Often when a task or job is delegated, something goes wrong: a deadline gets missed, an error is made, or someone “drops the ball.” Not intentionally—it simply slips through the cracks. Most healthcare leaders and talent development professionals are already tasked to capacity and don’t have the bandwidth to also manage what they delegate to someone else—after all, that’s why they delegated it.

For a leader in the healthcare industry, delegation is a delicate balance between developing the team member and being responsible for successful outcomes. The more you delegate, the more you will be able to focus your attention on the things only you can do. How well you delegate determines your capacity. If you delegate effectively, you will increase your capacity, develop a team member, and allow them to carry some of the load. If you delegate ineffectively, you will decrease your capacity, disengage a team member, and pick up some of their load.

The keys to effective delegation are clear boundaries, clear expectations, and concise questions. Missing even one of these key elements creates confusion, disengagement, and quite possibly disaster.

Clear Boundaries

Any task or project carries with it responsibility. How much of that responsibility should you continue to carry when you delegate? There are six levels of delegation, each with increasing amounts of responsibility, ranging from, “Don’t act without being told” to, “Take action, and I don’t need to know about it.”

It’s critical for both leaders and team members to be clear on how much responsibility is being delegated. Setting clear parameters up front will avoid confusion and conflicts caused by misunderstandings, increase accountability, and decrease instances of dropping the ball.

Clear Expectations

Set clear expectations about what success looks like:

• What does this mean?

• What would it take to accomplish this project?

• What are the consequences if it doesn’t get done?

• What resources do you need?

• When should you report back?

• When should you call for help?

• What do you need from me?

Don’t just dump a task on a team member; even if you are rushed or think it’s a simple job, ask them to talk through it with you so you have the same expectations about how to proceed, how much responsibility you are asking them to take on, and what potential roadblocks you can help with. Better yet, discuss expectations before you need to hand over an important project. Start with small projects and a lower level of delegation until you both are confident enough to move up to a high level of delegation.

One note of caution: Many leaders and managers “delegate” a task only to micromanage or take it back. They delegate the work but not the responsibility, or they delegate the work but dictate the methods instead of the outcome. That’s one of the quickest ways to disengage a team member and send a clear message of “I don’t trust you” or “You can’t do it.”

Concise Questions

Questions develop the thought process, expand critical thinking skills, and allow you to delegate results rather than methods. Coach through effective delegation using effective questions. Effective questions require the team member to first think instead of act. If a team member comes to you with a question about a project you have delegated, respond with a question to help them develop a solution. This will allow you to do two things very effectively: gather more information to learn what and how they think, and develop their thought process.

It’s much like teaching your child to tie their own shoes. Sure, you can tie their shoes for them, and you do for the first few years of their life. But you don’t want to tie their shoes forever, so you teach them to do it. At first, it is far quicker to just do it yourself because they are learning; but in the long run, you will save yourself countless hours of shoe tying if you teach them. If you do it right, you will help build their critical thinking skills, too.

It takes more time to delegate this way in the short term. But long term, it develops the person at a higher level and frees up your time. Effective delegation allows you to empower and engage employees, develop their potential, and increase your capacity. It also allows you the opportunity to encourage them to carry more balls.

Want to learn more? Join me September 7 for the webcast: Who’s Got the Ball? Effective Delegation Increase Capacity.