[djmcmath]

This is the hardest possible part of any management position: getting what you want from the people that you delegate stuff to. A lot of it comes from experience with a particular person or organization -- you know that Joe is a "fire and forget" kind of guy, while Bill needs more detail. At one job, I knew that a particular employee would blow me off every single time, so I'd just keep checking up on him until he got it done. Another employee was very responsible, but would get very annoyed if I checked on him before the project was complete.

One technique I've used to get a better idea for who's who early in the game is to inquire about their plan. "Jim, I'd like you to take charge of project Umpty-Scratch; discuss with your people, then bring me a plan for how you'd like to get it done." That way, you're giving "Jim" the free rein to build a good plan (assuming he has the initiative). If he isn't smart enough to build a good plan, you can assist when he brings you his plan. If it isn't terrible, maybe he can be trained to do these things. If it is terrible, maybe you should consider hiring someone else.

Alf's comment about hiring employees that are smarter than you is spot-on. Holy cow, if only all of my employees were smarter than me, life would be easy. I've had a couple of jobs where my staff was brilliant and high-initiative, and they were fantastic. All you have to do is give a little guidance, and they just go. It's beautiful. Other jobs, I get a stack of guys who struggle to show up to work on time, and can't be trusted to tie their own shoes, let alone rig the bridge of a nuclear submarine for dive without adult supervision.

Good luck.

Dan