It's good to let go
By Ann-Maree Moodie | smh.com.au | 03 October
Delegating frees managers for more crucial tasks, writes Ann-Maree Moodie.
Isn't it funny that when we're finally in a job where we have the right to tell people what to do, we end up doing it all ourselves? And it's not because our requests are ignored. Many of us just find delegating hard to do.
Regina Fazio Maruca writes in Harvard Business Review: "When you've worked your way up through the ranks, it's often tough to hand responsibility to others. There's always the temptation to perform the tasks you're supposed to be overseeing."
Delegation is part of being a manager. In fact, being a good delegator is the hallmark of successful managers and leaders.
Dr Paul Nesbit, of the Graduate School of Management at Macquarie University in Sydney, says: "Being able to delegate is essential if managers want to be effective. From a time management perspective, delegating helps a manager deal with the increasing demands on their time and their ability to perform well. Just as importantly, delegating is evidence of trust in one's own management style and a sign of commitment to the development of your staff."
Nesbit says being able to delegate also reflects the emphasis in today's workplace on teamwork and the development of the individuals who make up those teams.
Delegation means assigning authority to another person to carry out a specific task. It means the employee or team member has authority to make decisions about that particular assignment. A lack of understanding about what it means to transfer authority is why many managers find it hard to delegate.
"As a manager rises in the organisation from technical roles - where he or she performed the tasks themselves - to positions in management, it's often harder to let go of the area in which you're competent and maybe even an expert," says Nesbit. "It's much less comfortable letting go of the things we're good at to do something new."
It's generally agreed that good delegators exhibit five common behaviours. They clarify the assignment; specify the team member's range of discretion; hold the team member accountable; tell others in the team that this person has the authority for the task; and ensure open communication so the team member's performance can be monitored and support provided.
"Effective delegators assign tasks and responsibilities that are realistic in terms of the skills and knowledge, and resources available to the team member," Nesbit says. "Good delegators review and evaluate the person's performance. Lastly, a good delegator has excellent communication skills."
Just as the team member is accountable, so too is the manager responsible for ensuring the success of the project. "Failure in delegated authority should first be seen as a problem of the manager assigning the task," Nesbit says. "The reasons are commonly a poor communication of the expectations of the task, poor follow-up and unrealistic expectations of success.
"Other reasons for failure are if the manager regularly assigns tasks that are undesirable and that don't offer the team member the opportunity to learn and to develop."
Handing over work that the manager doesn't want to do and instead passes off as a delegated task is inviting failure. If a team member is constantly receiving drudge jobs, the manager will create resentment and will lower productivity and team morale.
An effective delegator also tolerates mistakes. "An additional reason for difficulty in delegating well is that many people are more comfortable working alone and autonomously," Nesbit says. "The autonomous worker who rises to management because they were successful in a lower, technical role can often find that being a manager doesn't suit them."
Delegation, if executed properly, is an opportunity to develop staff. It also allows the manager to do his or her job, which is more about implementing strategy than performing everyday tasks.
Many managers feel their job is all about fighting fires. And in fact, a white-collar job is more like fire-fighting than many realise.
"Sometimes you have to train leaders by taking drastic measures, by forcing them to a new way of learning," says former fire chief Carl Holmes. "The best way to control people is to give them the ability to control themselves. We trained our leaders to give the firefighters a clear understanding of what's expected of them. We set parameters and within those parameters we let people use their best judgment.
"We created a work environment in which there was mutual support, trust and genuine lines of communication. With those, you can get people to operate to their utmost capacity. At that point, leaders should get the hell out of the way and let people do their jobs."
d is for delegate
Steps in effective delegation:
* Determine what is to be delegated and to whom.
* Set parameters for the team member's discretion to make decisions.
* Hold the team member accountable for the successful management and completion of the task.
* Keep open channels of communication.
* Provide regular feedback.
*Set dates for reporting on progress.
Originally published September 6, 2008
First published by Smh.com.au on October 03 2008
Visit smh.com.au for the latest news updated throughout the day
