Craft of Delegation

One of my friends is working on a managerial position with a team of 4 people who are reporting to him. But I have never found him free, calm or in leadership role. He always seems to be occupied with messy desk, working at different tasks. He is not doing a job from 9 am – 5 pm but rather 9 am – 9 pm. 

When I asked him “why don’t you delegate some tasks to your team & then you could be free to dedicate some time to your personal development as well”; he replied “they will not do it as good as I do” and I don’t have time to train people and then to check the whole task again. So I rather prefer to do it myself to save time.

Replying to his rather shoddy answer, “yes initially it will be time consuming but as the time will pass on, maturity will emerge in the subordinates to whom you have delegated.

Actually, delegation is the best possible use of time & talent of the employees - matching the right talent with the right job to accomplish the mutual organization objective and being a delegator, we add value. One thing is very vital that what tasks are being delegated, before delegation of task here are some questions which should be answered;

• Can this task be done by some other person?

• Can I contribute towards some other strategic and worthwhile objectives?

• What value will I add once the delegated task will be completed?

Delegation enhances empowerment and synergy among the employees which results in higher motivation, professional growth , successor grooming, Trust Building , Effective Span of Control & reduce the bureaucracy in terms of approvals & minor decision making. 

One manager by delegating his routine operational task to his / her subordinates can stay more focused towards strategic and worthwhile objectives. S/He can add value in delegated task on completion. It flourishes the abundance mentality – there is lot more for others and every one get the pie of cake equally. Effective delegation is a crucial tool for effective succession, it is a two way process in the real sense. It is the craft of delegation that it is Effective for Successor & Manager too. The main task of the Manager to grow his/ her subordinates and once people grow, the organization grow. When organization grows everybody moves on higher positions and when it fails to happen the succession and progression becomes dependent on bringing in new people from outside. Individual success will derive the team success & ultimately team success will drive the Organization’s success. 

Delegation is not happen for freeing up the boss’s time from his task or from worthwhile objects but it is an effective management tool to make one more responsible for his/ her delegated tasks.

Following are the Steps for Effective delegation;

Win/ win Agreement : It is the most important phase of delegation , first we have to seek the willingness of recipient - to whom we are about to delegate any task or responsibility and create the win/win situation because it is a two way process ,it will lose its effectiveness if we impose it to any one without getting others agreement. Mostly delegated task fails due to win / lose situation and to make it effective we have to create a win/ win agreement. Delegation should be done with the purpose to merely delegate the task but it should be done for matching the right talent for delegated task.

Desire Results: Once you get the Win/ win agreement on delegated task, then specify them the desire result / outcome – why the task has been delegated to them /someone? In this phase we should focus/ discuss on desire results and outcome rather than the method/ process for accomplishing a task.

Set Goals & time lines: After producing a win/win agreement & intimation of the desired results, we should ask recipient about his plan, goals & time lines – Start & finished dates. Kick of meeting should be done after having a win/win agreement on desire results .It is the responsibility of the delegator that he has to track the set goals & time line periodically & mentor him if recipient of task is being deviating from his agreed track.

Utilization of Available resources: It is not limited to the human resources utilization only - match the right talent with the right job, but also about the utilization of finances, environment, opportunities etc. we should provide all the available resources to the recipient to make him successful because best utilization of available resources is the key to success in delegated task.

Authority: Balanced authority is a must for the success of the delegated task. This means that the person whom you have delegated a task must have corresponding authority to the task, so that he/she does not refer back to you on petty matters and can make decisions on the spot, if required. This will boost the level of confidence for taking up even higher responsibilities next time by the individual and save so much time.

Accountability : Time to time updates on delegated task make the recipient accountable , we should not intervene in the method/ process of work which is being followed by the recipient rather effectiveness of desire outcome and results, otherwise recipient’s ownership will be hurt. Delegator should communicate him clearly; what is expected from him? And what is his actual performance against the delegated task?

“Supervision” the way you receive and agree to do delegated tasks is one of the central skills of 'Managing upwards'. Therefore while this page is written from the manager's standpoint, the principles are just as useful for people being managed.