DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY Getting The Job Done Right Without Doing It YourselfIf you are in a position of authority on your job, or even if you?re a parent, chances are you need to delegate tasks to others around you. If you are too vague when you delegate, you cause your staff to be unsure as to what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. This lack of direction and unclear objectives causes frequent interruptions to you for questions and clarifications, as well as wasted time and efforts. The factors that must be present for effective delegating are as follows:
Purpose Importance Parameters Deadline Authority
When delegating, it is crucial that you be specific. Define
project, purpose of project, its importance, any deadlines involved and scope of staff?s responsibility/authority in project. The more clear and detailed information you provide, better result you can expect.
Suppose you?re planning a company event and you want to have fresh, locally grown flowers on each dining table. If you say to your assistant, ?Get me some information on flowers?, she may get back to you in four days with 20 pages of growing information on 50 different types of flowers. Although she spent valuable time and effort on this assignment, information wouldn?t be helpful in planning your event, would it? Your unclear communication just wasted a whole lot of company time and you?re no closer to having information you wanted.
