Delegation and co-ordination

  We are all angels with one wing, it is only when we cling to one another that we can truly fly

=Basics of Delegation=

Delegation is necessary because you cannot do all jobs yourself. Delegation does not mean shirking your responsibilities or palming off your work. It is the wise use of the assests of team members to ensure maximum benefit to the organization.As an educational manager, delegation allows you to make the best use of your time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organization.

=Pre-delegation process= Before work is actually delegated, it is necessary to find if it is worth delegating.

=Delegation Process= Finding the right person to delegate a task is most vital. A good way would be to consider the following assets of the team members: Experience, knowledge and skills of the individual, resources you can offer to support the person, time available to train if necessary, committment displayed by the person in the past, interests in the task, work style of the individual, present availabilty and workload of the person, expectations of the person. You may not find someone ideal fulfilling every expectation of yours, but settle for the most viable option. In case the task involves interacting with people, be mindful of the person's rapport with others. In case it is a task that means interacting with computers, be aware of the tech-savviness of the person.If you find difficulty you can use the tool shown below.

In the above example, you can keep adding columns under different heads. It is seen that Cindy is the best choice to delegate the task to, that is if her present workload is taken care of. Now that you have chosen the person, comes the actual delegation time. Be mindful of some principles. Read through the following case study and see if you can identify these principles.

=Principles of good delegation=

What features of good delegation did you notice in the above conversation? Match your observations with the Principles listed below: 1.Clearly state the desired outcome 2. Clarify all limitations, restraints and conditions. 3. When you delegate, check on the work from time to time. 4.Even if you delegate, you still remain accountable. 5. Answer queries. Provide support to the task. 6.Motivate 7. Make adjustments in schedules if required. Above all, remember.... the task may not be done the way you do it. Everyone works differently. Fine tuning is always possible. Review work submitted and revise if necessary.

If you score below 7 points it means you have delegated poorly. A score between 7 and 14 indicates average skills of delegation. Scores above 14 mean you are quite good at delegating.