You Want Me To Do What?
Getting someone else to help you with a project or initiative is often difficult. Not because the person might say “no”, but because we may not have the moxy to ask for help. Due to our reluctance to ask, we are likely to take on more than we should.
There are simple ‘rules of engagement’ for delegating. One rule is to remember that delegating to someone does not abdicate you of your responsibility, but it could get you some time to focus on something else of importance.
Delegating is about trusting someone else to do an assignment that you may not want to do or should do. When we delegate, we give another person a chance to be creative, make mistakes, and accomplish a task. It allows us to share the spotlight, too. After all, by lighting someone else’s candle, takes nothing away from our own.
To effectively delegate, consider these steps:
Determine the task that needs to be done. The task must be fully thought out and you should clearly present it. Your ideas and expectations should be stated in a concise, easy-to-understand, and consistent manner;
Determine who would be best suited to do the task. This determination can be made by knowing the capabilities and talents of members of your team/unit;
Ask the employee selected to meet with you.
a. In this meeting, delineate your expectations and your desired outcome(s).
b. Explain to the employee that you are trusting them to get the task done. Give them the authority to return to you with any questions or comments.
c. Ask if they have any questions, and confirm that they understand what you have assigned by asking them to repeat back to you their understanding of the task. If it is clear they understand, then proceed. If they do not understand, then repeat, asking questions or checking in along to make sure they ‘get it’. Have them repeat in their own words their understanding.
d. Seek confirmation that they are committed to the assignment and that their overall goals align with yours.
Identify a deadline for when the task should be completed, and specify when and how frequently the results are to be communicated back to you (e.g., daily, weekly, etc.);
Do not reverse the delegation by doing the task yourself;
When the employee(s) delivers, celebrate the success!
Delegation involves selecting the right person for a task and testing their ability to follow instructions. Ultimately, delegation helps to distribute the workload, improve relationships, and allow leaders to focus on higher-level tasks, thereby increasing productivity as well as the growth and development of another individual. So, when you delegate a task, and the employee says, “You want me to do what?”, you can say, “I am delegating this task to you because I trust you can get the job done”, then move out of the way, and let them do it!