Effective Delegation of Authority Page 3

  In situations where you will have to take some form of action, especially if there's a lack of skillset that needs to be addressed, you should manage the situation by coaching your employees instead of telling them exactly what to do. In other cases, you may need to provide additional training to help your employees succeed in their role.

  For example, if your employee is struggling with using pivot tables in Microsoft Excel, then consider having them sign up to an advanced Excel course as opposed to fixing it yourself or trying to walk them step-by-step through the process.

  Step Two: Give Meaningful Feedback

  As you check in with your employee, you want to let them know how they're doing by giving them meaningful feedback.

  Here are a couple of tips to help you accomplish that.

  Tip 1: Share two types of feedback

  During your scheduled checkpoints and after the task is complete, you should share two types of feedback with your subordinate.

  The first is about what went well with their task assignment. You can highlight the things they did the right way, and share some positive feedback with them that reinforces what they’ve done.

  The second is about what could have been improved. This is where you’ll cover any areas of development that they should focus on to get better.

  Here’s an example of how to give those two types of feedback.

  “Ethan – You did a great job at staying within the budget, informing me of escalations at the right time by following the process, and getting the main objective of the task complete by the deadline.

  I think what can be improved upon going forward is more attention to detail on the verbiage of the report.

  There were a few typos and basic grammar mistakes that could have been avoided if you proofread it before sending it to me. So going forward, I think it would help if you spent a few minutes looking through the report before you send it over to me.”

  As you can see, the first part of the feedback focuses on what Ethan did well by stating that they kept within the budget and informed their manager of escalations at the right time.

  The second part focuses on what could be improved: more attention paid to proofreading.

  No matter how great a job an employee does, there’s always something they can improve the next time, so this is an opportunity for you to share some constructive criticism with them.

  Tip 2: Allow for mistakes

  It’s likely you and your subordinate will face some issues throughout this delegation process. If you do, then be patient and don't get too frustrated. Mistakes will happen, and you will have to factor them in.

  You don't want to rush to judgment. Instead, focus on solving the problem with your subordinate.

  A great best practice is to give them feedback that allows them to fix their own mistakes by asking them non-probing questions such as:

  “How do you think we can solve this?” or “How do we avoid this from happening going forward?”

  The idea is to solve the problem with them instead of for them.

  Conclusion

  We just covered how to delegate effectively in easy steps, and what you need to do before, during, and after delegation.

  Here’s a quick summary:

  In Section I, we covered the steps you need to take before you delegate any of your tasks. You should start by determining what tasks to delegate by knowing what you want, focusing on small tasks and avoiding delegating sensitive tasks. After that, you should determine who to delegate to by assessing your team’s capabilities and looking for leaders.

  In Section II, we covered the steps you should take during delegation. These include explaining the task clearly by setting up a short meeting, going slow with the task description, and verifying understanding by your subordinate. You should describe goals and not actions by avoiding being too prescriptive, confirming commitment to results, and setting expectations about the process. In addition, you should give a clear timeline for your task by being specific on deadlines and scheduling checkpoints. You should also describe the authority level that your subordinate can work with by setting clear limits and defining a guidance process. Finally, avoid relying on verbal requests by putting your task assignment in writing and using a template.

  In Section III, we covered the steps you should take after delegation. These include checking in regularly by not disappearing and avoiding micromanaging your subordinate. And, finally, you should give meaningful feedback by sharing what went well and what can be improved upon and allow your employee to make mistakes throughout their journey.

  Keep in mind that this end-to-end process is a continuous process and doesn’t just end by a specific date. You’re in it for the long-term rewards and not the short-term gains. So you can continuously follow this process again to figure out what and who to delegate to, and cover the same steps.

  Thank You!

  I want to thank you once again for purchasing my book. I hope you found it helpful, and I wish you the best of luck with delegating work to your employees.

  I’d like to ask you for a small favor.

  If you enjoyed the book, I’d be very grateful if you leave an honest review on Amazon (I read them all).

  Every single review counts, and your support really does make a difference.

  Click here to leave a review on the book’s Amazon page.

  Thanks again for your kind support!

  Cheers,

  Hassan

  P.S. If you enjoyed this book, you'd probably enjoy my other book entitled “Influencing Virtual Teams.”

  It’s an Amazon #1 Best Seller and covers 17 tactics that get things done with your remote employees.

  Check it out by clicking here.

 

 

  Hassan Osman, Effective Delegation of Authority

 

 

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