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How to delegate effectively

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One tool that all managers have that they rarely use is delegation. One reason why they may hesitate to use delegation is that they do not know how to use it, so they shy away from it. Another reason that they might not use it is because they are reluctant to give somebody else the work to do because they are afraid that the work might not be done correctly. For new managers the thought of the work not being done correctly is a big fear because in the end you as the manger are still responsible for the results, no matter whom you assigned to do it.

If you are a manager who is afraid of delegating work to your employees because you think the work will not be done right or because you are just the type to do everything yourself, you need to start delegating work so you have more time to do your other tasks. Here are some steps that you will need to follow to help you delegate more effectively.


Step one:

You are the only one that can determine what tasks you want to delegate, so you will need to determine what tasks you will keep for yourself and what you will assign to others. You just need to remember that delegating is not the same thing as giving employees work that is part of their normal job description. Delegating means you are giving somebody else your job tasks, but you keep control and responsibility over the tasks.

Step two:

Tell your employees what results you want, make sure you clearly state what is acceptable and what is not. In most cases, the employee who you assign the task to is going to complete the task using their own methods, so if you have a specific method in mind that needs to be done to complete the task you will want to convey that to the employee.

Step three:

Define your employee's responsibilities; it is up to you to determine how much responsibility you give your employee, not the other way around. In determining how much responsibility, they have maker sure that your employee knows and understands what is expected of them. To ensure they understand have them repeat back to you in their own words what is expected from them. If they do not understand what you expect from them, you will need to go back and talk to them again.

Step four:

Talk to your employee about the amount of authority that you are giving them over the task. You want to clearly explain the decisions that they can make on their own, and which decisions are going to need to have your approval before they are made. When talking about this kind of authority you want to be specific because you might end up being unpleasantly surprised if you let them do whatever it takes to get the job done. Good rule of thumb to follow is to give your employee enough authority to get the job done, but not so much that a major disaster can happen before anybody discovers that there was a problem. You want to make sure that the employee understands what authority they have so have them repeat back to you their understanding of the authority that they have.

Step five:

Set deadlines that your employee is going to have to meet. This will enable you to have time to review the project before it is supposed to be completed, but it also gives you a chance to review the project during the course of the project. By monitoring the project, you will be able to address any problems as they happen and not two days before the project is due.

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