4 SIMPLE STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL DELEGATION Chris Byrnes - ByrnesMedia

Today, more than ever, broadcasters are required to multi task, take on more responsibility, and often manage people across several locations – sometimes miles apart. Most PD’s are used to wearing several hats but the trend in recent years, as more pressure is placed on costs, is to have a PD manage multiple brands. Even in the major markets it is not unusual to have one PD responsible for multiple stations with multiple brands. When I talk to my friends in other industries about our business and how the “product manager” for multiple radio stations generating millions of dollars in revenue is often spread so thin and often lacks the necessary experience, they roll their eyes and tell me how this could never happen in their industry. That said, the most effective PD’s I encounter at the stations we work with are those who have mastered the art of delegation. In order to get it all done, and done properly, you may need to look at what tasks you can hand off to someone else. I found the following article in a business magazine written by Inez Ng which I have shared with a few people who found it helpful.

1. Choose the right “delegate”.  Review the task and determine what skills are required. Delegation goes much more smoothly if you match the person with the appropriate skill set to the task you have to assign. Now, if you don’t have a candidate that has all the skills you are looking for, decide which is the most critical one (analytical ability, attention to detail, communications skills) and make that match.

One of the rewards of delegation is the opportunity to help someone develop and grow. It is unlikely that you will always have a candidate that you can hand something off to and not have to provide some training or coaching. But learning to empower your employees will reap big rewards as their confidence grows with their abilities, and delegation becomes easier and easier, and your “Stop Doing” list gets longer and longer.

2. State your expectations clearly. When you assign a task, be very clear about the deliverables you expect, and qualify your expectations as much as possible. As a minimum, you need to communicate the “what” and the “when”. For example: “I want these invoices entered into my database by 5pm tomorrow”. Then, start adding qualifications to your request, such as: “Please make sure that the expense categories are correct, and if you are unsure, ask me and I will clarify for you because I want the reports to be accurate.”

In addition to communicating about the “what” and “when” of an assignment, I recommend that you also include information on the “why”. For example: “I need the monthly recap report done by 5pm tomorrow because I have a meeting with client ‘X’ the following morning and require the information, so it is really critical that I have it.” Often, we assume that others should know what we expect. But if you have a new working relationship with someone, that is probably an unfair expectation. So, take a few minutes to think about what you need to communicate to save both of you a lot of aggravation, and possibly, rework.

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