Delegation is critical for team success, yet a lot of team leaders are not confident with handing things over. A framework I share with new team leaders around delegation is the 5 W model. Here's what I wrote about it over at my BizToolkit blog late last year:
"In starting to think about delegation and what we can delegate, we can apply the 5 Ws to Delegation:
What - What do you want to delegate? What are the specifics? What resources do they need to complete this?
Who - Who will you delegate to? Do they have the skills required? What support do they need along the way?
When - What are the major milestones along the way? How will you check in, and when?
Why - Why is this task important? Have you communicated the big picture?
Where - Where does the work need to take place?
How - What are the steps/actions required? How will it be measured? How will you all know it has been successful?
A lot of leaders fall into the trap of either not delegating and doing it all themselves. What is the cost of this? On the flipside, some leaders may over delegate, wondering why things are not done right. Often the questions flowing out of the 5 Ws have not been taken into account. Perhaps the person does not have the skills or resources to do the work, or maybe the authority to make it happen. Perhaps they've gotten things done, but there have been no checkpoints, so the actions taken really weren't the ones needed.
Coaching Questions:
What do you want to delegate?
Why is it important?
How will you communicate this to your staff?
When will you check in?
Have a great week,
Jennifer
"In starting to think about delegation and what we can delegate, we can apply the 5 Ws to Delegation:
What - What do you want to delegate? What are the specifics? What resources do they need to complete this?
Who - Who will you delegate to? Do they have the skills required? What support do they need along the way?
When - What are the major milestones along the way? How will you check in, and when?
Why - Why is this task important? Have you communicated the big picture?
Where - Where does the work need to take place?
How - What are the steps/actions required? How will it be measured? How will you all know it has been successful?
A lot of leaders fall into the trap of either not delegating and doing it all themselves. What is the cost of this? On the flipside, some leaders may over delegate, wondering why things are not done right. Often the questions flowing out of the 5 Ws have not been taken into account. Perhaps the person does not have the skills or resources to do the work, or maybe the authority to make it happen. Perhaps they've gotten things done, but there have been no checkpoints, so the actions taken really weren't the ones needed.
Coaching Questions:
What do you want to delegate?
Why is it important?
How will you communicate this to your staff?
When will you check in?
Have a great week,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Everything DiSC® Authorized Partner
Contact us and let us know how we can support you in helping your team reach its' full potential: (416)996-TEAM (8326)
Potentials Realized
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Everything DiSC® Authorized Partner
Contact us and let us know how we can support you in helping your team reach its' full potential: (416)996-TEAM (8326)
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