Category Archives: Delegation
EBOOK – A STORY ABOUT EFFECTIVE DELEGATION – INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Larry is a new learning and development manager at XL Support, a health and social care company that provides services to people with mental health support needs. Having been on the job for just over six months, Larry is getting overburdened with work.
After discussing his work dilemma with his friend and former manager, Brian, he is advised by Brian that maybe he should be delegating some of the tasks he is doing to team members who are better placed to do them.
The challenge is that Larry has never delegated before and does not know where to start. Brian, who is much more experienced, agrees to show Larry how to delegate tasks to his team members effectively.
Through the discussion between Larry and Brian, you will read about what delegation is, its benefits to both the manager and team members, reasons why some managers don’t delegate despite the benefits of delegation, and steps we can take to delegate effectively.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #15
We have come to the end of the session on effective delegation. In this part of the session, the participants will reflect on what they learnt during the session and then it will be brought to a close.
REFLECTION AND CONCLUSION
Direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – REFLECT – NOTE – ACT.
Tell them to do the reflection activity there and afterward be ready to share at least one thing from their reflection.
Give them 6-minutes for the activity.
When the time is up, stop them and get everyone’s attention. Then allow each participant to talk about one thing from their reflection. For those who want to talk about more than one thing allow them to do so.
When they finish, thank them for sharing their reflections and also engaging in the practice session.
After that move on to end the training session but first ask if they have any questions and/or comments.
Listen to any they have and respond appropriately.
Then display the slide titled – SESSION REVIEW.
Tell them that:
- Thank you very much for attending this session and for all your participation.
- During this session, we described what delegation is and identified the benefits of delegating.
- We also identified some of the reasons why managers may not delegate and discussed some ways to overcome those barriers to delegation.
- Then we identified a three-part structure for delegating effectively and practices how to apply it when delegating.
- I do hope you find what we have discussed today useful as you work with your teams and delegate tasks to them.
- Thank you very much.
After that close the session.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #14
In the previous part of the session (see the post about it here) the participants engaged in a practice session to demonstrate what to do during delegation. In this part of the session, they will become involved in another practice session, this time to demonstrate what happens after delegation.
PRACTICE SESSION – AFTER DELEGATION
Tell them that:
- We know that delegation does not end when you’ve delegated.
- You need to keep supporting your team member.
- Part of that is having check-ins with them to see how the task is going.
- Now you are going to go back into your small groups and practice having an after-delegation check-in.
- Just like you did in the previous session there are case studies for you to use which you should read to prepare before having the practice.
- Click on the link below to get the resources to prepare for the practice session.
- The case studies have similar titles to the ones you just used but will have ‘After Delegation’ in brackets.
- There is one each for the people acting as managers and those acting as the team members.
- As I did before, I’m going to put you back into your small groups and you will have 10-minutes to prepare, 10-minutes for each practice session and 5-minutes for feedback after each practice session.
- Altogether you have 60-minutes for the practice session.
Put them back into the small groups using the ‘breakout rooms’ feature.
During the practice session join each room briefly to see what they are doing and where necessary, answer any questions they have.
Once the practice session time is up (60-minutes), stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
Then ask them some questions not aimed at anyone in particular to get an overview of what they got from the practice sessions.
You can ask questions like these (or you can make up your own questions):
- How did the practice go?
- What did you learn from doing the practice?
- What lessons will you take away and do in your own one-to-ones?
The participants have now finished the practice session and have also come to the end of the course. All that is left is for them to reflect on what they’ve learnt and will take away, then you can end the session. We will do that in the next post.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #13
The participants have already been involved in one practice session which was done by the facilitator and two volunteer participants. Now they are going to be put into small groups to practice how to delegate.
DELEGATION IN ACTION – PRACTISING IN SMALL GROUPS
Display the slide titled – PRACTICE IN SMALL GROUPS.
Tell them that:
- You will practice in groups of threes.
- Each person in a group will rotate through the roles of manager, team member and observer.
- There will be two practice sessions. The first one for actually delegating the task and the second for doing a check-in after delegation.
- Each practice session will last for a maximum of 10-minutes.
- During each practice session, the observer will observe and take down notes which they will feedback to the manager after the practice session.
- There are guidance notes and three case studies in your workbooks which are broken into two parts.
- The first part is what you will do to prepare for the actual delegation practice.
- The second part is to prepare for the after-delegation check-in practice.
- In your groups decide on which case study each person will use.
- All the case studies have information which you will need to read beforehand to get ready.
- You will be given an initial 10-minutes to prepare for each part of the practice and then 45-minutes for the practice sessions. 30-minutes for the actual practice and 15-minutes for feedback from the observer.
- There will be a break in between the practice sessions for delegating and check-in.
Display the next slide titled – GIVING FEEDBACK.
Tell them that:
- Let’s remember that the purpose of feedback is to help people learn and develop.
- It is not for judgment or criticism. Each observer should follow the steps outlined here to ask for and give feedback.
- They should first ask the team member about how the delegation or check-in went for them.
- Next, they should ask the manager to talk about their experience of delegating or doing the check-in. How did it go for them?
- Finally, observers should then talk about what they felt the manager did well and what they can do differently next time to make the delegation or check-in even better.
- Next, direct them to the section in their workbooks titled – INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PRACTICE SESSIONS.
Click the link below to see the instructions for the practice session.
Instructions for practice sessions
Preparation for practice – during delegation
Give them 3-minutes to read the information there. After they’ve read it, check that they understand what they need to do during the practice session. If you need to clarify anything for them, do so.
Next, use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to put them into groups of threes to do the practice sessions.
During the practice session join each room briefly to see what they are doing and where necessary, answer any questions they have.
Once the practice session time is up (60-minutes), stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
Then ask them some questions not aimed at anyone in particular to get an overview of what they got from the practice sessions.
You can ask questions like these (or you can make up your own questions):
- How did the practice go?
- What did you learn from doing the practice?
- What lessons will you take away and do in your own one-to-ones?
In the next part of the session, they will do another practice session but this time for an after-delegation check-in.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #12
In the previous part of this training session on effective delegation, participants were preparing to get involved in practicing how to do an ‘after-delegation’ check-in (read the post here). In this part of the session, they will do the actual practice.
PRACTICE SESSION ON DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY – AFTER DELEGATION
When the preparation time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room.
As you did for the previous practice session, let everyone put off their cameras except those playing the roles of Danielle, Denzel and Amal then you can have the practice session. The practice session should not last for more than 10-minutes.
After the session let everyone put their cameras back on and ask for feedback in the following order:
- Person acting as Denzel:
- How did the check-in session go?
- What worked well for you?
- What can I improve?
- Did you feel supported at the check-in
- Person acting as Amal:
- How did the check-in session go?
- What worked well for you?
- What can I improve?
- Did you feel supported at the check-in
Then ask the observers to give their feedback by first talking about what went well and what can be improved or done differently.
After listening to all the feedback, thank everyone for their participation in the practice session and then let them reflect by writing down up to three lessons they learnt and will take away from the practice sessions in the chat window.
As they write their answers in the chat window, read through them quietly so you don’t distract people. Allow them to go on for 3-minutes. After 3-minutes stop them and read out the information they wrote down.
When you finish reading, thank them again for their participation and then move on to review the practice session. To review the session tell them that:
- During this part of the session we practiced how to delegate and what to do after you delegate.
- The aim was for us to see how delegation works in practice.
- Hopefully from the practice sessions, you have learnt some things that you can apply to your own delegation.
Next, move on to the next set of practice sessions in which the participants will practice in small groups.
In the next part of the session, they will do some more practice but this time in small groups by themselves without including the facilitator.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #11
Previously, in the session, the participants were preparing for a practice session on how to delegate effectively (see it here). This part of the session will focus on the first part of the practice session.
PRACTICE SESSION ON DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY
Now that the participants have finished preparing, let them know that you are now going to start the practice session.
To make it easier for the participants acting as Denzel and Amal, everybody else will put off their cameras apart from the three of you involved in the practice.
Remind the observers to take down notes. They can write down the notes in the section of their workbooks titled – OBSERVERS NOTES.
The practice session should take no more than 15-minutes.
After the practice let everyone put their cameras back on and ask for feedback in the following order:
- Ask the person acting as Denzel:
- How did the delegation session go?
- What worked well for you?
- What can I improve?
- Are you clear about the task you need to do?
- Ask the person acting as Amal:
- How did the delegation session go?
- What worked well for you?
- What can I improve?
- Are you clear about the task you need to do?
Then ask the observers to give their feedback by first talking about what went well and then what can be improved.
Next, tell them that there is going to be another practice session for what happens after delegation. Remind them that delegation does not end after the task has been delegated and Danielle will need to check-in with Denzel and Amal about how the task is going. Just like the previous practice session, let them know that in their workbooks are two sections titled – DENZEL GROUP – THE CHECK-IN and – AMAL GROUP – THE CHECK-IN.
Put them back into their small groups using the ‘breakout rooms’ feature and let them prepare for the next practice session using the relevant information in their workbooks for each group. Give them 7-minutes for the preparation.
The facilitator acting as Danielle should use the notes in the box below to prepare for the practice session.
In the next part of the session, the participants will get involved in the ‘after delegation’ practice session.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #10
In the previous part of this training session, the participants worked on an activity for a scenario to identify the right team member to delegate a task to. You see it here. In this part of the session, the participants will prepare for a practice session focused on how to delegate effectively.
PRACTICE SESSION ON DELEGATING EFFECTIVELY
Tell them that:
- Now that we know who Danielle is going to delegate the task to, let’s move on to the second stage which is the actual process of delegation.
- For this stage, we are going to get more practical. I am going to act as Danielle, and I will split you into two groups.
- One group will be the Denzel group and the other group will be the Amal group
- Each group will have the responsibility of providing a volunteer who will act as Denzel and Amal.
- Danielle will delegate the task to both Denzel and Amal and the rest of you will observe and give feedback at the end of the demonstration.
- Please go to the section in your workbooks titled – DANIELLE DELEGATES THE TASK to read about the practice session.
Give them 3-minutes to read the information. After 3-minutes stop them and verify that they understand what they are going to be doing. If necessary, explain it to them again and check to see that they all understand.
Next, let them know that in their workbooks are two sections titled – DENZEL GROUP – DURING DELEGATION and – AMAL GROUP – DURING DELEGATION.
When you split them into Denzel and Amal groups, each respective group will use the relevant information to prepare. Now, put them into two groups (Denzel and Amal groups).
Give them 10-minutes to prepare and nominate a volunteer participant (Denzel and Amal).
The facilitator acting as Danielle should use the notes in the box below to prepare for the demonstration.
When the preparation time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room to do the practice. Let them know that you are now going to start the practice session.
In the next part of the session, the participants will get involved in the practice session and also give feedback.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #9
Continuing from where we stopped with the session previously, the particpants did an activity to help Danielle choose the right team member to delegate to. We will continue that activity to identify who Danielle actuall chose.
WHO SHOULD YOU DELEGATE TO
When the time is up, stop them and bring everyone back to the main room. Ask each group’s spokesperson to share their screen and talk about which team leader they chose to do the task and why. Listen to each group, one after the other and then tell them that:
- Thank you very much for doing this.
- Let me now reveal to you who Danielle chose.
- She chose not one team leader but two of them.
- Can you guess the two she chose? Write down the two people you think she chose in the chat window.
Allow them to write down who they think the two team leaders are for about 1-minute and read through what they are writing. After 1-minute you can review what they wrote down by reading out their answers.
Then tell them that:
- Danielle chose Amal and Denzel.
And ask them:
- Why do you think she chose those two team leaders?
Allow them to answer verbally, so they can either raise up their hand or use a virtual hand to indicate they want to answer. Make allowance for up to half of the delegates (if you don’t have more than 12 delegates) to answer if they want to. Afterwards, thank them for their answers and then display the slide titled – WHY DANIELLE CHOSE AMAL AND DENZEL.
When the slide displays, it will be blank with just a title. Click on the slide once to display some information and let them read it for 10-seconds.
Click on the slide again and let them read it for another 10-seconds. Click on the slide for a final time and let them read it for 10-seconds.
Also, tell them that:
- Though Denzel is busy, he is an experienced manager who is good at managing his time and Amal may learn some other things from him in the process.
- Now that we know who Danielle is going to delegate the task to, let’s move onto the second stage which is the actual process of delegation.
In the next part of the session the participants will be involved in practice sessions to apply some of what they have discussed about delegation.
Training Resource – Introducing Effective Delegation #8
In this part of the session, the participants will start to explore how to delegate effectively by doing an activity to identify an appropriate team member to delegate the task to. In the three-part structure for effective delegation, this is one of the things to do before the actual delegation. That is, to identify the right person for the task to be delegated.
WHO SHOULD YOU DELEGATE TO?
Direct them to the part of their workbooks titled – THE COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIMENTS REPORT.
Give them 3-minutes to read the information there. When they have finished reading, get their attention and say that:
- That’s the situation with Danielle who has three team members and wants to delegate the ‘Compliments and Complaints’ report.
- Danielle is not one to procrastinate so straight away she has started planning.
- Let’s read some of her thoughts.
Display the slide titled – DANIELLE’S THOUGHTS.
Content will automatically display on the slide so let them read it for about 60-seconds and after that tell them that:
- Danielle now has to decide who she will delegate the task to out of her three team leaders and you will help her do that.
- In small groups, you will read about the task and each of the team leaders and then decide who is best suited to do the task.
Tell them that the task they will do in small groups is in the part of their workbooks titled – THE TASK AND THE TEAM LEADERS.
Use the ‘breakout rooms’ feature to split them into groups and give them 10-minutes to do the activity.
In the next post, we will continue from here by reviewing the activity that the delegates did and revealing who Danielle chose to delegate the task to.
LearnaBytes 