DELEGATION

SKILLS

Master Training Guide

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

Below is a list of symbols that will be used throughout the session, please familiarise yourself
with them before proceeding:

This symbol is a Question symbol, to be used when asking a question

to the participants

This symbol is an Exercise symbol, to be used when completing a group

exercise

This symbol is a Slide or pre-prepared Flip Chart symbol, to be used

during the session

This symbol is a Trainer Discussion symbol, either this symbol or all blue
text (if printed in colour) shows when the trainer needs to impart information to the
participants

This symbol is a Flip Chart symbol, to be used when questioning the

participants and listing their response

This symbol is an Action Plan symbol, to be used during the end of course
action planner
Total time of main session: 2 hours

Delegation Skills Headlines

Key points for team to know by end of session

What this session is about

Aims: Develop delegation skills and
highlight the benefits of effective
delegation for both the manager and
team.
Objectives:

Explain the 7 steps of delegation

Use leadership styles that empower

others to take ownership and
responsibility

Delegate effectively using explained

techniques

Delegation is much more than telling others what to do. It is about using a
particular style of leadership that empowers others to take responsibility and
make decisions. It develops their skills and knowledge and makes full use of
their potential.
Delegation is about entrusting others with your authority and whilst you
retain overall responsibility if something goes wrong, they are entrusted and
encouraged to make decisions.

Good delegation saves you time, develops your people, grooms a

successor, and motivates.
Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal
development - and seeking and encouraging others to take on higher
responsibilities.
Delegation can be used to develop your people and yourself delegation is not just a management technique for freeing up the
boss's time.

For this session you will need:

Video 1 Art of Delegation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x1Dtslo9xU

Video 2 Delegate with Development http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wSNacZljQ8
Pre-prepared flipchart or slides dependant on delivery method (see main body below)
Flip chart with pens for team exercise
Delegation Skills Handout for each attendee
Training records for attendees to sign (if applicable)
Finally, go through the session prior to delivery to adapt it to your specific needs
This should be an interactive session, which allows the team to understand the importance of effective delegation skills to empower and
motivate others

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

Session Main Body: Delegation Skills

Show Slide 1- Delegation Skills (header slide)

Welcome participants and capture their expectations on a flipchart
Setting the Scene:

Say : Welcome once again to your weekly /monthly training session, this
session will look at delegation skills and how you can use them not only to free
up your own time, but to motivate, develop and empower your team.
Show the Participants the Art of Delegation Video , have a general discussion with
participants on what they think about delegation and what is the correct way to
delegate. Note down their responses on a flipchart. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=8x1Dtslo9xU
There after note the objectives of the session and align the participants
expectations : Todays objectives are:

Show Slide 2- Objectives (or discuss objectives below)

Explain the 7 steps of delegation

Use leadership styles that empower others to take ownership and

responsibility

Delegate effectively using explained techniques

Delegation is much more than telling others what to do. It is about using a
particular style of leadership that empowers others to take responsibility and
make decisions.
It develops their skills and knowledge and makes full use of their potential.
Delegation is about entrusting others with your authority and whilst you retain
overall responsibility if something goes wrong, they are entrusted and
encouraged to make decisions.
During this session we will introduce a 7 step process for delegating. By
following these simple steps you will have a greater understanding of how to
delegate and of what to be aware of when delegating.

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

What are the advantages of delegating tasks to individuals or groups? Let

the participants watch the following Video , once done raise the question again
What are the advantages of delegating tasks to individuals ? Watch the Video
Delegate with Development http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wSNacZljQ8
Flipchart response:
Discuss any interesting points and review the activity with the following

Good delegation saves you time, develops your people, grooms a

successor, and motivates.

Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal

development - and seeking and encouraging promotion. It's how we
grow in the job - delegation enables us to gain experience to take on
higher responsibilities.

Delegation can be used to develop your people and yourself delegation is not just a management technique for freeing up the
boss's time.

Show Slide 3 7 Steps of Delegation (or pre-prepared flip chart with

heading and information)

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

Introduce the 7 step process by explaining that it is used to help managers

plan their delegation and ensure all steps are covered. Explain that at the
end of the one hour session we will work on a delegation exercise using the
steps.
Run through the bullet points on the slide using the notes below.
1 Define the task
1
2

Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated.

Does it meet the criteria for delegating?
2 Assess suitability, ability and training needs

1
2
3
4

Decide on who is to do the task

Are they capable?
Do they understand what needs to be done?
If not, you can't delegate.
3 Explain the reasons
Explain:
1
2
3
4

Why the job or responsibility is being delegated.

Why to that person (or people)
What is its importance and relevance?
Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things?

4 State required results

1
2

State what must be achieved

Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other
person.
3 How will the task be measured?
Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being
successfully done.

5 Agree deadlines
1
2
3

When must the job be finished?

When are the review dates?
If complex task with stages, what are the priorities?
0 Confirm understanding of these points, getting ideas and
interpretation evidence that job can be done, and helps to reinforce
commitment.
1 Checking and control methods to be agreed in advance or will cause
monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust.

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

6 Support and communicate

1
2
3
4
5

Who else needs to know what's going on?

Involve the person in this so they can see beyond the issue at hand
0 Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new
responsibility
Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol
Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of sufficient profile
7 Feedback on results

1
2
3
4
5

Essential to let the person know how they are doing, and if they have achieved
their aims
If not, review with them why things did not go to plan
Deal with resulting issues
Absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success
Certain assumptions will have been made in that the person/s that you are
delegating to be part of your permanent team or part of a wider team and also
that you are delegating work that would otherwise be done by yourself or
other members of the team.
What to delegate
Deciding what tasks are suitable for delegation can sometimes be difficult but
ask participants to consider the type of tasks they used to do or would have
liked to have done, perhaps before being promoted. It is also important to
delegate the ownership of the task rather than just the performance thereby
empowering people to be creative and come up with improvements to a
process themselves.
What shouldnt be delegated?
Flipchart response:
Discuss any interesting points and review the activity with the following
These are usually personnel type responsibilities associated with a leadership
role and would generally include:

Motivation
Recognition
Reprimanding
You should also avoid delegating something you should be doing just because
you dont like the task.

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

Delegation & Leadership Styles

Whether a manager is leading his or her own team or a team involved in a

kaizen activity he or she will need to be aware of their own leadership style
and how this affects delegation. Managers with a very directive style are
unlikely to delegate very much with the emphasis on Tell. This is
represented in the Tannenbaum and Schmidt leadership model.

Show Slide 4 Delegation & Leadership Styles (or pre-prepared flip chart
with heading and information)

In other words there is very little use of authority in a participative style

although it is important to note that the manager retains overall
responsibility for the actions of the team or team member.

Exercise: 10 mins
Split participants into small groups or pairs.
Explain that the exercise is to discuss the plusses and minuses of different
leadership styles.
Participants should discuss and answer the questions on the slide (show
below). Once they have done this, lead a review discussion using the
provided notes.

Show Slide 4 Leadership-Discussion Points (or pre-prepared flip chart

with heading and information
What can go wrong when delegating if using a tell style?
Why will a participative style get better results when delegating?
How might the person to whom the work is being delegated feel?

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

Use the following points during feedback:

Use of a tell style does not give autonomy to the person, resulting in a less
cooperative approach. They will not be prepared to make decisions but will
instead await your next instruction. This will result in a micro-managing
culture.

The person may not have been given enough information or misinterpreted
what has been said. The meaning of your communication is the response you
get - not necessarily the response you intend! There are two perspectives with
any communication: what you intend to communicate and what the person you
are communicating to perceives and it is this which determines the result. If
you dont get the result you expect, consider asking yourself How might I
communicate this more effectively so the other person understands my
meaning no matter what?

Using a participative style is essential for correct application of steps 3,4,5,6

and 7. You want the person to react to circumstances and make decisions
accordingly.
You will need to delegate in such a way that:
He/she feels confident
He/she believes they will be able to achieve the task
They must either have sufficient knowledge or know where to get it or
where to get help. You need to enable access to the knowledge
necessary to complete the task.
From a managers point of view:
You need to feel confident in the person you are delegating to
You need to agree schedule for checking and control (step 5)
Avoid making decisions of which he/she is capable of
In summary, awareness of your own style of leadership will impact on your
ability to delegate.

Show Slide 5,6,7 Leadership-Discussion Points (or pre-prepared flip chart

with heading and information

Show Slide 5 , What can go wrong when delegating if using a tell style?
Show Slide 6 , Why will a participative style get better results when
delegating?

Show Slide 7 , How might the person to whom the work is being delegated
feel?

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

Exercise: 20 mins
We will now have a short practice session using the 7 steps.
Explain the exercise: Working in pairs, decide on a task that needs delegating
and, on a flipchart, break it down into the 7 steps (there are guidance notes in
the handout). The task can be related to anything that you have responsibility
for. Ask participants to refer to all bullet points to ensure each step is fully
covered.
Depending on the numbers attending, allow each pair to present back their
findings. Feedback time may have to vary if there are several tasks to get
through.
The key learning here is that each step is considered even if there is very little
to do on one or more steps (e.g. step 6 may not require anyone else to know
depending on the size and impact of the task).
Summary

You now have a clear understanding of the 7 Step Delegation Model and how
to use it to ensure effective delegation of tasks.

On a Flipchart Review the participants Expectations

Gain a commitment to action by asking participants to complete their action

plan in the participants pack.
Allow a few minutes for completion before asking for volunteers to share their
actions with the rest of the group.

Do you have any further questions?

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

10

Delegation Skills Back Page Summary

What this session
was about:
Aims: Develop delegation
skills and highlight the
benefits of effective
delegation for both the
manager and team.
Objectives:

Explain the 7 steps of

delegation

Use leadership styles

that empower others to
take ownership and
responsibility

Delegate effectively
using explained
techniques

Why was it important

Follow the 7 steps:

Define the task

Assess ability, suitability
and training needs
Explain the reasons
State required result
Agree deadlines
Support & communicate
Feedback on results

Good

Delegation is:
Time saving
Empowering others
Developing the skills of
people you delegate to
Retaining overall
responsibility
A succession planning tool

Not a way to just free up

the bosss time.

Key points for team to know by end of

this session
Delegation is much more than telling others what to
do. It is about using a particular style of leadership
that empowers others to take responsibility and make
decisions. It develops their skills and knowledge and
makes full use of their potential.
Delegation is about entrusting others with your
authority and whilst you retain overall responsibility if
something goes wrong, they are entrusted and
encouraged to make decisions.

Good delegation saves you time, develops your

people, grooms a successor, and motivates.

Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession

planning, personal development - and seeking
and encouraging others to take on higher
responsibilities.

Delegation can be used to develop your people

and yourself - delegation is not just a
management technique for freeing up the boss's
time.

Delegation Skills Module Trainer Guide V-1.0

11