The quality of your judgment will depend on how well you know your team. Make sure you really know who you are dealing with before embarking on wholesale delegation. If necessary, spend extra time with them first, just to get to know them and their capabilities and aspirations better.
Define the task you are delegating, the powers which may be exercised in doing it, the standards you expect; the outcome required, and when and how you want them to report to you during and on completion of the task. Do you really want them to come to you 'any time you have a problem?' If you are managing your time effectively, you will want to limit your availability within reason. Tell them what result you want, why, by when, and where (if necessary), but leave them to work on the how. They may have better ideas on this than you have.
Give a complete task in which they can feel a sense of achievement, rather than make them a 'gofer' on some menial element of a more interesting assignment. a complex project may be broken up into smaller but nonetheless useful and stimulating tasks which someone can get their teeth into.
You may not be delegating a task as such, but your role as the boss - during annual leave, for example. (If you don't take leave, you should. How can people grow if you're always around the place?) Give them experience at trying out the role for short periods of time first.
Whoever you are grooming to stand in for you, take them along to a significant meeting which you normally chair or in which you play a major role. Brief them beforehand on the background and your expectations, and review with them the outcome afterwards - what happened and why. When the next meeting is due, deliberately absent yourself. Brief your stand-in on both the best outcome and the bottom line, but leave him/her to work out how to get it. If you don't want both of you to look silly, define the power and responsibility he or she can use and make it as much as possible. There is no point in giving them the experience if they are going to be bound and gagged and it won't achieve your objectives anyway. Debrief them as soon after the meeting as possible, giving both praise and constructive feedback. If appropriate, let them follow through subsequent action.
If you do this a few times with different aspects of your role, not only do you increase the security of your operations by having someone you know you can depend on when necessary, but the briefings and coaching can clarify your role and objectives in your own mind.
When you do go on leave, give your stand-in as much freedom of action as possible, and let him or her use your office. The symbols of authority will increase their self-confidence and help them to operate better in relation to other people.
When lending your responsibility for this, or any delegation, it is essential not only to define the extent of the responsibility, but to tell everyone else. If you're making Janet responsible for the car scheme, send a memo to anyone who should know and tell them so. If someone phone you about the scheme, pass them to Janet. Don't pull the rug from under her feet by meddling in the job yourself, even if the caller is a pal of yours!
Define the task you are delegating, the powers which may be exercised in doing it, the standards you expect; the outcome required, and when and how you want them to report to you during and on completion of the task. Do you really want them to come to you 'any time you have a problem?' If you are managing your time effectively, you will want to limit your availability within reason. Tell them what result you want, why, by when, and where (if necessary), but leave them to work on the how. They may have better ideas on this than you have.
Give a complete task in which they can feel a sense of achievement, rather than make them a 'gofer' on some menial element of a more interesting assignment. a complex project may be broken up into smaller but nonetheless useful and stimulating tasks which someone can get their teeth into.
You may not be delegating a task as such, but your role as the boss - during annual leave, for example. (If you don't take leave, you should. How can people grow if you're always around the place?) Give them experience at trying out the role for short periods of time first.
Whoever you are grooming to stand in for you, take them along to a significant meeting which you normally chair or in which you play a major role. Brief them beforehand on the background and your expectations, and review with them the outcome afterwards - what happened and why. When the next meeting is due, deliberately absent yourself. Brief your stand-in on both the best outcome and the bottom line, but leave him/her to work out how to get it. If you don't want both of you to look silly, define the power and responsibility he or she can use and make it as much as possible. There is no point in giving them the experience if they are going to be bound and gagged and it won't achieve your objectives anyway. Debrief them as soon after the meeting as possible, giving both praise and constructive feedback. If appropriate, let them follow through subsequent action.
If you do this a few times with different aspects of your role, not only do you increase the security of your operations by having someone you know you can depend on when necessary, but the briefings and coaching can clarify your role and objectives in your own mind.
When you do go on leave, give your stand-in as much freedom of action as possible, and let him or her use your office. The symbols of authority will increase their self-confidence and help them to operate better in relation to other people.
When lending your responsibility for this, or any delegation, it is essential not only to define the extent of the responsibility, but to tell everyone else. If you're making Janet responsible for the car scheme, send a memo to anyone who should know and tell them so. If someone phone you about the scheme, pass them to Janet. Don't pull the rug from under her feet by meddling in the job yourself, even if the caller is a pal of yours!
