Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable they are then the more freedom you can give them.
The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation.
- "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." No delegation at all.
- "Look into this and tell me what you come up with. I'll decide." This is asking for investigation and analysis, but no recommendation.
- "Give me your recommendation, and the other options with the pros and cons of each. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead." Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.
- "Decide and let me know your decision, but wait for my go ahead." The other person needs approval, but is trusted to judge the relative options.
- "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to." Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in responsibility saves time.
- "Decide and take action, but let me know what you did." Saves more time. Allows a quicker reaction to wrong decisions, not present in final level.
- "Decide and take action. You need not check back with me." The is is most freedom that we can give to the other person. A high level of confidence is necessary, and needs good controls to ensure mistakes are flagged.
No comments:
Post a Comment