Delegation of Job

Delegation of Job

If you keep doing what you have always been doing,

you will keep getting what you have been getting is a great
quote defines your present and your future.
The best tool I have come across during my career is the My Time Table, which I
have learned since my childhood during my school days. The same practice I
followed until college, but forgot after that. A few years back while attending a
seminar, the trainer reveals the benefits of the Time Log and Time Log system and
I once again started practicing the time log rule. It is marvelous.
When I start maintaining my time log, I started extracted information on the tasks
complete, to be done next, next week or next month. This framed by TO DO List,
another powerful Tool. Daily I started to maintain my TODO list. I find that
preparing list will not work; I have to prioritize the tasks based on Importance and
Urgency of the task. It was a great learning, which I had read in some articles and
seminar, never implemented.
From my TO DO list and Priority List I could bifurcate them into following
categories

Important & Not Important

Urgent & Not Urgent
So, we have now four type of Tasks. But, we can have more permutation and
combination of these types. Let us divide the a Square into 4 Squares as under
Urgent-Important These tasks are
crisis tasks and need to be done
immediately. Deadlines, last dates of
any task, emergency, etc., falls in this
category. These may be of low
priority, but now, due to 11th hour
action, falls in High Priority slab.
Urgent-Not Important These may
be urgent but not important for you.
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So, these can be skipped or can be kept in low priority list.
Important Not Urgent These tasks are important, but may not be urgent.
These may not requires action now, but need to be done, since these may impact
your future. So, these tasks has to be taken seriously and on the top priority list.
These may be your Health concern. Like if you have high BP, you need to do
exercise, see doctor frequently, take healthy food, etc. Sales plan for next Month,
sales forecast, Budgeting, etcs., are high priority tasks and important, may be not
be urgent now, but they effect your future.
Not-Urgent Not-important These tasks requires least attention or may be no
attention.
We are busy full day doing all these four type of works. According to pareto
analysis also, if we analysis our daily no of task verses result, we will find that 20%
of the task give us 80% of results or 20% of the task consume our 80% of time. We
have to analysis the % of important-Not Urgent share in these 20% of the task. If
80% of these are in this category, it is ok, but if only 20% of task are Important
Not Urgent, then there is problem and you have to take a call immediately.
You cannot leave other category of tasks, except Not-Urgent-Not-Important. To
get best of your talent and skills you need to focus more on Important-NotUrgent and balance needs to be delegate to your team members or peers.
Now you have to decide, which
task to be delegated and which
not to be. First, delegate the task,
which are not important to you,
but are urgent. Plan to handover
these. Crisis tasks (UrgentImportant) can also be delegates
with transition. You can hand-over
few of your planning tasks also to
your subordinates.

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Before delegation, you need to understand and note down the following steps for
delegation
1) List of Tasks You need to prepare a list of tasks, which you are not able to
perform due to over-load with lot of tasks.
2) Knowledge of the Task You should know about the task to be delegate. If
dont know, then how you can delegate the task to your subordinates.
3) Person who will do Find a person in your team who can do that task
independently.
4) Plan a training calendar.
5) Plan Transition Phase
6) Plan a Handover Phase

Elements of Delegation
There are three elements of Delegation
1) First is Responsibility is given to
the person, by training, coaching
and on job training.
2) Second is Authority. When the
person starts delivering the
results as per the desirable
standards, partial/full authority is
given.
3) Third comes Accountability. After
Responsibility and Authority, the
person can handle the task
independently and is accountable
and answerable for the results
and outcome.

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Obstacles in Delegation
Delegation of tasks faces following obstacles at three levels, while delegation
1) At Manager Level
He think he could do better than other.
Have no confidence in the subordinate.
Does not have adequate control on the subordinate
Unable to train or coach the subordinate
Fear of job Loss
2) At Subordinate Level
Like to be dependent on Boss
Lack of Confidence
Dont want to take responsibility of more jobs
Not motivated by the job
Inadequate resources to do the task
Is incapable to do the job
Dislike criticism if fail or take more time to adopt
3) Organisation Level
In adequate planning or absence of clear policy
No assessment of the job to be transferred
No motivation for manager and subordinate
Lack of clarity of shifting of Responsibility and authority

Stages of Delegation
When you have decided to delegate the tasks and have found the person to do,
now it is time for you to follow the following stages.
1) I DO (realization Stage) If you dont know how to do the task, then you
have to first learn to do the task. If you dont know, then how can you
teach/train and delegate to anyone.

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2) I Do, You watch This visual training to the person. He will watch you doing
the task and will learn the method. This stage is called Observation stage.
At this stage the person will be enthusiastic to see that task being
performed.
3) We Do (Collaboration Stage) At
this stage, you are giving him on
the job training. You are inducing
his on the job and simultaneously
teaching him to do the task as
desired. At this stage, he will be
on higher side of enthusiasm and
will show full interest. You need
to motivate his and show your
confidence in him. You need to give him your full support and direction at
this stage.
4)

You Do, I watch (Evaluation) This stage is very important and it requires
your lot of attention and motivation to the candidate. He may do mistake,
but you have teach him to do the right way. Once he starts doing the task
without mistakes and giving the desirable results, next stage comes.
Theoretically, he has learned, but now he is now on the job practically. This
stage is very critical and important. You need to give direction at this stage
more than support.

5)

You Do (Delegation Stage) At this stage, you can hand over the tasks
completely to the person and start getting the results. At this stage, the
candidate is on high commitment and on higher competence.

So, now be ready to improve your productivity by delegating the jobs which you
are unable to do and others can do for you.
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About author Rajinder Singh Mann, B.Sc., PGDCA, MBA, MPhil in

Management and have rich Industrial, training and educational
experience. Has imparted training of Time Management, SelfManagement,
Productivity
Improvement,
Warehouse
Management, Improving Logistics efficiencies and many more.).
Has authored Posititude e-Magazine and also a regular Blog write on
Motivation.
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