Print this page Delegating Effectively
Emily A. Sterrett, Ph.D., SPHR
Course Outline
This course is
a two-hour online course that teaches managers and project managers in technical
fields how to delegate work effectively. By understanding the process of delegation
from beginning to end and practicing it with his or her own employees, any manager
can master this important and often elusive skill. The course will help managers
understand how all parties involved benefit from better delegation skills at
all levels of the organization. Learning and applying this skill is an important
key in the manager's personal satisfaction and career development.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to
enhance the understanding of the course materials.
This course will:
- Help managers to assess where their own reluctance to delegate or their challenge in doing delegation effectively may come from;
- Explain the reasons why delegation is advantageous and necessary and help managers identify their personal reasons why it is important in their case;
- Explain how to get started by identifying both the employee and the task;
- Outline a formula for what a manager should say in his/her initial assignment of the new task or responsibility to the employee;
- Anticipate obstacles or challenges that may interfere with delegation and the smooth transition of activities and prepare to address those obstacles; and
- Explain how
to conduct follow-up that will help the manager balance between micromanaging
and disappearing since much of the success of delegation comes from the follow
up.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for engineers, architects, land surveyors, inspectors, contractors, and related technical professionals whose job responsibilities include managing and supervising employees, as well as managing projects.
Benefit to Attendees
Most people with
management responsibilities will admit that they need to do better at delegating
to their employees. The benefit of this course for those who complete it is
that they will have a detailed blueprint for how to develop others by carefully
delegating projects, activities, authority, and responsibility.
Course
Content
Course Summary
Many technical managers struggle with delegating. In fact, in most fields of work good delegation is considered an advanced management skill. It is challenging, yet it is essential. It is only through good delegation that any manager will be able to see out from under the heavy workloads common in most organizations today. There a numerous reasons why the delegating manager benefits from properly turning over responsibilities and accountability to capable others. Some of these personal benefits include better health, possibly more family time, and career enhancement. The employee to whom you delegate benefits with new challenges and career development. The organization certainly benefits because it has a sharper pool of talent to cover projects and future leadership needs.
This course has
discussed in detail the steps managers and project managers should use to delegate
properly, beginning with a plan for identifying you best candidates and matching
your best candidates with suitable new challenges. Two other major keys to the
success of your delegation efforts are the meeting in which you make the assignment
to turn responsibility over to your employee (the "delegating conversation")
and how you follow up to be sure that expectations are being met.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
