I’ve spent a lot of time in my office over the past several months writing courses on the most important business topics everyone should know about (more to come on that in the future).
This week I spent a lot of time diving in to the lost art of delegation. So I’m just going to give you some lightning round tips that will make a big difference in your delegation skills:
- Choose the right person to delegate to. Make sure they have capacity and natural talent for the job
- Delegate, don’t abdicate. Delegation doesn’t mean assigning a job and walking away assuming it will all turn out
- Follow the tried and true 3 step method (You may have to repeat steps more than once depending on how complex the job you’re delegating is)
3 Step Method
- You watch me do the task
- We do the task together
- I watch you do the task
This method works at the most senior and the most junior levels. It works equally well for how to be a CEO, and how to fill an order at McDonalds. Skipping a step is the main cause for delegation failures.
Ask questions, don’t give answers: questions like:
- What do you intend to do?
- What could be the unintended consequences?
- Why is this a great idea?
- If this completely went into the toilet, what would have happened?
- Is it safe?
- What are the risks associated with this course of action?
Resist the impulse to give easy answers.
Agree on a feedback loop
- When will you discuss progress?
- How can they access you? Walk in any time? Only text/email? Set appointments?
Develop your people! Move up in your organization! Give everyone a breath of fresh air!
