Delegate Better
Delegate Better
Effective delegation creates the foundation for empowerment!
In Episode 15 of the Relaxed Leader Podcast, I explained my 6-step process for effective delegation. It’s important enough that I’m going to review it again and clearly lay out the process for you.
Some people think it’s a bit complicated. “Six steps just to give someone an assignment?”
Of course not. Managers hand out assignments all the time and following some lengthy, rather detailed process wouldn’t be practical.
Delegation is not the same as basic assignments because true delegation means giving a direct report an assignment that you might normally do yourself. True delegation is entrusting someone with a responsibility that normally belongs to you. It’s not just a simple assignment – it involves trust and risk – so we need to treat it accordingly.
True delegation is entrusting someone with a responsibility that normally belongs to you.
Unfortunately, most leaders don’t know how to effectively delegate to their direct reports. They either give too much or too little direction. Too much direction stifles creativity and you haven’t actually delegated – you’re just assigning a specific set of tasks. Too little direction leaves employees confused about what you really want them to do.
The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. Relaxed Leaders need to give enough detail to establish what to do without saying exactly how to do it.
6-Step Delegation Process
As I discussed in the podcast, below is what I often use to delegate critical assignments to members of my team. These are the six steps in what I consider to be a highly effective delegation process:
Step 1: Clearly state the desired results.
Step 2: Document the agreed-upon goals.
Step 3: Establish a time-line with key milestones.
Step 4: Grant the necessary authority.
Step 5: Explain both responsibility and accountability.
Step 6: Get affirmative acceptance from the employee.
If you do this correctly, these six steps are all handled during a delegation session. To be clear, handing out tasks and assignments at a staff meeting, for instance, is not the level of delegation I’m talking about. That’s just simple “tasking,” not true delegation; and certainly not the type of delegation that builds the foundation you’ll need to eventually empower your team.
So let’s go through the steps one at a time so you’ll know exactly how to start more effectively delegating to your own team.
Step 1: Clearly state the desired results.
The key here is to focus on the results you want, not on the specific tasks it takes to do it. Think of it as explaining the what not the how – you’re telling them what to do but not how it should be done.
When you do this regularly, you’ll be surprised at how creative your team members can be. It might take a little practice – especially if they’re used to you giving them more specifics up front – but it’s worth it. Start your delegation session by clearly stating the desired results.
Step 2: Document the agreed-upon goals.
As you discuss the desired results of a project or initiative that you’re delegating to a team member, have them explain it back to you, including what they think they’ll do to achieve those results. Use this discussion to help the employee establish their goals for the project and how those goals will be measured.
Allowing the employee to set clear, measurable goals that will achieve the desired results you’ve established is the key. You’ve told them what, now they need to tell you how. If what you’re delegating is a reasonably sized initiative, then documenting these agreed-upon goals should take a sentence or two. If you can’t sum it up that concisely, consider breaking it up into smaller components and then delegate those individually.
The bottom line for this step is that you need to clearly and concisely document the agreed-upon goals.
Step 3: Establish a time-line with key milestones.
To complete the third step most effectively, you should start with a deadline in mind. If you choose to share it with the employee, then be flexible as you discuss it. It’s best to use the goals you’ve just documented and identify appropriate milestones. The idea here is to be able to measure your progress and know if you’re on track to meet your final deadline. It’s a horrible feeling to have a deadline looming and then figure out you’re way off track! Break the goals into milestones, discuss how long each will take, and then create a schedule and time-line from there.
If you don’t control the deadline, make that very clear up front and then talk about priorities. Remember that you’re giving something to a team member who doesn’t do this work as a normal part of their job, so this project is probably not their top priority. It can’t be, unless you’re pulling them from their regular job. Some of their regular duties must take priority over the project you’re delegating, so agree on where it fits into their overall workload.
Step 4: Grant the necessary authority.
When you truly empower team members, you’re granting them wide latitude to take action without your specific review and approval. With delegation, you’re putting boundaries in place to ensure they are able to do only what’s needed. You’ll need to grant them the authority necessary to achieve the set of clearly defined results and specific goals. Such authority must be clearly defined up front, at the delegation session, because you’ll also need to make sure the right people know you’ve granted specific authority to your team member.
Granting this specific, limited authority is like riding a bike with training wheels around your cul-de-sac. True empowerment, on the other hand, is like trail riding in the mountains. Practice with your training wheels first by granting just the necessary authority within the confines of a delegated project.
Step 5: Explain both responsibility and accountability.
Relaxed Leader are comfortable with delegating responsibility but not accountability. The idea is to make your employee completely responsible for the project you’re delegating while not giving away your accountability. If something goes wrong, you will be the one to face your boss or anyone above her, so you need to be ready to step up and be held accountable.
You don’t get to give away your accountability but you should certainly hold your employee accountable to you. This is something you’ll need to think about ahead of time because the consequences shouldn’t be vague. At the initial delegation session, you need to be able to clearly explain both responsibility and accountability to your employee.
Step 6: Get affirmative acceptance from the employee.
The first five steps are all about making sure everything is clear and understood but you still need to verify that your employee is agreeing to everything – and your employee needs to understand that YOU are agreeing to everything too. The most straightforward method is for each of you to sign the documented goals and agreed-upon time-line.
Let’s be clear: a mumbled “okay” from your employee is not acceptable. If you don’t get a very affirmative “yup, I’ve got this,” then you need to spend more time discussing it.
No matter what, don’t skip this final step. Effective delegation includes getting affirmative acceptance from your employee at the end of the delegation session!
The Bottom Line…
All of these steps can be handled during an initial delegation session – a meeting you set-up specifically for the purpose of effectively delegating a project to your employee. When you follow this process:
You’ll have documented goals created by your employee and designed to achieve the results you need.
You’ll have an agreed-upon timeline with clear milestones, which you can review with your employee throughout the project.
You’ll practice granting authority that’s limited and well-defined authority.
You’ll practice delegating responsibility and establishing appropriate accountability for your employee.
Best of all, using this six-step delegation process will help you build the foundation you’ll need to begin truly empowering your team. And that’s one of the key things you’ll need to do if you want to become a Relaxed Leader.
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