A Leader's Guide to Delegating

Effective delegation accomplishes much more than the task at hand. It also builds trust for future delegations, helps employees develop new skills and reduces managerial stress.

Delegating responsibility is a dance - a delicate partnership between manager and subordinate involving trust, authority and above all... communication. Brand new managers find delegating to be the hardest part of transitioning into the new role – while many experienced managers still struggle to get it right years after assuming a leadership position.

A Leader's Guide to Delegating provides a plan for successful delegation, presented in 5 steps:

1. Analyze the Task: Get specific about what needs to be done to achieve the goal. This includes setting a deadline and sizing up resources.
2. Choose the Right Delegatee: The right candidate should be highly motivated and possess the needed skills for the assignment.
3. Assign the Task: Give clear instructions on desired outcomes – down to the details like resources available, deadlines, follow-up steps and the amount of authority being given.
4. Execute the Task: During the task, ensure that other team members are ready to support him/her by communicating the assignment and the authority given.
5. Conduct Regular Feedback Sessions: Monitor issues so they don't become problems, and give the person opportunities to ask questions about the assignment.

In this way, A Leader's Guide to Delegating lets you address both leadership development and employee engagement. Learners receive solid instruction in a key leadership competency and they commit to giving employees increased opportunity to take on new assignments. What does this mean for the organization? Tasks will be delegated more often and with greater clarity -- leading to better results, improved productivity and higher job satisfaction at all levels of the organization.