Why Do We Find it Hard to Delegate? Professional DeveloPment

Professional Development
Why Do We Find it Hard to Delegate?
By marty stanley
Why is delegation such
a big deal for a lot of
people? Some managers
may be apprehensive
about delegating
tasks or projects to
others because of the
many things that can
go wrong. How often
have you thought to
yourself that you could
do something faster or
better; or that it would
take too long to tell
someone else how to do
it and that you should
just do it yourself?
Unfortunately, what happens when you
feel this way is that you become swamped
or overwhelmed with too much to do. Only
until the very last minute do you delegate
a task to someone just so you can meet a
deadline. With such little time, the person
you delegated responsibility to may get
something wrong, prompting you to think
you shouldn’t have delegated the task in
the first place. But remember, a key to a
manager’s success is the ability to develop
other people, and delegation is one way
to do it.
Failing to Plan is Planning
to fail
Plan the delegation process well in advance
of the due date. Unless you’re very skilled
at delegation, it’s not a good idea to shoot
from the hip. Some questions to guide you
in this process may include:
ƒƒ
The following are four tips on how to
delegate properly.
ƒƒ
12
Contract Management | March 2011
What are the outcomes you want
to achieve?
What potential problems can arise?
ƒƒ
What skills do the person(s) who will
carry out the task need?
ƒƒ
What are appropriate checkpoints to
see how things are going?
Looking for Mr. or
Ms. Right
Pick a person to delegate the task to who
has the essential skills to do the task. For
example, if the project or task is detailed
and requires accuracy, choose a person who
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Professional Development
excels at attention to detail. If a project
requires creative thinking, match the project
to the person who shows the ability to think
outside-of-the-box, or who has creative
problem solving skills.
Delegating projects or tasks can be a good
way to develop people in their careers. A lot
depends on the experience of the person
and the level of trust and communication
that you’ve established as well. One way to
look at delegation in terms of development
is to think about delegating for skill development or for professional development.
Generally speaking, a person who has just
started his or her career will benefit from
delegated tasks related to his or her immediate work performed. People who are looking
to climb the corporate ladder will benefit
from tasks or projects that are outside of
their immediate scope of responsibility and
will help them go to the next level.
tation, do a thorough walkthrough with him
or her a couple days in advance. Make sure
the room is set up correctly, that audio visual aids and handouts are ready, and then
practice the content and flow of the material to be presented. Having a dry run of the
presentation can prevent a lot of problems
and provides a great coaching opportunity.
Remember to always keep the lines of
communication open so any glitches can be
detected early.
Debrief
Depending on the scope of the project or
task being delegated, it can be a good idea
to do a post-task debriefing with the person
to whom you delegated the task. Good questions to ask are:
build skills for everyone involved, and will
build solid relationships if done well.
Empowerment, not
Abdication
Effective delegation empowers a person to
take on more responsibility and it empowers the manager to a higher level of
management finesse. Unfortunately, some
managers simply walk away after delegating, and for the other person, it’s sink or
swim. Abdication of responsibility is a quick
ticket to failure. The more you coach and
train others, the easier it is to delegate, and
everyone involved will benefit. CM
About the Author
MARTY STANLEY of Dynamic Dialog, Inc., is a
ƒƒ
What went well in the process?
national speaker, trainer, executive coach, and
ƒƒ
What could have been done
differently?
sions. He can be contacted at 816-822-4047 or
What can we do in the future to
improve the process?
Send comments about this article to
cm@ncmahq.org.
facilitator for planning and teambuilding ses-
If you have confidence in the person, and
he or she has an established track record
of successful performance, it may be easier
to delegate more complex projects that are
outside of his or her skill set. These types of
situations are good for delegating projects
to expand a person’s depth or range of skills.
However, if the other person is relatively
new to the job, avoid making assumptions
that he or she is able to take on a complex
project or task of this type. Closer supervision may be required.
14
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Communication is Key
It’s important to start with the things that
went well. Ask the person to describe all the
things that went well first. Most people have
a tendency to gloss over this and start on what
didn’t work, so take the time to acknowledge
and give praise for work well done. Even in the
most disappointing of circumstances, finding the
good points and discussing them first will help
the person’s morale.
After selecting the right person to do the
work, set expectations. For example, what’s
the expected level of quality or quantity?
What is expected regarding the completion
times that are needed to be successful? Discuss how you will monitor the new process
or task. It’s important to be available for
questions and guidance.
When discussing things that could have
been done differently, again, ask the person
for his or her input before providing your
own. This will provide additional coaching
opportunities, particularly if the person is
overly self-critical or if he or she tends to
blame others for his or her own mistakes.
Another way to ensure success is to make
sure the person has the appropriate tools,
information, and/or resources. Are they
readily available? If not, how will he or she
find them? When possible, walk through
a few examples. For instance, if you have
asked someone to do an important presen-
Finally, if the person will be doing similar
tasks or projects in the future, make a list
of ways to improve the process. Are there
additional resources needed? Are all the
materials or information available to make it
smoother next time? Is more advance time
needed? The debriefing process will help
Contract Management | March 2011
martystanley@alteringoutcomes.com.