Aug 07 2009
To Delegate Or Not Delegate? – That Is The Question
Delegation, or rather the ability to delegate wisely, is of course a very important management/leadership trait, but surprisingly, most of us are not very good at it. Here’s some tips, based on experience and often learned the hard way!
What Should A Manager Delegate?
Those things that a subordinate can do:
Better than themselves. Special skills should be used.
More cheaply in terms of time and wages cost.
As part of their training.
As a real part of their job.
What Should A Manger Not Delegate?
The things that only they can do:
Overall policy and planning
Selection, recruitment, training of immediate subordinates
Promotion and appraisal of immediate subordinates.
The Step By Step Technique to Success
Analyse the task(s)
• Is it delegateable?
• Is it worth delegating?
• How does this task need to be performed to be successful?
• What time factors are involved?
Analyse the person -do they have the correct:
• Ability – Now?
• With training?
• Attitude?
• Work Load (Do they have the time?)
Decide on the monitoring system
Communicate totally – Sell the task
Train (If necessary)
Start/Action
Monitor and evaluate
Be prepared to act and support
Thank and praise the performer
Summary
Delegation involves transferring to others the right and duty to perform certain tasks to certain standards. It is successful when subordinates have the personal qualities and competence to carry out the tasks.
Decisions should be taken as close as possible to the point where they will be carried out.
Today’s News: Quite a ding-dong battle for votes going on over at Top 10 Sales Articles - have you voted yet?
I was thinking last night – yep, I do occasionally find the time – what a rich source of information and sales advice there is in the Top 10 archives – dating back almost two and half years. Literally thousands of articles, providing an incredible library.
Another amazing resource is right here! Have you used the search facility in the left-hand column? Try it – just type in a sales related word or expression – voila!
Finally, don’t forget that over at the JF Consultancy site, there is a huge article vault and “How To” section, tucked away in the “Resource Area”
OK, that’s it for another week. I will in fact be back tomorrow with news and FREE places to offer you for next week’s Top Sales Experts Masterclasses, so do join me?
