For this second article on the theme of “Delegating”, here is your tool: Clarity in delegation
(The first article on the topic of “Delegating” was on my prioritization tool to know WHAT, or which tasks to delegate.)
Clarity in delegation is on two aspects:
- The who
- The what
1. Who to delegate to?
Here are the questions I invite you to ask yourself when choosing the person to delegate to. Yes. We have to be realistic. If you ask me to repair your car, even if all the good practices of the delegation are present, I will not repair your car to satisfaction 🙂 I just don’t have the skills. If you take into account my car repair skills and ask me to take the car to the garage, I will do it, in due course. 😉 The chances that you will be satisfied with the result are increased tenfold. This is an example that may seem banal. That said, I see leaders every day who delegate to develop their team. The objective is extraordinary, we have to do this WHILE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the skills of others. I won’t be able to easily go from someone driving a car to someone repairing a car. I can get training, I can be supported in my first repairs, and then you can assign me low-risk repairs at the beginning. I will gain confidence in myself. You will trust more and more in my ability to repair a car well. Then, the initiatives on my part will come.
Successful delegation = Clear content + a relationship of trust.
The basis for having a relationship of trust is to believe that the other person can succeed. If you are unsure:
- Take an objective step back: is this doubt really justified? In other words, are you the one who is looking for too much perfection or for the files to be done exactly as YOU want them to be?
- Choose a project that is appropriate for the person’s skills (this does not prevent you from giving a challenge – at the right level!).
- Supervise the person fairly, according to their needs.
Delegating takes a certain courage and an acceptance of the risk of error.
2. How do I delegate?
When we talk about the clarity of delegation, there is also the content! Here are the key elements to share so that your delegation is not only successful, but motivating! I’ll take the example of delegating the writing of a blog post.
- What – object, action, phase, operation.
- Publish a blog post.
- Who – is concerned, actor, responsible.
- Geneviève writes the first draft and makes the final approval before publishing.
- Isabelle revises and does the layout.
- Where – place, distance, stage.
- N/A in this case.
- When – time, duration, frequency.
- Validation 48 hours before publication.
- The publication dates are those of the media content calendar.
- How – equipment, means, modalities.
- Computer tools.
- Robert for the translation.
- Why – motivations, meaning
- Sharing free, quality content is one of Unique coaching’s values.
- Measure of Success
- The article provoked reactions.
Once you’ve had the discussion about the what, follow up! It is usually once in action that the questions come. And… Last point: if the other seems to postpone the start of the project… Help the person make a work plan!
Delegating is not unburdening!
This requires monitoring and adjustments. Positive coaching is motivating and fosters trusting relationships.
Conclusion
Delegating to an employee can easily be a source of motivation for them. A key motivator is clarity and humanity. By “humanity” here, what is implied is not to forget that you are human, you may not know everything how to do it and PRECISELY: delegating is not saying how to do it. (You don’t have to master everything, everything before delegating!) Delegating is about saying what it’s for andhow satisfied you will be, while adjusting your expectations according to the person’s skills. To go further, here are two online training courses on the topics covered in this article.