Why it didn’t work

To start with she realised she may not have given sufficient information when delegating tasks, perhaps not realising the person did not have all the knowledge required.

Or it could be that the person had lost self-confidence and expected to fail again as previous attempts at delegating had been unsuccessful. 

This led us to think about what could be done to prevent this from happening again. 

Ask people to describe the task in their own words

The first suggestion was to ask people to describe in their own words their understanding of the task, its objectives, the timing requirements and your expectations. 

This should help to identify any misunderstandings or lack of information, it should clarify the requirements and detect any additional support required. 

Constructive feedback

Another suggestion was to seek feedback after completion of the task by organising a debrief to identify what could be improved. 

For feedback to be constructive, it must be done in a spirit of openness, for example using the same principles as for a mini “project retrospective”. 

This takes the form of a short debrief once the task has been completed. The meeting starts with each party writing down separately what went well, what did not go well, and what could be improved. 

Both parties then share their lists and clarify any point as required. 

They look together for common themes and agree jointly on simple practical actions for improvement. 

This simple process gives each party an opportunity to both share their perceptions and listen to the other party’s feedback in a constructive spirit. 

Typical reasons for delegation to fail include:

·      Lack of clarity of the task and its desired outcome.

·      Lack of skills or experience.

·      Lack of support, tools or resources needed to carry out the task.

·      Lack of authority to access data or make decisions.

·      Absence of intermediate reviews to identify and solve issues.

Help

Growing a business requires doing things differently, allowing vulnerability, ceding control of certain decisions and asking for help. 

Delegation is an essential part to free up time so you can focus on the growth of your business. 

I work with overstretched leaders of Engineering SMEs to help them prepare their business so they can achieve profitable growth.

To explore how I could help you, please use the link below to arrange a free 30-minute conversation.

http://tinyurl.com/HerveJardonCalendar