In this article Susanne Madsen explains: what is delegation in project management and how to practice it effectively, thoughtfully, and with success. Based on decades of experience she shares with you her guidelines for delegating authority, responsibility, tasks, and more to become a better manager or project management leader. 

What is Delegation in Management?

In order to become a highly effective and truly successful project management leader, you must know what is delegation and focus on the areas that make the greatest difference to the success of your project.

These areas include risk and issue management, project planning, managing senior stakeholders, ensuring the quality of the end product, and leading and motivating the team. Delegating lower-level administrative tasks and detailed planning are important if you want to spend your time effectively.

When you delegate correctly, you motivate and stretch the person you are delegating to…

By delegating, not only do you free yourself up to focus on what is really important, but you also help grow and develop other people. When you delegate correctly, you motivate and stretch the person you are delegating to, and you contribute to his or her professional development needs, confidence, and competence.

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READ ALSO: Top 20 Tips to be the Best Project Leader

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Many project managers don’t delegate because they believe that they either have no one to delegate to or they don’t want to lose control of a certain task.

You need to think more broadly, creatively, and strategically. Often team members are perfectly able to perform a task—for instance, one related to detailed planning and estimation—if they are given the opportunity and the right amount of support.

‘If you want the job done right, you have to delegate it properly’

How to be Effective at Delegation in Management?

The following guidelines illustrate: what is delegation in management and how you delegate effectively and thoughtfully.

To delegate effectively, be conscious about what you delegate, who you delegate to, and how you delegate. Keep the following in mind:  

Use Pareto’s Principle – Never delegate the 20 percent of tasks that contribute to 80 percent of your results. Delegate tasks that are not sensitive or high risk and that you are not particularly attached to. Choose tasks that someone else could potentially perform better than you can.

Delegate tracking and administrative tasks – Delegate tasks such as timesheet approval, financial tracking, taking minutes, documenting procedures and solutions, weekly reporting, creating newsletters, and keeping the document repository up-to-date.

Engage a project administrator – Get a dedicated project administrator or support person on board on a part-time or full-time basis. Some organizations have a centralized project management office (PMO) that might be able to offer additional help and support.

Delegate entire roles – Delegate specific roles such as test management, implementation management, analysis, and detailed planning of particular products, workstreams, or work packages. On a small project, you will double up and take on these roles yourself, but on a large project, it’s essential that you delegate them.

Challenge, stretch and motivate – In deciding who to delegate to, ask yourself how much the particular task will challenge, stretch, and motivate the person to whom you plan to delegate. What’s in it for him? In which ways will this assignment contribute to his success and help him develop his skills and capabilities?

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READ ALSO: Effective Steps that will Help you Increase Teamwork Motivation

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Check people’s availability – Be clear on how much time the person whom you want to delegate to is able to commit. How much time would be required to complete the task –or role, and how could the person be freed up to work for you? How would taking on the task, which you are delegating affect his or her other work priorities?

Verify the person’s competence – Before you delegate, check how competent the person is. What are his expertise and skills in areas such as planning, tracking, communication, and time management? The person’s competence will determine how much direction he needs from you.

Verify the person’s commitment – Before you delegate, find out how committed the person is to whom you want to delegate. How motivated, confident, and driven is he? His commitment will determine how much moral support he needs from you.

When people are both competent and committed you can manage them by exception and tell them to get back to you if they have a problem.

Take time to think through the job – Decide exactly what you want to delegate and which type of results you want. Determine the performance standards you are going to measure the job against, as well as a schedule and a deadline. Remember to make the outcome as measurable as possible.

Hand over the entire task – Seek to hand over the entire task to the person you are delegating to. Explain what is to be done and the reason for doing the task in the first place. Check in with the team member regularly to see how he is getting on. Gradually step back when you see that he is mastering the task.

Provide support and direction – Give people the time, support, direction, and information required to succeed. Be patient, and do not look for mistakes. We were all trainees once and had to learn from someone more experienced. It is your support and direction, more than anything else that determines how successful you are at delegating.

Final thought – People used to say, ‘If you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself’. But that is old-school thinking. The modern approach is to say, ‘If you want the job done right, you have to delegate it properly’.

Further Reading about: What is Delegation in Management and How to do it Effectively

Successful Delegation: Using the Power of Other People’s Help. Mindtools.com 

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For you who are interested in What is Delegation in Management – you may also be interested in Susanne Madsen’s book: The Power of Project Leadership. Delegation in management is essential to project leadership and you can read more about it in Susanne Madsen’s book. You can find book reviews HERE and a link to buy the book HERE.

ManageMagazine recommends this book for its actionable advice, case studies, and tools, which you can turn into action right away. We simply find it an excellent guide for practitioners.

Please note that ManageMagazine’s aim is to convey the importance of delegation in management and practicing delegation successfully. Hence, we have no financial interest or benefits in recommending Susanne Madsen’s Book – we recommend the books from which we estimate our readers can benefit.

What is Delegation in Management and How to do it Effectively? – was originally published on May 8., 2017.