When to Delegate OverviewDelegation is a vital component of time management

When to Delegate

Overview

Delegation is a vital component of time management. The primary reason most people delegate is to decrease their workload, which enables them to focus on other tasks and responsibilities. Other reasons to delegate include improved staff satisfaction, increased ability to get work done, and faster career growth for the supervisor and the employee who completes the project. Not only does the supervisor's workload decrease, but his staff members also have the opportunity to advance. When delegation is effective, the entire team and the business itself can succeed.

Outline:

Are You Delegating Enough?
Deciding to Whom You Can Delegate
Prepare for Delegating
Communicate With Designated Employees Through a Meeting
Meet Regularly and Communicate
Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance and Communicate
Demonstrate Appreciation

I. Are You Delegating Enough?

Delegation is defined by Jennergren as the administrative technique in which supervisors give their immediate subordinates the authority to accomplish an assigned task. Marquand states, "To determine if you are delegating enough work, ask yourself this question: Could the company get along without me if I had to be away for three months?"

If you answered yes, then you are doing a great job delegating. If you're still not sure, try the following quiz to assess if you are delegating enough or effectively.

QUIZ: Are you delegating enough or effectively?

Answer these simple questions to see where you stand.

	1. Do you work extended hours trying to catch up?	Yes	No
2. When you delegate an activity, do you merely say, "Do it?"	Yes	No
3. Do you take work home evenings and weekends?	Yes	No
4. Do you postpone long-range projects?	Yes	No
5. Do you lack confidence in your subordinates' abilities?	Yes	No
6. Is the work of your staff below your expectations?	Yes	No
7. Does your staff have low morale?	Yes	No
8. Are all decisions deferred to you?	Yes	No
9. Has your staff stopped presenting their ideas to you?	Yes	No
10. Do operations slow down when you're away?	Yes	No

If you answer yes to more than five of the questions, you're not delegating enough!

Why do people choose not to delegate?

Entrepreneurs or business owners may find it difficult and scary to give up some control of projects, or they may lack knowledge about the art of delegation. Other reasons people fail to delegate include:

Impatience: It takes longer to explain it others than to do it themself.
Think a project can't be done properly unless they do it.
Prior bad experiences.
Guilt and social conditioning.
Obsessed with perfection from setting standards that are too high.
Lack of confidence in staff.
Insecurity: Fear of not getting credit for a job well done, and appearing less knowledgeable than staff.

What you can delegate
There is a litany of tasks you can delegate, including:

Time jobs, such as handling phone inquiries and drafting letters, memos and reports.
Responsibilities from an ongoing job or a previous job.
Time-intensive projects.
Tasks for which you are overspecialized or underspecialized.

What not to delegate
In most cases, the following activities should not be delegated to others because they require the expertise of experienced managers:

Activities with poorly defined objectives.

Managerial functions such as team-building, budget approval or employee development.

Decision-making involving objectives of the company or department.

Decision-making involving interdepartmental or company-wide relationships.

Tasks that deal with confidential information.

Performance evaluations.

Resolution of staff disputes.

Personnel matters.

Disciplining, praising or thanking employees.

Back to Outline

II. Deciding to Whom You Can Delegate the Task

When delegating, it is important to select the right person for the job. Don't delegate to the first person you think of or the staff member who consistently receives delegated tasks because of their previous performance. Many staff members have untapped abilities that must be discovered and cultivated. The employee's skills and personality style must match the assignment. For example, if the job requires training the staff on new company policies, the individual must buy into the project and have effective teaching skills.

It is easy to fall into the lair of delegating to one or two key individuals in your department. This practice will not only frustrate the individuals but other employees, and may result in potential morale problems.

Specific factors to consider when selecting the appropriate individual are:

Look and ask about untapped abilities, skill and knowledge.
Avoid delegating to the first person who comes to mind.
If necessary, delegate outside the company.
Delegate to ambitious individuals.
Don't delegate on a sink-or-swim basis.

For junior staff members, start with delegation assignments that can be broken down into parts, each with a separate deadline and end result. Their initial projects should be less difficult than tasks you assign to senior level staff, and they should be provided with some latitude and allowed a certain degree of freedom to complete their delegated assignments.

It may be helpful to keep records or a dossier on your staff members that delineate their strengths and weaknesses, other projects they are working on, special skills and notes from prior experiences in delegating. An employee who had difficulty with a previously delegated project may not have difficulty with future projects. Both the employee and supervisor need to reflect on the assignment. The prior project may have a mismatch of abilities or the employee did not realize the limits of her authority.

Mentoring is a critical component of the delegation process. This can be done by you or a key individual in your department with a strong track record.

In the education industry, Jere Brophy is well recognized for the concept of TESA - Teacher Expectations, Student Achievement. Here is an illustration that explains the concept: If a teacher enters a school year knowing one of his students, Jay, misbehaves and is lagging behind his classmates in all academic areas, the teacher will expect poor performance from Jay. Consequently, Jay will perform at that level. This same concept can be applied to delegation, Employer's Expectations, Employee's Achievement (EEEA). By using this line of reasoning, employees will rise to your level of expectation for them.

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III. Prepare for Delegating

Before you communicate anything about the project to your staff, you need to define the specifics of the project. Key points that you will need to discuss when delegating a project include:

Objectives or the end product of the project.
Background information including why this project is important: What is the purpose? What is the relationship to the goals of the company?
The employee's level of authority.
- Is the employee simply to follow an assigned list of tasks or jobs?
- Should the employee attain approval at various stages in the project?
- Should the employee be able to act independently but be required to up-date you at specified time intervals? Or should the employee work autonomously without updating you until the project is complete?
Resources available to the employee whether monetary, other personnel or special training or equipment.
Set deadlines: When does this project begin and end?
Communication: Communicate your level of availability and frequency of your meetings with them.
Training: Determine if a training program is required and whether it should include formal lessons or informal mentoring?

There are many issues to address with the employee who is assigned a delegated task. Brown states the key to delegation is that the employee understands the expectations and keeps you informed about decisions before they are finalized. To clearly delineate your expectations and other details of the project, complete the Project Worksheet below. It will help define your expectations, enhance your ability to track the project, and improve your communication to your staff.

Keep in mind that dumping a project or task onto a staff member is not the same as delegating. Teaching your staff to take initiative by setting an example is a valuable lesson. For example, many people on your staff may readily volunteer to clean up a messy work area if you show no qualms about cleaning up the mess yourself. Not only does this demonstrate respect but a willingness to also do the dirty work.

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IV. Communicate With Designated Employee Through a Meeting

A formal meeting, not an impromptu discussion, should be scheduled with the staff member who will be taking on a new task. Some key things to consider when communicating the project are:

Demonstrate enthusiasm and confidence.
Be specific in directions.
Avoid giving too many unnecessary details.
Don't assign a new project at the end of a workday.
Don't give too many directions at one time.

Using a written project delegation sheet, like the one shown below, may enhance the employee's understanding of the project and clarify the delegated task for you, as well.

PROJECT WORKSHEET

Project Title:
Objectives/Outcomes:

Background Information:

Start Date:
Completion Date:
Responsibility Level:

Resources Available:
Staff
Equipment
Monetary Support
Special Training

Other:

Next Meeting:

Some rules of thumb for delegating include:

Don't desert your employee.

Don't withdraw their authority unless prior direction and guidance has failed.

Avoid placing blame on staff.

Don't hold back important information.

Never designate another individual to spy on the staff member.

As long as you are honest and open in communicating with the employee, the delegation of a project should work effectively.

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V. Meet Regularly and Communicate

Schedule regular meetings with your employee to discuss the project. You must take the time to meet with staff and assess the status of the project. With junior staff, it is critical to schedule deadlines for various parts of the project. The checkpoints enable you to monitor progression of the project and allow you to provide guidance and direction.

Mentoring staff members through project completion may be critical for junior-level staff or when attempting to foster skills in other staff members. Being flexible, asking the right questions, and providing direction and guidance in a non-judgmental fashion will strengthen your managerial skills. This will improve the individual's skills, heighten morale, provide staff with a sense of ownership, and empower staff to be more proactive and creative.

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VI. Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance and Communicate

Completion of the project is not the final step in the delegation process. Delegation is complete only after the staff member who completed the project and supervisor privately reflect and later discuss the following:

The final project:
- Is it of high quality?
- What would you change if you completed the project again?
- What were the most successful elements of the project?
Their performance in handling the project:
- Was the assignment too easy? Too difficult?
- What will the subordinate do differently next time?
The support, feedback and direction received from the supervisor:
- Did the employee receive adequate support?
- Feedback?
- Direction?
Resources:
- Did you have adequate time?
- Support from other staff?
- Were the materials adequate?

The above should be discussed between the employee and supervisor who delegated the activity. The supervisor should ask probing open-ended questions, rather than closed questions which require a single-word response. From this, the supervisor can adjust their delegation skills for future endeavors. Don't expect everything to go smoothly; remember there is always room for improvement.

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VII. Demonstrate Appreciation

It is critical for the employee who does a good job to receive recognition for their work. This can be done numerous ways from recognizing their efforts through a newsletter, at a staff meeting, via a computer bulletin board system or an actual bulletin board in a common area, to something more substantial like a bonus check. This will vary from company to company — the key is recognition.

By celebrating the success of an employee, they will want to do even better on future tasks. Through effective delegation, communication and demonstration of appreciation, your staff will be empowered to present new ideas to you, which again results in a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Although communication is essential, it alone cannot determine what should be delegated, to whom at what times. Delegation requires courage and commitment, and mistakes are anticipated