How To Be A Great Delegatee

Many of us have learned the virtues and necessity of delegating responsibilities and tasks. This is typically trained from the delegator's point of view. However, since many more are delegatee's, there isn't much that has been published on how to be a great delegatee. Being a great delegatee will distinguish you as someone who can be trusted and gets things done.

Checklist: How to be a great “Delegatee"

1. Take careful notes when something is being delegated to you. Confirm with the delegator what a successful outcome looks like in terms of: Financial, Timing, Qualitative, Other Qualitative or Quantitative Measures
2. Confirm with the delegator any restrictions, boundaries, or must haves i.e. Don’t spend more than $X on this, don’t spend more than Y hours on this, make sure the final outcome has X, include this team in decision-making or implementation, use this specific process/company/department to get it done, must run this by our legal team for approval, etc.
3. Confirm with delegator what level of authority you have to get the task accomplished – full, partial, none?
4. Confirm with the delegator what level of visibility/cadence of approval and reporting they would like to have (on one or all areas that are delegated to you).
5. If the item delegated competes with other priorities, confirm the relative importance of the item.
6.  If outside your skill set, confirm with delegator that they are aware of this gap. 
7. DWYPYWDWYPYWDI. Do what you promised you would do when you promised you would do it.
8. If you encounter key roadblocks (delays, costs, approvals, etc.), let the delegator know ASAP. Try to resolve it yourself or through other resources first, but if need be, get the delegator involved again for their ideas to get back on track.
9. Upon completion, debrief with the delegator using the K-S-S model. Keep doing, Start doing, and Stop doing.

My suggestion would be to keep this list handy (maybe save as a note on your phone) and confirm you have all this information from the delegator to be an exceptional delegatee.

Checklist: How to honor your word when you can’t keep your word.

1. Do everything you can to DWYPYWDWYPYWDI.
2. If you can’t DWYPYWDWYPYWDI, let the delegator know ASAP.
3. Acknowledge the broken promise without excuses.
4. Acknowledge the impact it has on the delegator, the team, and the main process it impacts.
5. Share what your new commitment is to keep your word. Ask the delegator if this is acceptable and work to a revised agreement.
6. Share what you plan to do in the future to avoid repeating the same situation.
7. DWYPYWDWYPYWDI

POST WRITTEN BY:
Tim Riley
Principal, CEO Masters & LEAP Leadership Development Coach