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How to Delegate Effectively

 

 

Effective delegation is a core competency for leaders: Managers who feel like they spend all their time going from one crisis to the next are probably failing to delegate effectively. When we mainly focus on the fires in our inboxes, we are not leading, we are reacting. Delegation requires trusting your staff and investing the time necessary to ensure they have the tools, guidance and skills needed to accomplish the task. Giving your staff members enough authority to move them out of their comfort zone helps them build their skills and increases their capacity to take on even greater responsibility. That, in turn, frees up the supervisor to focus more time on high-value issues such as planning, professional development for the team, and strategic thinking.

 

 

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If You Want It Done Right, You Don't Have to Do It YourselfIf You Want It Done Right, You Don't Have to Do It Yourself!

By Donna M. Genett, Ph.D.

This short business parable serves as an excellent vehicle to teach a very effective method of delegation. Demonstrates the personal and organizational costs of poor delegation, and walks the reader through a process of discovery to identify six key steps in effective delegation. Very quick read with lots of great insights. Read More...

 

Delegating EffectivelyDelegating Effectively: A Leader's Guide to Getting Things Done

By Clemson Turregano

This excellent booklet by the Center for Creative Leadership asserts that delegation skills are a basic leadership skill, but one that frequently cause managers and executives to derail. Provides a self-assessment to help you gauge your current delegation skills, discusses the reasons why managers do not delegate, and why it is so important to do so. Also provides a solid methodology for delegation that can build the capacity of team members. Read More...


The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey

The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey

by Kenneth H. Blanchard, William Oncken, and Hal Burrows

Do you work harder than your staff? Do many of the tasks you delegate go unfinished? If so, then this book is for you. Based on William Oncken's classic article from The Harvard Business Review, "Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?," The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey provides a very clear model for delegating tasks that helps ensure that the task is understood and increase the likelihood that it will be completed. Read More...