A manager gets work done through other people. This is impossible without delegating. But delegating is a skill that must be learned.
There are three things to communicate in order to delegate well. I said communicate, not broadcast. That means it’s your responsibility to insure not only that you said these things but that they are heard and understood clearly.
Thing 1 - What the Result Should Look Like
What is the outcome or deliverable that would indicate to you the task was done properly? Often the breakdown occurs when someone assumes the other knows what they want. I recently asked my wife to pick up some sunflower seeds when she went shopping. I was expecting raw ones. She picked up roasted and salted. The fault was mine. And, I should have known better because of all the times I’ve gone grocery shopping and made an assumption about her requests.
One helpful tip is to ask the person to repeat what they think the outcome should be. If you hear it come out of their mouth correctly there’s a good chance they understand what you said.
Thing 2 - Deadlines & Follow up
It’s important to communicate when the job must be finished. But also when you’ll be checking in – then don’t mention it till that time or you’ll be a micromanager.
The 10-50-90 Check in.
If the person is new to the type of task, or you aren’t confident in their ability or if you are new to clear delegation, then I suggest the 10-50-90 follow up. That means schedule the first follow up when you expect 10% of the job to be finished. For a task you expect to be finished in a day, the first follow up would be in an hour. If the task is expected to take a week, follow up in half a day. The purpose of this first follow up is to see if the person understood the assignment (or if you communicated it clearly). If 10% of the job is not done by then, you’ve caught the trouble in plenty of time.
Schedule the 2nd follow up when you expect 50% of the job to be done. The purpose of this follow up is to see if the pace of the job is appropriate. Sometimes people take too long because they are working at too deep a level of detail, or perhaps they didn’t give it a high enough priority. A check at this point will alert you to any problems of speed.
The third follow up – at 90% completion is to catch any last minute snafus while there is still a bit of time left to help.
Thing 3 – When to Ask For Help
Often people don’t want to ask for help thinking they’ll seem incompetent when in fact, you’d rather they ask early rather than too late. Be sure to communicate what they should do when they hit a snag. Should they figure it out? Ask you? Ask someone else?
Delegation is the Work of Management.
To delegate well, you must set aside time to think through the three things mentioned above. Then you need a system for following up. This can be your calendar, a spreadsheet, or a full blown task management software depending on the complexity of your needs. Pick one and use it.
