Practice Reverse Delegation – Ask More Questions

If you work long enough, you will have a manager who doesn’t delegate well, doesn’t give feedback, and isn’t a great coach. Not everyone is a good manager.

You’re accountable for being successful, regardless of who you work for. Don’t wait for people to tell you what they need and expect, which often happens after breakdowns occur. Set clear expectations at the beginning of anything new and ask for feedback as you make progress. Take your career and success into your own hands. I call this reverse delegation.

Reverse delegation defined: Asking questions until you’re clear what a good job looks like and asking for work to be reviewed in stages, versus solely at the end of a project, ensuring you get all the information you need to be successful. Ultimately, taking your career success into your own hands, where it belongs.

The people you work for and with should tell you what they expect. They should give you feedback along the way. And many won’t. Your career is in your hands, and that’s a very good thing.

When you start a new job, project, or any responsibility, ask the person delegating the work some of these reverse delegation questions:

Reverse Delegation Question one: Why is this project a priority right now? How will it impact the organization?

Reverse Delegation Question two: What does a good job look like? What’s the criteria for success?

Reverse Delegation Question three: What kind of updates would you like? In what format, how frequently, and with what level of detail?

Reverse Delegation Question four: Who in the organization should I work with on this project?

Reverse Delegation Question five: What history, pitfalls, or landmines do I need to be aware of? Has anyone tried to do this before, and if yes, with what outcomes?

Reverse Delegation Question six: Who in the organization supports this project? Who doesn’t?

If you’ve been in your job for a long time or have been working on a project for a while, it’s not too late to ask these questions. Simply approach the person with whom you’re working and say, “I want to be sure I’m doing great work on _____________ project. Can I ask you a couple of questions about the desired end results and how we should be communicating, as I make progress?”

Lots of people aren’t the best delegators. They give us a project, ask if we have any questions, and provide a due date. Don’t fall into the trap of completing an entire project and then asking for feedback. Even if the person delegating the work doesn’t want to review work as it’s completed, ask for that feedback. Schedule weekly or monthly review meetings, present the work you’ve done, and ask for feedback. If you’re worried asking for iterative feedback will make you seem needy or like you don’t know what you’re doing, explain why you’re asking. Say something like, “I want to give you precisely what you’re asking for and don’t want to squander the organization’s resources.”

If you get to the end of a project or responsibility and what you deliver isn’t what the person delegating expected, you didn’t ask enough questions at the beginning and middle of the project, and didn’t get feedback along the way.

People will tell you everything you need to do a good job, if you ask. Take control of your career. Ask more. Assume less.

Tags: Ask more questions, candid culture, career management, criteria for success, delegation, effective delegation, how to ask for feedback, how to delegate, how to get more feedback, managing your own career, managing your reputation at work