Five Rules of Delegation

In our profession (as well as any other executive or management position) the only means is survival is delegation. Even on a DIVO level it would be impossible to handle all the assigned tasks yourself. Of course, it is touted as the the most important solution for management woes from everyone from Stephen Covey to Timothy Ferris.

What does it take to be an effective delegator? The.SWO.ter has boiled down successful delegation into five easy to follow (okay, maybe not so easy, for you overbearing 'A' types out there) and vital rules of being a damn good delegator.

1. TRUST – this is the most important of all. Subordinates can sense when you honestly trust them to get the task done. You must put your faith in them. Fully. Or don't hand them the task. No trial periods; no working under supervision. Use some Jedi mind tricks and convince yourself that your instincts in delegating this particular task to this particular person are correct. Your confidence will inspire their confidence, or vice versa.

2. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT – Evaluate the final product, or in longer projects evaluate progress at pre-determined milestones. The person doing the work should also be tasked with recommending a list of these evaluation milestones to provide him or her with a sense of ownership of the total project. Don't ask about progress everyday. Don't stop by unannounced to see how things are going. In other words, don't be a nag.

3. BE FLEXIBLE – When you delegate a task, be aware that there will be some variance in the final product from what you imagined. Ask yourself; does this output accomplish the goal of the assignment? If so, move on, even if there are details which you would have preferred to see done a little differently. Don't ever, ever ask for work to be modified for nitpicky items such as changing the font or slide color. All you do is demonstrate that a) you pay more attention to valueless minutia than the big picture and b) you have psychological issues.

4. BE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT – Just because it would be counterproductive to meddle in an ongoing delegated task doesn't mean that the person to whom you assigned the task won't need your help. Make it clear from the beginning that they can approach you with problems. But be sure to let them initiate the request for support. You don't want to go offering support all the time and violate rule number two. Also remember that support equals support and not completing parts of the task for them.

5. REWARD FAILURE – What, you scream? You heard me correctly, even failure, if it is the result of an honest mistake should be rewarded. If the person to whom you assigned the task put in his or her best effort and still came up short, they should be commended for those efforts. Let them know there is still work to be done, but give them an early day off, with the knowledge that you will be getting together the next day to discuss where there efforts fell short so that they can make the appropriate corrections.


Do you have any other ideas for great delegation? Leave them in the comments.