Author: Richard Lannon

Delegation is one of the most important skills. Business analyst team leaders and other technical professionals, managers, and executives all need to develop good delegation skills. There are many rules and techniques that help people to delegate. Good delegation saves money and time, builds people and team skills, grooms successors and motivates people, and leads to successful projects. Poor delegation sucks! Ask any employee. It causes frustration, demotivates and confuses people and teams. It is important to develop good delegation skills.

These 12 rules of delegation should help you out.

1. Delegation is a two-way street. That’s right! Delegation is meant to develop you and the people you work with. Consider what you are delegating and why you are delegating it. Are you delegating to build people, get rid of work you don’t like to do or to create an effective team?
2. To be a good delegator you need to let go. You can’t control everything so let go and trust the people you work with. Hand over those tasks to other people that are stopping you from reaching your full potential.
3. Create a delegation plan. Use a delegation matrix that shows your people and the main task components and how you can develop your people and get the work done. This will help your people understand the expectations being set.
4. Define the tasks that must be done. Make sure that the task can be delegated and is suitable to be delegated. Some things you have to do and others can be done by someone else. Be clear on what the task is and is not. People like clarity when being delegated to. So ensure you are clear. If you are not clear your people will not be and you will be disappointed. Worst, your people will feel like failures. Not cool!
5. Select and assign the individual who should take on the task. Be clear on your reasons for delegating the task to that person. Be honest with yourself. Make sure you answer the question what are they going to get out of it and what are you going to get out of it? Think of it as listening to the radio station WII-FM (what’s in it for them). It’s a good motivator.
6. Make sure you consider ability and training needs. The importance of the task may need to be defined. Can the people you’re considering do the task? Do they understand what needs to be done? If not, you can’t delegate it to them. If resources are an issue, sit your team down and move things around or develop a mentoring-support program that enables your people.
7. Clearly explain the reason for the task or work that must be done. Discuss why the job is being delegated and how it fits into the scheme of things. Don’t be afraid to negotiate points that are discussed when appropriate. Don’t say it is because we are told to do it. For your people to own the task you must own the task. Reframe and rephrase it so you have ownership.
8. State the required outcomes and results. Answer questions like what must be achieved, what the measurements will be, and clarify how you intend to decide that the job was successfully done.
9. Be prepared to discuss the required resources with the individual and team. Common challenges arise with every person and team including people, location, time, equipment, materials and money. These are important concerns and should be discussed and solved creatively. However, sometimes it is simply as it must be done. Be prepared.
10. Get agreement on timeline and deadlines. Include a status reporting feature to ensure things are getting done. When is the job to be done? What are the ongoing operational duties? What is the status report date and how is it due? Make sure you confirm an understanding of all the previous items. Ask for a summary in their words. Look for reassurance that the task can be done. Address any gaps and reinforce your belief in the individuals or teams work. They need to know you trust them.
11. Remember the two way street, well it is most likely a multi-directional intersection. Look around and support and communicate. Speak to those people who need to know what is going on. Check your stakeholders list and make sure you inform them what the individuals’ or team’s responsibility is. Do not leave it up to the individual team member. Keep politics, the task profile and importance in mind.
12. Provide and get feedback for team members. It is important that you let people know how they are doing and if they are achieving their aim. Don’t get into blame-storming. You must absorb the consequences of failure, create an environment where failure is an opportunity to learn and grow and pass on the credit for success. Pay it forward if you can.

Delegation used as a tool develops you and your people. The better you are at delegation the better the people around you and your teams will do. It is part of command skills and should be used to let go and trust in your people. The difference between success and failure is often a matter of letting go and delegating.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below

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Richard Lannon works with those people, organizations and enterprises that want to identify what’s important, establish direction and build business skills that will positively impact their bottom line. He can be reached at [email protected], 1-866-559-8126, www.braveworld.ca

Recently I was reminded that only 10 percent of conflict is extreme and that 90 percent of conflict is acceptable. In working with a client, I noticed some needs that were not being met. Those needs erupted into what we would call conflict between several people on the team. It was interesting to observe what took place. Mostly it was a flight situation. The people in the conflict situation left the area. This is not a bad thing as sometimes you just need to get out of Dodge. When it comes to conflict we all need to take some common thinking into consideration.

First, conflict has its positive place in our lives. Conflict is natural and depending on our disposition we might fight/flight or fend/befriend. We are wired that way.

Second, think of conflict like the ice berg in the ocean; two-thirds of it is underwater. For people the portion under water has to do with our history, values, culture, beliefs and feelings and all the other stuff that is happening in our lives.

Third, one-third of the ice berg is above the water. This is where we observe people behaviours. The above the water iceberg represents the actual conflict event that occurs among individuals and teams.

Conflict thinking is often broken down into four levels. These include:

Position: This is the level that is about facts, data, and information. At this level a person or team takes their position.

Standards: This level is about policy and procedures that do not necessarily fit the individual or team culture. Somewhere a change is mandated without regard to the people impact.

Objectives: There is a lack of alignment in the organization, team and individuals goals and priorities. People are confused and are not sure what is important. There are conflicting interests and generally poor leadership.

Culture: The culture level is about values, beliefs and attitude. This is the level where individual, teams’ and organizations’ interest lies. This level is the deeper under the water level that should be understood and taken into consideration. This level can represent a real challenge.

We all need at least one approach to conflict resolution. The following 10 steps is an approach used in dealing with one on one conflict that, if engaged correctly, can go a long way towards resolving conflict.

1. Present the issue without emotion, blame, or judgment
2. Ask for the other person’s point of view
3. Explain your point of view clearly
4. Clarify and define the issues in terms of both your needs
5. Create a joint plan with which you both agree
6. Brainstorm and discuss possible solutions
7. Select the best chance of meeting both your needs
8. Develop a realistic plan of action and determine who will do what, by when, where and how
9. Implement the plan, make a commitment to it and follow it
10. Evaluate the success of the solution based on the joint objective

During the conflict resolution discussion, do your best to keep your emotions in neutral. That does not mean divorce yourself from your emotions. It simply means that it is alright for both sides to recognize their emotions and feelings. Each party needs to acknowledge their emotions, be willing to describe the situation and express how they feel. In turn, they must clearly specify what is expected and consider the consequences of individual, team and organization behaviours.

Much of conflict resolution is about acknowledging and settling the emotions through collaborative problem solving to satisfy the various stakeholders’ interests to the greatest degree possible.

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Richard A. Lannon partners with business and technology organizations to help clarify their goals and objectives and train their leadership and professionals on how to achieve them. He provides the blueprint for you and your organization to be SET (structured, engaged and trained). That is why his clients call him the SETability Expert. Voice: 403-476-8853 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.braveworld.ca/