Context

There are times I have been parachuted into projects to assist on tasks without sufficient context to do fire-fighting.

It's common for existing team members to be hesitant to assign any tasks to those parachuted in, due to:

• Unsure how to break down the tasks such that they can share just sufficient context (not too much, not too little, just right)

• "I can do it faster myself"

However, when the team start to have too many work-in-progress, they inevitably become the bottleneck for both the tasks and decision-making.

Considerations when delegating tasks

I thought of a mnemonic that could perhaps guide one in crafting a task just right, after several moments of frustration providing support to the teams.

A mnemonic is a learning technique that aids information retention by associating the information with something that is easier to remember.

Please Don't Ignore Timely Feedback

• P: Purpose

• D: Directive

• I: Instructive

• T: Timeline

• F: Feedback

Purpose (Context matters!)

Providing context is key when explaining the "Why".

• Questions to consider

  • Reason : Why does this task need to be done?

  • Outcome : What is the objective the task is trying to achieve?

• Rationale

  • This helps the contributor understand that the task holds meaning and significance, giving them a clear sense of its importance.

Directive (The boundary)

Defining the boundaries of what is considered "done".

• Questions to consider

  • Tangibility : What is the task that needs to be done?

• Rationale

  • Don't ask someone to do something that you yourself can't pin down the specifics

  • It's as good as having the following conversation below:

    Requester: "I need you to fix this."

    Contributor: "Fix what?"

    Requester: "Fix it!"

Instructive (The details)

Defining an outline of actions to take to complete the task.

• Questions to consider

  • What are the available resources for the tasks?

  • Where are these resources located that can provide prescriptive steps to take?

• Rationale

  • The guidance for the contributor to find information and where to find the resource to kickstart the task.

  • This will allow the contributor to perform the task independently.

Timeline

It's important to define the timeline, even if the contributor is "just helping".

• Questions to consider

  • What would be a comfortable duration to assign to the contributor to work on the task, while still meeting the deadlines?

• Rationale

  • While you may not want to rush the contributors, the task shouldn't be without a deadline.

  • With a timeline, it helps to set the boundary of the task, allowing the contributor to focus on the task at hand.

  • Perhaps a project will almost never finish. After all, there is always stuff to value-add on. However, being "done" means the task is done "good enough" and it's time to move on to other prioritised tasks.

Feedback

For contributor and delegator to collaborate, there's a need for a feedback loop.

• Questions to consider

  • Who to reach out for feedback on the work done?

  • Who can the contributor check with to verify the work's accuracy?

• Rationale

  • To check in, to know if their work is going in the right direction

Conclusion

Delegating tasks is no easy feat. It's even harder to craft a task just right to delegate when deadlines are looming. A mnemonic that I myself must actively practice and know the effectiveness of the method I have pen down into words.

Cheers!

Good Reads

• On finishing things

• A simple technique for more reliable software

• Basecamp: How to know if the scopes are right

• The mistake that (really good) analysts make