Management Training Tips:
Team Management -
Effective Delegation Is Not More Work
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com
In team management delegation can be viewed as dumping by the
employee who receives more work to do. In a recent meeting with a
young employee, she complained that while she was extremely
interested in more responsible work and taking on new challenges,
she felt that her manager was just giving her more work to do.
Consequently, some of the delegated work was more challenging;
attending meetings during which she helped impact the direction of a
developing product was challenging, exciting, and responsible. She
believed her team manager didn't understand the difference though,
so she spent her time doing more work of a mundane, repetitive
nature. This workload, that had her working long hours and weekends,
interfered with her ability to take on more responsibility.
Admittedly, any job has its share of the mundane tasks that have
to be completed. I don't like filing and I don't like billing
clients. I also don't like doing the wash. But, the manager must
carefully balance the delegation of more work with the delegation of
work requiring more responsibility, authority, and challenge.
Your team management style is situational. Your team management
style depends on the task, the team or individual's capabilities and
knowledge, the time and tools available and the results desired. In
a recent article, I reviewed the tell, sell, consult, join and
delegate leadership style model.
As a supervisor, manager or team leader, you make daily decisions
about the appropriate team management style to employ in each work
situation. You want to foster employee involvement and employee
empowerment to enable your team members to contribute their best
effort at work. These tips for successful delegation of authority
will help you help your reporting staff members succeed when they
are most empowered.
Leadership Style Tips
•
Whenever possible, when delegating work, give the person
a whole task to do. (If you can't give the employee a whole task,
make sure they understand the overall purpose of the project or
task. If possible, connect them to the group that is managing or
planning the work. Staff members contribute most effectively when
they are aware of the big picture.)
•
Make sure the staff person understands exactly what you
want them to do. Ask questions, watch the work performed or have the
employee give you feedback to make sure your instructions were
understood.
•
If you have a picture of what a successful outcome or
output will look like, share your picture with the staff person. You
want to make the person right. You don't want to fool the person to
whom you delegate authority for a task, into believing that any
outcome will do, unless you really feel that way.
•
Identify the key points of the project or dates when you
want feedback about progress. This is the critical path that
provides you with the feedback you need without causing you to
micromanage your direct report or team. You need assurance that the
delegated task or project is on track. You also need the opportunity
to influence the project's direction and the team or individual's
decisions.
•
Identify the measurements or the outcome you will use to
determine that the project was successfully completed. (This will
make performance development planning more measurable and less
subjective, too.)
•
Determine, in advance, how you will thank and reward the
staff person for their successful completion of the task or project
you delegated.
Successful delegation of authority as a team management style
takes time and energy, but it's worth the time and energy to help
employee involvement and employee empowerment succeed as a team
management style. It's worth the time and energy to help employees
succeed, develop and meet your expectations. You build the
employee's self-confidence and people who feel successful usually
are successful.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/delegation/qt/delegation_l5.htm
Subject: Team Management
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