Successful delegation and monitoring

Successful delegation can be tricky. There is a lot of thought that must go into the who and how of delegation if you want for your workload re-distribution to be a success. Delegating successfully involves some basic management principles. The first thing that you need to do as you delegate to others is to clearly explain what you would like the desired outcome of the assignment that you are giving to be. You need to be specific about what is required. Failure to clearly articulate your expectations can lead to disappointment for both you and the employee. In addition to being detailed you also need to identify just how wide the window is for creativity. Acknowledge that your way is not always the better way and that you will need to let go of a least a little bit of your control if you are to achieve a result better than what you imagined. Leave the employee feeling like they have all the answers to the typical delegation questions. Clearly define the lines of authority, individual responsibility, accountability, etc. The employee being delegated to should know if they will need to wait for further instructions, if there is a specific individual they should go to with questions of, and how often they will need to report back with progress results.

When delegating you want to be sure that you are empowering your employees. Utilize the strengths that your employees possess and acknowledge that it will take more than just you knowledge to accomplish tasks in the greatest good for the company. You want to assign responsibility based on authority. In the end you are responsible for the work that is done, so be sure that the items of most importance are assigned to individuals who have had the experience and have earned the reputation that they can be trusted. This does not necessarily mean that the second in command is always the one that you should consider first when delegating. Within an organization, the individuals who are closest to the work are generally the best ones for the job. These people will generally have the most intimate knowledge of how a particular aspect of the organization works and relying on that knowledge will increase efficiency and develop the employee himself.

Successful delegation involves monitoring that is more like supporting the employee than it is checking up or micromanaging the employee. Your role is to ensure the project's success and you can do that by providing your team members with the resources that they need and the open communication that they need to ensure that they are remaining on track. You want to facilitate trust by allowing your employees to control his own methods and processes. Your role as manager is to be involved with making sure that a certain outcome is accomplished rather than on detailing exactly how the work is to be done every step of the way.

You build motivation and commitment within the members of your team by being committed to shifting responsibility to the individuals who have been delegated to and not allowing for the upward delegation of those same responsibilities back to you. You should not need to provide all of the answers. The employees need to know that their successes will impact not only personal growth but also future opportunities, possible recognition, and other positive consequences.
Successful monitoring should include the establishment of deadlines and check-in points. When you do this you as the manager have the opportunity to stay informed as to the progress that is being made and the employees are not left with the feeling that someone is always looking over their shoulders. The employees know before they even start with their delegated assignment that they are will be key checkpoints in place to review progress.