority. Join MSG Premium Membership and Get Access to around 120 Courses + New courses added every week. What You Get: 1.View All Courses Online. 2.Download Powerpoint Presentation for Each Course. 3.Do the Knowledge Checks for Each Course. This is a DEMO Course On – Delegation of Authority. Join MSG Premium Membership and Get Access to around 120 Courses + New courses added every week. What You Get: 1.View All Courses Online. 2.Download Powerpoint Presentation for Each Course. 3.Do the Knowledge Checks for Each Course. ManagementStudyGuide.com