Today's increased speed and workload can decrease our ability to think through the best ways to get things done. In the rush of the moment we may think it is easier to do things ourselves then delegate, or we delegate to whomever happens to be nearest to us. How, then, can we effectively and systematically make sure we get the right things done through the right people? What is delegation, and what is the right way to do it?

Delegation means to give someone the responsibility and authority to do something that's normally part of your job. It comes from the Latin "to send from." When delegating, you are sending the work "from" you "to" someone else. It is not task assignment, abdication or dumping. You share accountability, controls and checkpoints to monitor your employees' progress. You set clear goals and expectations for the assignment - the 'what' of the work. The 'how' is up to them and is, in fact, part of their professional development. Give them suggestions and perhaps limits, but let them take their own action while you hold them accountable for their performance. It helps people grow underneath you in an organization and pushes you higher in to management.

Why delegate? There is the obvious benefit that it lightens your workload and increases the skills of the people taking on the work. It can increase your skills as well: what new, learning opportunity or responsibility can you take on using the time you would have spent on the delegated task?

Delegation increases the productivity of the entire group from both the leader and the employee point of view. Productivity increases as skills increase and employees become less dependent on one or two leaders. Workflow bottlenecks decrease and leaders are less likely to burn out. It truly is a win-win scenario.

How do you choose what to delegate? Look over your weekly activity records and task lists. Highlight those that would represent the highest freedom value for you. Think about what your core competencies are, and what your highest level of contribution can be to the company. Those that fall outside your highest contribution areas should be considered for delegation.

As you look over what you could potentially delegate, consider the following areas:

• All routine work. Can it be delegated, automated or eliminated?
  • Routine clerical duties (filing, counting, sorting, routine reports, data entry)
  • Answering routine questions. Here consider if there is some way to mechanize it via a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet, website, training, newsletter or other communiqué.
  • Collection of data for reports
• Making minor decisions within your parameters
• Fact-finding assignments
• Minor staffing problems such as scheduling
• Anything that someone else is better and more cost effective at doing than you
• Anything your employees are expected to do in your absence. If you leave for vacation and have put in back up people and processes, consider making assignment permanent if it makes sense and is working well.
• Jobs that can develop the employee in other areas for potential promotion

It is also best to delegate whole pieces of work as opposed to just tasks. The employee learns more by viewing how it all works together. You can, however, start with a small piece of a larger effort, and move to larger pieces and areas of responsibility over time with demonstrated successes.

Any activity that someone else would be willing to do for you if you would just ask them should be considered for delegation. Remember, you are not the only one that can accomplish an end result. Trust others to be capable of achieving it. You should also encourage your people to ask for parts of your job. This strengthens your position, not weakens it. It shows you are doing your job as a manager - getting results with others - and gives you the opportunity to think strategically instead of being mired in less valued, routine tasks. It positions you as a leader and makes you more promotable. And you can't get a promotion unless someone has been groomed to execute your job once you leave. Delegation can help smooth that upward path.

Who do you delegate to? As you start to plan for delegation, many questions should come to mind as you review your team.

• Do you understand who can handle particular tasks, or is close to being able to?
• What would it take to bring a person's level up to where it needs to be to take on a delegated task? An investment in time is never easy to make, but if the benefits are there, make it happen.
• Do you understand who sees a task as a learning opportunity?
• Who could benefit from taking this task on?
• Who needs to change their job duties?

Find out what the talents and interests of your people are and you will be able to delegate more intelligently and effectively.

Keep in mind that raising the power and productivity of the whole group should be one of your goals. Be sure to delegate to more than just one person, or you'll be creating another bottleneck as well as denying others the chance to learn.

How do you effectively transition a task to another person? Don't assume an employee knows your motivation for making the change. Explain the benefit of the assignment and point out WIIFT: What's In It For Them. Using a "what-why" statement can get the message across effectively. For example:

Can you document the kinds of questions we get routinely, and their solutions? Given your knowledge of our work, I think you can handle many of the questions and help us streamline our internal support.

Look in to this problem, the alternatives available and recommend one for my approval. With your background and judgment you should be able to think of many viable alternatives.

We need to update our Employee Handbook, and I want you to confirm that all the information is current and accurate. You're good with details, so I am depending on you to crosscheck everything.

The transition must be thought through and documented. Create a support system for success. What is needed to make this person and transition as easy as possible? Establish who can help with this new task, what resources, training or tools are available, what is the performance expectation and deadline, and how progress should be reported. Be prepared to trade short term errors for long term results. Give help and coach when required, but don't hover. Be generous with recognition as successes start to happen.

Effective delegation is an important and powerful tool that some managers hesitate to use. This may be a result of inexperience, perfectionism, fear of surrendering authority or a reluctance to release work one personally enjoys doing. As a leader, however, it is your job for both you and your team to be increasingly raising the value being provided to your organization. Delegation can be a springboard to professional and personal growth, productivity and promotions that should be aggressively pursued and realistically implemented. So think it through and let it go! Delegating effectively increases the value and productivity of your team and you!