Dumping vs. Delegation

I was having a conversation with some partners yesterday about how, as an organization, we don’t have well developed skills in delegation – that it often becomes ‘dumping’. I then ran across a pretty good list of responsibilities for both parties in a project delegation scenario. From MIT’s department of IS&T…

When you take on a ‘project’…

• clarify with the sponsor (or delegator) the scope and expectations for its completion.
• Determine where the importance of this task fits in the “big picture.”
• Make sure the criteria for success have been spelled out in sufficient detail.
• Agree on the differing roles and responsibilities of each person involved.
• Get the authority to obtain the necessary resources.
• Settle on a date for an early progress review.

Whenever delegating a ‘project’…

explain the scope of the task as well as:
• expectations
• importance
• criteria for success
• roles
• responsibilities
• resources
• review process