Quote Originally Posted by TesTeq View Post
The main problem with delegation is that you haven't five direct reports. You have five people reporting to you. Five different people. Not average direct reports but different people. Some may require micromanaging (and in the longterm it is not a good approach) and some can manage their areas of responsibility better than you without any supervision (and in the long term it is a perfect situation).

The bottom line is - to be effective you've got to treat each of your directs individualy. It is more difficult than "standard" approach but gives much better results.
I totally agree. I also agree with someone else on this thread who said that the five reports aren't Areas of Focus - "Staff Productivity/Success" (or however you want to word it) would be. And they're not each a "project" - they're just people you would have an "Agenda" list for - so you would keep track of whatever you need to discuss with them at your next meeting. It might be "What is Status of XYZ" or it might be "How was your daughter's dance recital?"

Your overall department deliverables would also be an Area of Focus, and you would ideally have a "big picture" view of what's happening, what's delegated, etc. (Either a mind map, larger project plan, or whatever makes sense to your particular industry.)