The Art of Delegation
How to Get the Most Out of Your People and Your Projects
“I’m going from doing all of the work to having to delegate the work — which is almost harder for me than doing the work myself. I’m a lousy delegator, but I’m learning.” Alton Brown, celebrity chef
Delegation occurs when a person in charge assigns work to their employees or the volunteers assigned to work with them.
By delegating tasks to these team members, the manager frees up his / her time to focus on higher-value activities while also keeping those assigned, engaged with greater autonomy to work on their own.
Good managers know that they can’t accomplish everything alone. Instead, they position their team to tackle tasks confident that they’ll achieve the desired outcomes. They are empowering those involved, boosting morale, and increasing productivity.
In both my professional and personal lives I have come across people who are great delegators and those who are terrible at delegating. Those who are good at it know what to tell individuals, get buy-in as to what needs to be done, and check in regularly to make sure things are going well.
Those who are not good at delegating are those who are comfortable doing things themselves, but are terrible at making assignments and trusting others to carry those out.
They feel that it is easier to just do things themselves. This is highly inefficient and makes those who they are supposed to lead or manage wonder why they are even needed.
This seems to happen a lot in volunteer situations. I have lost count of how often I volunteered my time. The person “in charge”, sometimes a volunteer him or herself, had no clue how to manage the people assigned to them. They would suggest working on an activity that already had too many people involved. That led myself and others to basically standing around watching others work, a complete waste of our time and the resources available to that manager.
So, when future calls were made to volunteer, I was reluctant because I did not want to go through that experience again. Usually what happened was that I assigned myself something to do and worked on that unless I was told not to.
I am sure that many of you reading this have had the same or a similar experience. It makes you appreciate those who know how to delegate and makes it clear why they tend to get things done quickly, easily and to the satisfaction of those they are managing.
There are a number of ways that you can start delegating more effectively to cultivate high-performing teams. These are:
· Know What to Delegate
Not every task can or should be delegated. There are certain day-to-day activities that you should be doing yourself. If there’s someone who could do the work better, or you think this could be a teachable moment, delegate. This will give you time to focus on more strategic projects or actions.
· Utilize your peoples’ strengths and goals
Every employee or volunteer should have goals they’re working toward. Within those goals are opportunities to delegate. You may have a direct report who wants to gain management experience. There may be an intern they could start supervising, or a well-defined project they can manage. Use this as part of their development plan.
For certain tasks, there’s probably someone with a specific skill set needed to achieve the desired result. Leverage that. When someone has a chance of excelling, they’re likely to do well which then benefits the entire enterprise.
· Define and communicate the desired outcome
Dumping work onto someone else isn’t delegating. What you hand off should come with proper context and a clearly defined outcome.
Before anyone starts working on an assignment, they should know what they need to complete and by when. Be sure to include how you and they will measure the success of their work.
· Provide the right resources and level of authority
If the person you are delegating work to needs specific training, resources, or authority to complete the assignment, you must provide all three. Otherwise you are setting them up for an impossible task and they won’t be able to achieve the desired outcome.
Do not micromanage them. Focus on what the desired end goal is, why the task is important, and help address any gaps between the outcome and their current skill set.
· Communicate
Establish a communication channel so that the person you’re delegating to feels comfortable asking questions and providing progress updates.
Setting up regular check-ins and providing feedback throughout the project can help with this.
· Allow for issues and possible failure
This is particularly important for perfectionists who avoid delegating because they think their way is the only way to get the work done. You need to allow for failure. Not because the person might fail, but because they may possibly try a new approach to what you are thinking.
When you are open to new ideas and approaches to the work, you’ll have an easier time delegating.
· Exhibit patience
As a manager, you have many years of experience in your field. A task you can complete in 30 minutes might someone else more time than that the first time they try it.
You might be tempted to not delegate certain tasks knowing that you can get them done faster. If so, be patient with the person. Think back to the first time you completed a specific task early on in your career. You probably weren’t as efficient as you are now but you improved over time. So will they when given the chance.
· Give and receive feedback on how things are going
In addition to monitoring progress, you should also deliver feedback to the person or persons during or after the tasks you’ve delegated are complete.
If a task wasn’t completed as assigned, offer constructive criticism. The people can take this feedback and make changes the next time a similar task is assigned. Also provide positive feedback and show your appreciation when a task is done well.
You’ll also want to ask your team for any feedback that they can give you. Ask if you provided clear instructions and determine if there’s anything you can do to better delegate in the future.
· Give credit to others
After you’ve delegated tasks and they’ve been seen through to completion, credit those who completed the work.
“Recognizing success is because is not only right, but it has the added benefit of making those around you more engaged and you even more successful. Not claiming the success only for yourself will lead to more future successes.
The more you thank and credit those you’ve delegated work to, the more likely it is they will want to help you on other projects and assignments in the future.
“The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then guide the horse with loose reins and seldom use the spurs.”
Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice.
After reading this, you have a solid framework for being a good delegator. By doing so, you will get a lot accomplished, more than if you do things on your own.
As for others who you may work for, pass along these tips and see if they take hold. For some it will and for others possibly not so. But at least you know what to do when you are in charge. That is all you can control. And you will reap the rewards for being a good delegator.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter H. Christian was a founding partner and president of espi, a business consulting firm in Northeastern PA. Previously he was an Executive at Crayola Corporation. He has worked with 300+ clients in business development, profit improvement, operations, IS selection and implementation, and Project Management. He has 40+ years of experience in strategic and facility planning, CI, lean, and supply chain. He has helped companies to realize millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements adding and retaining thousands of jobs. He has authored the Amazon bestselling business books, “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers” (4 out of 4 star review on Online Bookclub) and is published in a variety of professional magazines. He is most appreciative of Dr. Rodney Ridley and Donald Schalk of the O’Pake Institute, Alvernia University for their support in allowing him to teach this important course.
