Delegation: Do it right

Dr. Amanda Donnelly, MBA, talked at CVC in Kansas City about the need for veterinary practice managers and practice owners to delegate. She urged managers to make sure a team member is at least somewhat interested in a delegated task. And if you delegate a task that nobody's interested in, like cleaning, rotate it so that one person's not stuck doing it.

When you delegate, Dr. Donnelly says you must communicate clearly to the person you're delegating to. Don't water down the message. And remember, delegating isn't about dumping the things you don't want to do onto someone else. Delegate the easy stuff so that you can focus on the big-picture management issues.

If you want the task performed a certain way, establish that expectation. And if it's a big priority, communicate that so that whoever's handling the task knows where to fit it into their schedule that day.

Dr. Donnelly says that just because you delegate a task doesn't mean you're off the hook or that you're giving up the ultimate responsibility. It's up to you to be sure to follow up with the person you delegated to and that the task at hand was ultimately completed.