The Art of Delegation

The Art of Delegation

A721: Leadership Lessons from Corporate America

9 June 2007

Delegating is a critical skill to have when managing others. It sounds easy, but is it? To those that are experienced, this is very true; otherwise itÐŽ¦s very foreign to others. People, who are not experienced at delegating, develop many excuses for not delegating. I can relate to this very well because I have found that I am not comfortable with delegating to others. I have come up with three points of inquiry on this subject that I will explore and answer: 1) What are the benefits of delegating for growth in an organization? 2) How do I define my leadership style with regard to delegating? and 3) Apply ÐŽ§Delegating for GrowthЎЁ case lessons learned to improve my leadership skills. After exploring these points of inquiry, I will do my best to use the lessons learned the next time I am put into a leadership position.

What are the benefits of delegating for growth in an organization?

Delegation is an art that involves bringing together many management functions such as planning, organizing, coordinating, motivating, communicating, and leading. The benefits of delegation are:

„П Develops employeeÐŽ¦s skills

„П Distributes workload among the section or organization

„П Enables the organization to run more smoothly and effectively

„П Frees up the manager to focus on management tasks

Before a manager delegates, they need to determine ÐŽ§whatЎЁ to delegate, ÐŽ§whoЎЁ to delegate to, and ÐŽ§howЎЁ to delegate.

First, the manager should review the list of projects and identify the jobs that other staff members might be able to complete based on experience in that area and level of desire to complete that job. Choose the projects and tasks to delegate that balance the risk with the potential rewards. Some projects and tasks that should be considered are frequent tasks that are recurring, specialized tasks that someone is particularly qualified to accomplish, or tasks that readily generate volunteers. Do not delegate a decision that involves changing a group rule or policy, a controversial issue, or something you yourself would not be willing to do.

Second, the manager should determine who to delegate the projects and tasks to. Asking for volunteers is a great way to select someone who is motivated and interested in accomplishing the project or task. If no one volunteers, then the manager should assess the types of skills of each employee and determine who is best suited for the assignment. This doesnÐŽ¦t mean the employee has the experience, but rather the potential. If you delegate tasks which give the employee a new level of knowledge, you will have enlarged your resources for future projects that are similar in nature.

Finally the manager must know how to delegate. Here are the steps for doing it the right way:

„П Communicate the task and expectations. Your employees must have a clear direction and full understanding of the deadlines and expectations. Describe exactly what it is you want them to accomplish and make sure they understand. Invite the employee to ask as many questions as necessary so that you are convinced they understand the mission. If you are unsure the employee ÐŽ§gets itЎЁ, then you can ask them to repeat what their understanding of the task is back to you.

„П Furnish the context of the task. Explain the reasons and importance of the task and how it fits into the overall mission of the organization. Identify any potential complications that might arise and ways to mitigate risk.

„П Establish standards. The standards need to be realistic and agreed upon by both parties.

„П Empower the employee. Establish an environment where the employee has the appropriate authority to accomplish the mission without roadblocks from other employees.

„П Provide necessary resources. Determine upfront what resources are needed and available for use for the project.

„П Get buy in. Ensure the employee is willing and able to accept the assignment.

„П Follow-up and feedback. It is essential to let the employee know how they are doing and whether or not they are achieving the goals. If not, you must review with them why things did not go as planned and deal with the problems. Do not wait until the deadline to determine whether or not the employee is on track because it might be too late to accomplish the mission to standard.

When delegating, managers should avoid the common mistakes other managers have done. DonÐŽ¦t assume the employee knows how to complete the task without an explanation of the role or the expected outcome. Use the checklist above to ensure you do not miss any important steps. Do not rely on informal in-progress reviews. Instead you need to establish recurring reviews or reporting procedures. Do not fail to provide feedback via mentorship or coaching