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Set a Time Line

It’s been said that if it weren’t for the deadline, nothing would get accomplished. Just look at people filing their taxes. State revenue agencies find that half to one-third of their citizens don’t file taxes until the last minute. And of course, we all remember pulling all-nighters to get that term paper finished, though we knew about it the first day of the semester.

Let’s face it; it is human nature to procrastinate. That’s why you need to set a time line when you delegate, so employees are very clear on what you expect in terms of meeting key milestones and deadlines.

With all the day-to-day distractions that employees experience, including yourself, it’s very easy to let projects linger—sometimes progressing from something that could have taken a few hours, to something that now takes days. Or it could be a project that was supposed to take only a few days, and now weeks—or even months later—it’s still creeping along to the finish line.

It happens. But sharing a set time line that spells out who should be completing specific tasks by specific dates, and holding people’s feet to the fire about it, is crucial to managing what you’re delegating—but without micromanaging.