Getting the Right Things Done Right

You are frustrated because in the last month, three engineers on your team did the wrong things on the most critical project:  The first engineer completed his task, but only using an expensive third party software package.  The second engineer had three critical tasks to do and only completed one, along with a lot of low importance features.  And the third engineer completed the wrong task because she thought something else was more important.  So, questions rattle around in your head:

• Don’t they all know there is a tight schedule?
  
• What about costs - don't they care?
• How can they spend so much time on non-critical tasks and not get the critical ones done?
• Why didn’t they let me know there were problems?

Rather than calling your team together to express your frustration, you decide to take a walk to think about what to do.  You think back to how you gave your engineers their assignments…You caught them in hallway when you saw them getting coffee and you were running to a meeting.  None of them had pencil or paper handy and you were in a hurry, so you didn’t have time to really talk about each task and they didn’t come back to ask for more information…
Hmm… Maybe the problem isn’t the team after all. Maybe the problem is my not properly delegating the tasks to the team.

Your next step is to look up the notes from the class on delegation you took a while back. You find...

Rules for delegation: 
Don’t delegate on the run.  The bigger the task, the more time it takes to delegate so make sure you have enough time set aside.  Give the person a chance to take notes about the task and answer all of their questions about the task ….

Reading further you find…
Steps to successful delegation:
1.    Describe the task in the right amount of detail – don’t over define the task.
2.    Explain why you want the task done. This can save you time if they propose a better solution.
3.    Describe a what successful result is for this work.
4.    Agree on a completion date/time.
5.    Explain the priority relative to their other work.
6.    Agree on your follow-up method and the timing.
7.    Get commitment from the engineer getting the task – they need to agree that they can do it.

Following theses steps, you now know how to avoid the problems you are currently having with your team.    This delegation process also ensures that your team understands and commits to the task before they leave the room.   And, you will agree on a follow-up process so they won't feel micromanaged. With this review, you now know what you need to do for making assignments for your next step.  Your thoughts turn to the future....
This is great – now I know how to make it better for the next development cycle.   I will start right after I get some more coffee..

As you get up to get a cup of coffee, your boss catches you in the hall and says: “I need engineering to generate a new type of on-line report by Friday, that shows the full inventory with multiple views.  This is for our key customer. Sorry I can’t talk right now, but I am heading for the airport.  I might be able to answer email tomorrow after the meeting. Make sure you have it out before I am back. Bye.”