How to Delegate Work Effectively & Be A Successful Leader

• For new and inexperienced in the job staff -  use a directive delegation style (Tell exactly what you want them to do).
• For staff that has experience in the job (they know what they are doing) - use the effective, management by objectives delegation method (Tell people the end result that you want and then get out of their way).
• When the staff person is completely experienced and competent, your method of delegation in this case is simply, easy interaction.

• Who can do this job instead of you?
• Who can do this job better than me?
• Who can do this job at a lower cost than me?
• Can this activity be eliminated altogether?

1. Match the Person to the Job: never delegate an important task to a person who has not performed that task satisfactorily in the past.
2. Agree on what is to be Done.
3. Explain How the Job Should Be Done: Explain your preferred approach or method of working.
4. Have Him Feed It Back: the only way that you can be sure that the other person actually understands the job or assignment
5. Set a Deadline.
6. Manage By Exception.

If the job is on track, and on schedule, managing by exception means that the person does not have to report back to you.

If you don’t hear from him, you can assume that everything is going well. The individual only has to report back to you when an exception occurs and there is a problem with getting the job done on time, to the agreed upon level of quality.

Without the ability to delegate effectively, it is impossible for you to advance in management to higher positions of responsibility.

Learning how to delegate is not only about maximizing your own productivity and value; it is also about maximizing the productivity of your staff. Your job as a manager is to get the highest return on the company’s investment in people.