Issue 11 · Monday, 3 August 2009

A personal message from Joan

Welcome to the August edition of the newsletter. As you read this I’ll be enjoying the sunny climes of—wait for it—Guernsey. Oh the glamour of it all. And that’s what comes of asking the question 'Mum, what do you think Dad would like for his 80th birthday?’

Actually, I love family holidays and I do hope if you’re spending some time with your nearest and dearest this month, you have a wonderful time.

Before we move into this month’s article I’m taking a short break from all things 'management' to talk a little about my friend Charlotte Fielder’s book Shared Experiences. Please take a look and if you, or someone you know, would be interested in the book please follow and forward the link.

I guess we all know that delegation is an effective management tool. And I guess most of us don’t do as much delegation as we know we should. As with many of the 'shoulds' in our working life, half the battle is knowing where to start.

In this month's article I’m outlining a three step process that can help to identify what you could delegate, who you could delegate to and how much of a task you could delegate – so you can make that start.

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Shared Experiences by Charlotte Fielder to support REACH

In 2006 Charlotte hosted a workshop for parents of children with hand and arm deficiencies. Having been born with a missing left hand, Charlotte has a natural understanding of the issues and has been able to bring together the many and varied responses in a way which offers valuable insights into parenting visibly different children.

These experiences have been crafted together into a unique book called Shared Experiences which will be published in October. Read more about the book on the Facebook group.

To pre-order send an email to shared_experiences@reach.org.uk. For more information about Shared Experiences email charlottefielder@btinternet.com. Charlotte Fielder can be booked as an 'inspirational speaker' with all payments going to REACH.

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Getting started on delegation – the what, the who and the how much

Many managers tell me they don’t delegate tasks as often as they’d like because they just don’t know where to start. Here’s a three step process that can help to identify what you could delegate, who you could delegate to and how much of a task you could delegate.

It’s all about making that start!

Step one: identify the tasks

The first step is to identify the tasks that would be suitable for delegation.

1. Make a list of all the tasks you currently perform.
2. Delete from the list the tasks you must do yourself. These may be tasks which:
   • Are a requirement of your job which no one else can do
   • You are 'legally' responsible for carrying out
   • Only you have the expertise and experience for and it would be impossible or impractical to help your team members gain that expertise and experience
3. The tasks that have not been deleted from the list are those that you potentially could delegate totally or partially.
4. Ask the question – which of these tasks, if delegated, will free up the most time, so that I can concentrate on those tasks only I can do?

Step two: identify the individual

The second step is to identify the individual who would be best suited to undertake the delegated task.

In identifying the individual you may want to use some of the following selection criteria:

• Spare capacity (i.e. they’ve got the time)
• Best fit – in job terms
• The team member has a special interest in the task
• The delegated task may help to meet a development need
• The team member already has the skills or knowledge to complete the task

Step three: identify the appropriate degree of delegation

At this step you should consider the aptitude and potential of the team member and decide upon the ‘degree’ of delegation:

Degree 1: full delegation

The team member takes over the task fully.

Degree 2: shared delegation

You and the team member share the task and agree who will be responsible for which parts. This is useful when the person is not ready to take full responsibility but can do elements of it now and learn others later.

Degree 3: contributory delegation

At this stage the team member is not ready to take on a large part of the task but may contribute to some part of the task.

Now you’ve got the what, the who, and how much in place – is it time to delegate?

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More articles like these

• You want your staff to change the way they work – but how do you tell them?
• Is failing to manage your people impacting your productivity?
• 5 ways to give praise

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Do you want to use my articles in your newsletter or website? You can but please include the following text and link to my site:

Joan Henshaw publishes her monthly Ladder newsletter for business owners and managers. If you want ideas on how to improve your practical people management practices, get your free tips now at www.ladderconsulting.com.

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