Delegate Tasks to the Right Person

SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able to identify individuals both capable and willing to handle responsibility.

DETERMINING EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY: A careful review should be made of past assumptions about personnel. Some employees' capabilities may be overestimated, others underestimated. A personnel survey or personal interview is an excellent tool managers can use to reassess their subordinates, determine what additional duties each believes he or she can now adequately handle, and recognize the goals and direction toward which the employee aspires to advance. This will provide managers with insight into employee interests and aspirations, while pinpointing those presently qualified for delegation.

DELEGATING RESPONSIBILITY: A manager should also consider which subordinates have made independent decisions within the parameters of their position and authority, and whether these decisions were "right," even though they may not necessarily have agreed with past management decisions. Employees are certainly ready for more responsibility and authority when they have shown the ability to make decisions that are both innovative and correct.

After the evaluation process is completed, managers should be able to separate those subordinates to whom delegation can be made with a good chance of success from those who are unsuited. Then managers should show patience. Subordinates' ability to handle added responsibility and authority comes in stages.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Smoke from Israeli bombardment rises from the northern Gaza Strip as seen from the Israel- Gaza border, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. The U.N. Security Council called for an 'immediate' and 'durable' cease-fire in Gaza, but an intense bombardment of missiles from Israeli jets and helicopters early Friday and a barrage of Hamas rockets indicated there would be no rapid end to the fighting. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, but an intense bombardment of missiles from Israeli jets and helicopters early Friday and a barrage of Hamas rockets indicated there may be no quick end to the fighting.



Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.



In this Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 file image provided by Greenpeace, coal ash slurry left behind in a containment pond near the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant is shown  in Harriman, Tenn., after the dyke at left broke Dec. 22, 2008. Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated. (AP Photo/Greeenpeace, Wade Payne)AP - Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.



Vice President Dick Cheney pauses during an interview with the Associated Press at the White House in Washington Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)AP - Vice President Dick Cheney, warning against impulsive U.S. action in Iraq, says that whether the struggling nation backslides into a cycle of violence partly depends on how President-elect Barack Obama decides to pull out American forces.



In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, Leon Panetta, then a member of the Iraq Study Group, walks into a Washington hotel.    (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.



Florida's Tim Tebow (15) throws a pass over Oklahoma's Auston English (33) during the third quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them. He rescued No. 1 Florida, running through and throwing over No. 2 Oklahoma for a 24-14 victory Thursday night that gave the Gators their second BCS championship in three years.



A man walks past an electric market board in central Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 9, 2008. Japanese shares edged down Friday in lackluster trade as investors turned cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data that's likely to point to a deepening recession in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 39.62 points, or 0.5 percent, to close 8,836.80. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)AP - Most Asian stock markets fell Friday amid more corporate gloom and worries that a key U.S. jobs report could show recession in the world's largest economy is deepening.



President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Democratic and Republican lawmakers complained about his tax policies, letting Obama know they intend to place their own stamp on the economic recovery effort.



A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.



Freida Pinto backstage with the best picture award for 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday Jan. 8, 2009 in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - The critics have spoken, and "Slumdog Millionaire" is their final answer.



Jaclyn Holt (R) fills out an application form at a job fair organized by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency in Salem, New Hampshire December 17, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.



A Palestinian boy looks at the al-Noor mosque destroyed after an Israeli air strike in Gaza January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.



Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

A man works near a pressure gauge at a district heating plant in Skopje January 8, 2009. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)Reuters - Europe sought a swift restoration of gas supplies on Friday after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a pricing dispute with Kiev.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Timothy Geithner (R), pictured in Chicago, November 24, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.



Usama al-Kini, Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, is pictured in this undated FBI Most Wanted photograph. Al-Kini, also known as Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on January 8, 2009, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership. Operations chief al-Kini was thought responsible for attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to kill former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated in a separate attack, the official said. (FBI/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.



An Israeli army tank takes position on a hill at the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip on January 8, 2009. Israel was under intense pressure Friday to end its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip after the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the war rose past 760.(AFP/David Buimovitch)AFP - Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old conflict in the Palestinian enclave.



A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.




Appraisal Interviews: What To Say & How To Say It

STEPS TOWARDS A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW:Don't say: "You just don't seem to... Read More

Setting a Pitiful Example: Twenty-six Warnings to Heed *

TO: All Parents [and Employers and Managers]From: Your Child and/or EmployeeDate: The... Read More

Employee Motivation: It?s More Than A Paycheck

Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep my employees... Read More

Never Hire Anyone Dumber Than You Are!

In a previous life I was a Navy Pilot. Great life, great... Read More

Directed Introspection

One of the greatest obstacles to progress can often be our awareness... Read More

Outsourcing Problem Analysis

As an HR professional, you have responsibilities in several broad areas that... Read More

Delegation for Business Leaders - How Letting Go Works

A leader's role is to focus on those areas of operation where... Read More

Competencies for HR Professionals in Knowledge-based Industry with Reference to IT, ITES-BPOs

Introduction"High performing HR function affects bottom line nearly 10%"- A surveyCompetencies have... Read More

The How-Tos of Firing Incompetent Employees

CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses in their... Read More

Lead to Succeed: The Seven Essential Steps to Work Leader Success

In my book "You're In Charge?What Now?" I use a mnemonic to... Read More

Business Relationship Germs

In management seminars I often compare debt to an infection. A reasonable... Read More

Hiring a Book Keeping Service

Whether you choose to do your own books and accounting or hire... Read More

Demise of the Lone Ranger Manager: A Lesson in Management Communication Style

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall success of... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk: Part 2

In Part One, I described the Leadership Talk and how it is... Read More

Money, Motivation, Success and Who?

It was 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and I was setting up... Read More

Training and ROI (Return On Investment)

Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today's contact center environment... Read More

Dont Get Caught With Your PR Down

Why risk the embarassment when with a little basic PR training, you... Read More

Four Corners of a Triangle: Why Organizations Succeed or Fail

When we want to hire people for a corporation or non profit... Read More

Think it Over

You can't solve a problem with the same thinking... Read More

Tales From The Corporate Frontlines: Job Security in Todays Workplace

This article, Job Security in Today's Workplace, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation,... Read More

Factoring Financing: How to Grow Your Business Without Debt or Loans

What is factoring?Accounts receivable financing, also known as factoring, is a powerful... Read More

How to Get the Best from Outsourcing

There's a great little article ('Business Lifeforms') on the back... Read More

ISO 9001 Registration ? 8 Steps for Success

You've made the plans, built the quality system and conducted the audit.... Read More

Burger on a Bun Decision Making

When approaching any decision, it's important for individuals to maintain the healthy... Read More

Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business

Take some bold steps and help your employees and business partners open... Read More

Appraisal Systems - Not Living Up to Their Objectives

Almost, if not all organisations have them, they've been around for a... Read More

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

You can't build a reputation on what you are "going" to do.... Read More

Avoid These Seven Deadly Dangers Of Outsourcing

Here are seven dangers of outsourcing your software development. They become deadly... Read More

Successful Business Decision Making

Some people make decisions without any difficulty, while others struggle. Are you... Read More

Parenting Your Employees to Better Performance

Have you ever worked for someone who was such a micro-manager that... Read More

Overcoming Perfectionism

Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing a successful... Read More

Five Key Strategies for Making Your Nonprofit Business More Effective

I love tennis both as a spectator and a weekend... Read More

Are You Using the Right Form of Energy?

As we near the end of summer, here is a question I... Read More

Lessons From Innovative Companies

What do the companies 3M, Polaroid, and Walt Disney have in common?... Read More

Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget

Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true for businesses,... Read More

Goodwill is an Intangible Asset

'Goodwill' is regarded as an intangible asset in a business. Goodwill carries... Read More

Leadership Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than... Read More

Ten Relationship Traits And Skills For Good Leadership

An important aspect of good leadership is the ability to work and... Read More

Resolving Needs - What Your Employees Wish For!

For your people, they want to do a great job - no,... Read More

Is Your Management Style Assisting or Hurting Your Business?

Many times business owners can have significant differences in management styles that... Read More

Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Employees

Fear, Incentives and GrowthZig Ziglar says that there are three main ways... Read More

Lean Principles in Action

AbstractThe electrical products industry is one characterized by fierce competition, declining margins,... Read More

Are You Measuring Something Meaningful?

Avoiding inert measures that anaesthetise your performance management.INTRODUCTIONYou sit before the monthly... Read More

Is ISO 9001 2000 Right For My Business?

Firstly you should decide your own reasoning behind considering ISO 9001 2000... Read More

Innovation Management ? Reducing Hierarchy

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk Part 3

To develop and deliver a great Leadership Talk, you must understand that... Read More

People Literacy

Every Manager has experienced the frustration of not understanding why one management... Read More