Free yourself from routine tasks by delegating these to your subordinates

This post came out from The Straits Times (19 December 2009)
Title - Learn to let go

Some pointers that I've got are:
1. Admit that some bosses are perfectionist
2. Do a time study
3. Systematise the tasks that fall in the lower left part of the grid
4. Assign these tasks to other people
5. Review the decision making processes within your department or company

On Admit that some bosses are perfectionist

• They don't really trust their people to make the right decisions and are simply unwilling to 'give up control'
• If this sounds like you, the first thing you need to do is look in the mirror and admit that you need to change. Give up some control. Accept imperfect and different ways of doing things - you can always add improvements later.

On Do a time study

• Spend the next several weeks, if not months, tracking the things you do everyday. Then rate your activities high, medium, or low in terms of skills and interest needed to complete those tasks.
• Those tasks tat take medium to low skills and have medium to low interest from your perspective should be handed over to your subordinates.

On systematise the tasks that fall in the lower left part of the grid

• Write down exactly what it takes to perform each task. Ask someone in your team to perform such task after reading the description.
• If it takes intervention from you to explain how to perform that task, you have not described it in enough detail.
• Keep doing this with all the tasks you have identified. You are now on your way to developing a 'system manual' for your business or your responsibilities

On Assign these tasks to other people

• You can hand these over to people within your team or company, or outsource them to service companies.
• Periodically, track the results and make sure things are being done properly. You are not the 'reviewer' and not the 'doer'.

On Review the decision making processes within your department or company

• List out all the decisions that are made in your business on a day to day basis. Determine what decisions can be made by other people and give them the criteria to make those decisions. This is the 'delegation of authority' where people can make a decision and what facts are needed to make them.

Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big