Eric shook his head. He knew he was headed for trouble with his boss. But it wasn’t his fault. He had delegated this important task to Joann. They had a delegation meeting two weeks ago, everything was clear. So what had gone so terribly wrong?

Delegation is not abdication.

Get real. Why would you delegate an important project to a team member and not follow up with them until the very end. What? You like surprises?

When I speak with managers, I find the most often forgotten part of delegation is follow-up. Here’s the question. When a manager fails to follow up, what happens to the importance of any project? It starts high, ends low.

Here’s the problem. Most managers think that one last final touch prior to completion is all that is required. No wonder that managers are gunshy about delegation. One final touch almost guarantees disaster. Interim follow-up is important than final follow-up.

When a manager is working through the delegation meeting, the follow-up steps should already be planned and calendared. Here is what it sounds like.

“Joann, we are working on a very important project, let’s call it the VIP Project. When the project is completed, we expect the following will be completed:

• Phase One in Purple
• Phase Two in Orange
• Phase Three in Blue

Because this project is so important and so complicated, I want to have two follow-up meetings for each phase of the project. The deadline is four weeks from now. Let’s schedule the first follow-up meeting for next Wednesday on Phase One. You should be able to complete the rest of Phase One plus make any changes by next Friday. Let’s follow that same pattern the following week. Wednesday and Friday for Phase Two. The following week Wednesday and Friday on Phase Three. That should complete all the baseline performance. Week Four, let’s continue the same Wednesday and Friday to tweak additional items.

Each meeting, let’s review publishable copies. I know we will be changing them, but please bring publishable copies to the meeting.”

Questions:

• Will changes be made at each meeting?
• Should revised drafts be submitted at each subsequent meeting?
• Will the work product improve from the first meeting to the last meeting?
• How much preparation is required for the manager prior to each meeting?
• How much preparation is required for the team member prior to each meeting?

If you review the questions carefully, you will notice that, even though there may be six or more meetings required for interim follow-up, the managers time is far less than the team member’s time. The team member is doing all the work. The most important element is that there are no surprises. Instead of waiting for four weeks to be disappointed, the manager knows how the project is going within the first week. Mid-course corrections can easily be implemented and reviewed because they occur much earlier in the delegation cycle.

When is the best time to schedule the follow-up sessions? Right up front, in the very first meeting. Follow-up becomes part of the overall expectation of the performance.

What is hard now is easier later. What is easier now is hard later. Do it now, the earlier the better. Don’t be surprised. –TF