Effective Delegation

Knowing how to delegate is not an inherent ability. Many managers, supervisors and even senior executives resist handing over tasks and responsibilities because of a variety of operational as well as personal reasons. They may be anxious about surrendering the control they have over various duties, or they may be afraid that subordinates will take exception to delegation. It is critical to rise above these obstacles because delegating effectively can have significant and comprehensive benefit for all involved, especially the company as a whole.
Carol Ellis, in the book Management Skills for New Managers (AMACOM, 2005), states the value of successful delegation: “Managers who delegate effectively have direct reports who are more capable and enthusiastic because of the delegation experience. A good manager knows that delegation is the way to achieve results through others.”
The American Management Association’s Delegation Boot Camp teaches principles that allow supervisors to delegate the appropriate amount of authority and accountability to the right individuals. The seminar provides many constructive recommendations for effective delegation:

Why Delegate At All?
Gains (to the delegator):

Lessens personal workload, deadlines and pressure
Frees your own time and energy for tasks that will provide larger benefits
Makes people ready to handle work and decisions in your absence
Trains colleagues about your job so you are free to be promoted
Provides opportunity to assess persons’ ability to handle more responsibility and authority

Gains (to the delegatees):

Cultivates skills and capabilities, providing experience in completing tasks and making decisions
Prepares employees for promotion; how to handle more authority and responsibility
More involvement increases their visibility and prestige within the enterprise
Helps people feel more important and responsible
Builds up enthusiasm and self-sufficiency

Gains (to the organization):

Improves decision making and efficiency via increased participation and experience
Increased skills, confidence and self-sufficiency builds a stronger, more flexible and more cooperative organization
Provides an environment of collaboration, confidence and personal responsibility
Displays the conviction people are important
Supports unproblematic succession planning and the ability to promote from inside the organization

What Things Should Be Delegated?
Tip – Delegated duties and tasks should be “SMART”:
  Specific
  Measurable
  Appropriate
  Reachable
  Timebound

Tasks that can be delegated:

Recurring decisions and duties that others can manage
Critical deadlines or priorities that you cannot handle, but others can
Special initiatives not essential to core operations or long-range projects
More detailed tasks on projects you are handling
Duties that will help others develop in areas important to their career

What Things Should Not Be Delegated?
Avoid delegation of:

Tasks private or personal in nature
Duties that involve unreasonable risk to the delegatee
Items that necessitate your personal expertise
Duties that require personal leadership or relationships to succeed
Items with any sort of legal restrictions

Examples of inappropriately delegated tasks:

Evaluations of job performance
Sensitive or confidential matters, especially those requiring disciplinary actions
Duties that were assigned expressly and entirely to you
Tasks outside of your area of responsibility, and which you are not authorized to delegate
Critical circumstances where people need your own leadership or direction
New projects that entail you personally setting an example or establishing standards

Stay away from delegating to people:

Who are already overworked
Who already have other high-priority duties
Who cannot complete the task within the required timeframe
Who lack the skills to successfully complete the task unless training will be provided as part of the task
Who have effectively and repeatedly finished similar tasks, if there are other people available that could benefit from the experience

To improve your proficiency in delegating, the American Management Association offers a one-day Delegation Boot Camp that teaches effective delegation strategies that will make your employees more powerful and self-reliant, increase your and your staff’s productivity, and help lower your personal level of stress.

Article Source: http://www.search4allinfo.com

Shari Lifland manages content for the American Management Association’s website, an organization that offers supervisor training, PMP exam prep, leadership seminars, and many other forms of effective management training. Shari also edits several AMA e-Newsletters, and is associate editor of MWorld.

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