Walk me through your thought process when delegating responsibilities to others. What are the important factors that influence your decisions?
One of TD Bank's shared commitments is 'Develop our colleagues; embrace diversity and respect one another.' "At TD, we provide the freedom and encouragement our employees need to explore different career paths. For us, leadership is about making a decisive impact and inspiring the will to win, without compromising on integrity. We recognize exceptional performance from people of all backgrounds, those who contribute genuine value and deliver real results."
"As a manager, I have a history of delegating the right work to the right people in the right amount. Any time I delegate work, I strive to put the work in the hands of the right person by knowing the colleagues I manage very well. If hired for this role, my immediate goal upon starting would be to get to know my team very well. I would have one-on-one conversations with everyone during my first week and would take the time to read prior performance evaluations. After I have a comfortable handle on my team, my next goal would be to divide up work in the best way possible that gets people working to their strengths."
"My first step in my delegation decision-making process is to evaluate the task at hand. I ask myself if it is a duty that I, as a manager, should handle first. If not, I then use my best judgment to determine what role or person would best handle the duty. I ensure that I consider factors like current workloads, KSA's of my team, and impact of the task to be delegated in my thought process."
As the potential next Branch Manager at this branch of TD Bank, your interviewer wants to hear that you have the innate ability to delegate responsibilities to the team that you'll be managing. They'll expect that you can do this effectively by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your team members and the responsibilities of each role you'll be managing. As you talk about your ability to delegate, talk about the importance of delegating for both your efficiency in your work and the work of your team. Don't hesitate to talk about your ability to train others when needed to ensure the work is completed.
