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“Delegating tasks is one of the ways that a project manager can draw on the strengths of the entire team, manage the workload and reduce overall stress,” said Edward T. Reilly, president and CEO of American Management Association. “It is also a way to empower team members. When a manager or project leader delegates responsibilities to others, he or she demonstrates a confidence in their abilities and shows the value of and support for their professional development. Delegating tasks, however, does not free the manager from the ultimate accountability for the end results.” Reilly offers the following advice:
Set the stage. Meet with your team members and clearly state the objectives of the project. Be clear about what success will look like and then determine what will be involved in achieving those objectives.
Get the team involved. Let your team members participate in determining how to achieve the desired outcome. People are more excited about doing a project when they are involved in the process.
Select the right person for each task. Assess the skills and capabilities of team members and make assignments based on know-how and experience. Ask for volunteers for specific assignments and grant the tasks accordingly.
Provide direction. Provide the right amount of direction based on the developmental needs of the team members. If they have little “hands-on” experience, provide enough “how-to” details for them to succeed.
Check understanding. One of the reasons for unsuccessful delegating is a lack of understanding about expectations. To prevent this, ask the open-ended question, “Can you suggest how you would go about handling this task?”
Set limits of authority. Team members should know how much discretion they have on how to accomplish their tasks. Make it clear what authority they have.
Maintain control even while delegating. You still need to monitor the tasks that have been delegated and to continue the development of your staff to help them exercise their authority well.
Know what not to delegate. While there are many project tasks you can delegate, there are some responsibilities that you can’t: teambuilding, reprimanding and performance assessments.
Manage risks. Partner with your team members to identify potential obstacles and challenges as well as how to respond to them, should they occur.
Keep in contact. Empower your employees—let them do the work but agree upon checkpoints along the way so you will know how it’s going. Don’t hover over the team members; maintain open lines of communication to know what each one is doing and support them along the way.
Evaluate and reward performance. Address insufficient performance and reward successes. If you’re not satisfied with the work, don’t accept it. Continue to work with the team members to ensure they complete their assignment to both your satisfaction and that of the rest of the team.
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