Skip to main content

How to free up upto 20% of your work time?

Ever felt swamped with work and not know how to get all your ToDo's done? Well, I have. Plenty of times. Ever wonder how some people seem to get so much on their plates and yet get so much done? The trick they use is the art of delegation.

Here are some of the tips I have learnt from some of those who possess Ninja-like abilities to delegate.

  • Step 1: Find the right person for the job - Think about who in your team would be the best fit for the work-at-hand. Don't "dump" your work on the person person you see. If it is grunt-work which no one likes to do, then rotate it amongst the team (and don't forget your turn!)
  • Step 2: Explain "why" he is the right person to do the work and what he stands to gain - If you do step 1 well, you should be able to explain why you have chosen the person and what he stands to gain from the experience. I have learnt a lot from my managers who have delegated work to me. It has given me a glimpse into areas of work that I had no idea existed or found things that I really enjoyed doing. Don't assume that someone would not genuinely like to do something you personally dislike doing. It all boils down to step 1.
  • Step 3: Take time to explain what results are expected - Explain what you want to achieve as the end result. Don't focus on the process unless the process is critical. That gives the delegate an option of being creative and who knows, maybe come up with a better system that you followed.
  • Step 4: Empower him to take decisions - The delegate has to have some discretionary power to complete the work. If he needs to come to you every time a decision needs to be made, there is no point in delegating the work in the first place. One key objective of delegation is over time, the delegate should be in a position own the work himself, so that you can move on to value-added activities.
  • Step 5: Decide on periodic check-points at the start - It is important to decide on checkpoints at the start of the work. Initially, the delegate may need handholding and guidance. Use these checkpoints as coaching sessions and also to track progress. Over time, these checkpoints should become more and more infrequent and on-need-basis.
  • At the end, take feedback - Once the work is complete, sit with your delegate (even if its for a few mins) and take feedback on whether the work actually helped him in the way you initially thought it would. Ask about his learning from it and share your perspectives on how it could have been done better.
Your ability to delegate well is critical to ensure that you have enough time at your disposal to participate in activities that challenge and invigorate you. So, go ahead and plan for your next delegation.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old friends reunite

This weekend was great. Saturday we went to the Alumni Association of our school (AGCS). I met a lot of old friends after over 14 years. I met Irshad, Tabish, Hemant, Debarshi Ganguly, Durjoy Sengupta, Rajni and Kavita after 1995. It felt really nice to see these people. Sandip (Das) is now in Calcutta for a vacation. So, today we met at Tung Fong, Park Street. Sandip and his wife, Sudipta and his wife, Biswajit and me. Sanjoy and Chotu came late, nearly the time when it was time for Bishu and me to leave. It's nice and cold in Calcutta now, so it was good to go to Park Street in the evening. The good thing was I managed to come out without eating a lot, so the new year resolution is on track.
Post a Comment
Read more

Oil, Liquidity and the Sensex @ 12K

The BSE Sensex – the default benchmark for the Indian equity market – touched 12,000 on Friday last week. There is a sense of euphoria, disbelief and caution in people depending on which group they belong to. There are people who have been waiting for a correction from 6000 and are amazed to see the sensex at double that. There are others who are perennial optimists and expect the market to continue giving them the returns in the way it has in the last 3 years. Milestones like 12000 are a nice point to just stand back and access the overall situation. So, what is the reality of the day? Today, the price of oil is hovering around $70 with the political situation in Iran not getting a whole lot better. Don’t think its going to come down in a while. Interest rates are showing signs of hardening. Prices of gold, silver, steel, aluminium, copper, zinc and sugar are in multi year highs. Real estate prices are going through the roof. So, in a way all asset classes are seeing handsome app...
Post a Comment
Read more

Porfolio Structuring (PS) Step 1: Evaluate Current Status

The first step to any long term investment plan is to understand where we are at present. So, to start with you need to list down your existing networth. For example, you can have a list as follows: Provident Fund 100,000 PPF 50,000 Bank FD 50,000 Mutual Funds-Equity 150,000 Mutual Funds-Debt 50,000 Cash In Savings Account 30,000 House 2,000,000 Housing Loan -4,000,000 Others 0 Total -1,570,000 A couple of things to note here. 1. I am not calculating the value of any gold/silver jewellery that you may be having. Indians, typically are not very keen on selling their family gold/silver so it really does not count as investment. You can think of it as an additional bonus if you do have gold/silver. 2. I am including the housing loan you may have as a negative here under the assumption that that is your primary home and not a second home bought for investment purpose. Also, I am ...
Post a Comment
Read more