Learning the Art of Delegation: A SMART Tool for Physicians

Delegating is not an easy or comfortable task for many physicians. It’s difficult to give up control of every detail, especially when you are ultimately responsible for the outcome.

That’s why you can’t (and won’t) simply assign a task and hope it all works out. When delegating, the idea is to get the same or better result than if you did the task yourself.

As a physician, there can be a blurry line between what you need to do to assure the optimal care for your patients and what others must do in order for you to accomplish your best work. In this article, I’ll give you a template that can help you overcome some of the hurdles that may be preventing you from delegating appropriately to other members of your team.

It starts with creating clarity around responsibilities and purpose. As the physician, you are the team leader. The goal is to provide the best and most timely care for your patients, and to administer that care with compassion and professionalism. By establishing clear and well documented instructions and expectations, you’ll set your team members up for success.

The SMART Delegation mnemonic is tool that will walk you through the steps that will make delegation work for you, allowing and inspiring your team to do their best work.

SMART Delegation

(Based on the work of Kate Christie of Time Stylers)

SELECT: Choose the best person for the task. This may be someone with little experience but a willingness to learn, or it could be someone with years of practice in the same or related field. Be choosy, but consider thinking outside the box.

MOTIVATE: Motivate your team by explaining why the task is important. This will create buy-in and a sense of importance and pride. This step is important to revisit periodically, especially at first.

ACTIVITY: Explain the details of the task in detail. Be sure to include a checklist if appropriate, and a written guideline that can easily be referred to and updated as needed. Once you put in the work to create the guideline, this bit of heavy lifting is done. This is a crucial part of time management.

RESULT: Describe and explain what a good result looks like. Be sure your delegated team member understands the purpose of their work, and how to recognize common complications.

TIME FRAME: Set realistic but firm deadlines. Consider a mid-point check in if appropriate.

As always, trust, but verify. 

Remember that the team or individual may be learning a new skill. Make time at the outset to be available.

Be approachable and patient, especially at the beginning. But be sure that the person to whom you have delegated the task understands their role and that they will be expected to perform this responsibility without you in most cases.

Keep the lines of communication open so that your designated team is comfortable reaching out for help with complications or unexpected situations. But whenever possible, use these questions as teaching opportunities rather than simply providing the answer. Challenge them to come up with the answers themselves.

Involve a supervisor, if appropriate, so that your team members feel comfortable reaching out for help with more minor issues or questions.

Be generous with both praise and with constructive criticism. Remember to practice patience, but if a team member is unable to do the task to your satisfaction, consider finding a different individual to do the job. Don’t allow yourself to fall back into the time-sucking trap of doing it all yourself.

Delegating can feel like giving up control, so expect to feel a little discomfort at first. Be patient with yourself and with your team, but make your expectations clear.

When you have the right people and processes in place, a SMART delegation process can make you more productive, improve safety, promote teamwork, and enhance patient satisfaction. And that benefits everyone.

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