Communications and Delegation


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“Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success.” – Abigail Johnson

While all facets of communication are important, conversations focused on collaboration and responsibility help teams get work done successfully and achieve the team’s goal(s). It is vital to organize your meetings to foster teamwork and ensure clear expectations are set for delegated tasks.

Collaboration

To set your team up for the opportunity to successfully collaborate, especially when geographically dispersed, consider clearly communicating:

  • When possible, provide opportunity for everyone to provide meaningful feedback on the goal, especially when tasks towards the goal will be completed by others.
  • Share the goal clearly and succinctly. Does it meet plain language standards?
  • Allow space for questions to ensure that everyone understands the goal.
  • Cultivate buy-in and agree for everyone to do their part to achieve it.
  • Create opportunities for continued connection, such as recurring meetings.
  • Outside of meetings, encourage the use of chat and in-document comments so no one has a long wait for their response.

Without creating this understanding, you’ll find yourself running into conflict along your project journey.

Responsibility

Advice you will find repeated throughout the Leadership Learning Hub: always ask, never assume. To do this:

  • Ensure everyone understands what aspect of the project they are responsible for, and the criteria of their deliverables.
  • Keep the lines of communication open so you can answer questions and track the status of your projects.
  • If the project is large in scope, consider using a tool to aid with tracking and accountability. For example, Microsoft Project 365.

Delegation

Delegation is not only a necessary management skill but is also a leadership one. When you delegate well you manage the tasks and provide leadership to the person completing the task. Delegation is way for you to not only get work done through others, but also further develop those you work with and increase their responsibility. Finally, delegation allows you to make the best use of your time as a leader. To delegate well, consider:

  • What skill sets are necessary to adequately complete the delegated task.
  • Ensure your expectations of performance match the skill set of the person and skill set needed to complete the task.
  • Make yourself the resource to the person that you’re delegating the task to, especially if the path needs to be cleared for them or they need your assistance in making a connection.
  • Is this an appropriate item to delegate, ask these questions:
    • Is there too much visibility to this task for a first-time delegation?
    • Is there too much risk associated with this delegation?
    • Does this individual have the authority necessary to complete the delegated task?
  • Identify the what and when, communicate the why but let them identify the how. It is unreasonable to hold individuals responsible for the results when the means is directed by others. (Except for standard operating procedures, laws, statutes, standards of practice, etc. that are agreed upon by a large body of professionals who have set a precedence.)

Resources from the Enterprise and recommendations from successful teams are available on this web page. Check out the links to learn more about internal and external resources about communications and delegation.

Resources from the Enterprise

  • From Enterprise Talent Development
  • From Management Analysis and Development (MAD)
    • Article: Basic Discussion Method
      Provides a basic overview of the ORID (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisional) discussion method and the associated questions.
    • Article: Facilitation Skills Tips
      Provides a summary of the top tips for effective facilitation from an evidence-based decision-making approach: maintains focus on context with boundaries, design and ask meaningful open-ended questions without leading to an answer, and results come from group discussions.
    • Guide: Meeting Orchestration Chart
      Provides guidance on identifying meeting purpose and planning for components and creates agenda with a fillable job aid.

Relevant Resources

  • Article: How to Delegate Effectively: 9 Tips for Managers
    Harvard Business School Online’s blog addresses common misconceptions with delegation and provides practical suggestions to set yourself up for success when you delegate.
  • Book: Facilitators Guide to Participatory Decision Making
    Participative decision-making is an evidence-based practice that provides teams the opportunity to engage within the decision-making process, and aids in minimizing resistance when the final decision is made, even if it does not align with their contributions as it provides the opportunity for employee’s voices to be heard.
  • Guide: ORID Method: Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, Decisionala>
    Provides a basic introduction to the conversational facilitated framework that allows the opportunity to not only address the data associated with the discussion, but also the emotions of the participants. Emotions provide a source of data that is also to be evaluated.