The secret of success is not in doing your own work but in recognizing the right [person] to do it.” ~Andrew Carnegie
Supervisiors delegate to use skills and resources availble within th group, this also helps keep the few leaders from geting burned out fromm too many tasks. Delegating can also help develope new leaders within the group and allow each team member to feel apart of the effort and success. Each member will feel more commited if they have a role and feel needed.
20 mistakes all Supervisors should avoid when delegating:
1. Delegating tasks they don’t like.
Workload should be prioritized and separated by easy tasks from challenging ones. Use likable tasks to challenge subordinates.
2. Thinking that the person knows how to do the work without giving them any instructions.
Make sure individual employee has the necessary guidelines and skills to do the job. With the resources and tool needed available to complete the assigned tasks.
3. Not fully leveraging people’s specific strengths….People don’t fully let go, don’t give the delegate a true sense of ownership & responsibility.
Avoid micro-management, show confidence in the employees’ abilities.
4. Micro-managing once they have delegated the work.
Have an open door policy. Have a round table with upper management. Open minded dialogue to encourage feedback.
5. It’s easy to overload and overwhelm your “go-to-person” instead of delegating evenly based on expertise & availability.
Make a high & low runners list including their skills. Challenge the low runners to perform based on skills.
6. Not knowing what to delegate…what to keep, who to delegate to or delegating too much.
Learn to organize, plan and prioritize. Learn how to delegate effectively.
7. Not having a system and being to scattered when delegating.
Learn and use project management tools.
8. No follow-up, only giving feedback when it’s done wrong, not checking for completion, failing to understand level of difficulty.
Keep track of assignments, deadlines and progress. Match difficulty with the right skills. Remove obstacles.
9. Not delegating out anything and trying to do it all themselves.
SEE prior examples.
10. Backing down when pushed back and choosing the wrong person for the job.
Always keep time buffers. Match skills with job.
11. Not being clear about task. Communicating desired outcome/expectations or problems they are trying to fix.
Provide guidelines with written descriptions of required outcome. Use the SMART criteria.
Smart
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic/Relevant
Time-Bound
12. You can make people responsible for results, or ask them to follow your instructions – but not both.
Embrace change and innovation. Recognize & reward those deserving.
13. Never expect too much from them, or worse not explaining instructions and expecting them to follow through.
Keep all communications clear, written guidelines, expectations and deadlines.
14. Delegating to the team rather than asking someone specific.
Match skill to the task challenge/requirement.
15. Not having a good understanding of the problem themselves before they delegate the task.
Learn problem solving skills.
16. Not taking the time to review what the actual work is and making it clear! Forwards are the worst!
Review the work and all written guidelines before assigning the work.
17. Telling the delegate how to do the task instead of just being clear about needed outcome. Insisting they do it “your” way.
Be open minded to change and different ways of doing things.
18. It’s not my fault if something fails.
Assume full accountability.
19. Follow through – making sure all necessary information is at their disposal in an organized fashion so it’s streamlined.
Breakdown tasks and assign those that are able to be completed at the moment while waiting for the missing information. Once the remaining information is received, assign tasks accordingly.
20. Delegating without ensuring the employees have a full understanding of what they are doing and the timeline.
SEE prior examples
