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Delegation; A development tool.

Delegation is a challenge faced at all hierarchies of leadership. Root of the challenge lies in the intention or understanding of what it means to delegate. Often delegation is misinterpreted as a way to delete items from your own to-do list or feared as way of losing power. Delegation is a development tool for subordinates. Delegation is not participation, but it is an empowerment of a trusted subordinate to make decisions unfamiliar to them. When a subordinate starts to makes a familiar decision, then they have successfully crossed the bridge from development plans to new role/responsibilities.

Delegation is not abdication; even if subordinate disagrees. The manager still has the ultimate accountability for the assignment. That is why it is important for you to establish and agree upon controls, communication and checkpoints to monitor progress. On short term tasks, its beneficial to also define completion, and measurements to define success or failure.

Remember while delegation is about people you want to grow and not about you, but if you delegate too much or not enough: in addition to possibly overburdening others, it can lead to perceptions that you are uninterested, unavailable, detached or disinterested.

Below are few considerations to help evaluate and identify, when, and how delegation can be most effective.

Who

• You trust.
• Shows the will or desire to learn and grow from experience.
• Posses complementing skill set needed to get the job done.
• You spend time guiding, teaching, leading, but not someone whom you spending time compensating for.
• Understand the difference between a having a job and holding a responsibility.
• Can represent you accurately.
• Will not be overburden with additional work.
• Has earned this reward based on accountable metrics.

What

• Delegation is not about you, it’s about others! How can this challenge help grow the individual in question? Would your HR and or Boss agree?
• Putting your own development in jeopardy? It is unquestionable that leaders need to develop others, but as we rise to more senior positions and have more resources at our disposal, we may tend to delegate too much, or hand off tasks that are vital to our own development.
• Too early to delegate? Can you solve the problem? if you can’t articulate the problem, or what needs to be solved/done, then wait until you can. When someone tell you “I wasn’t really sure what you wanted,” that is a sign of when you delegated too early.
• Is this responsibility appropriate for the individual’s current role?

Follow up

• Establish just enough controls, to step in and provide guidance, without micromanaging.
• Be very clear on expectations including any boundaries.
• Avoid prescribing HOW the assignment should be completed, but make sure the individual knows you have an answer, in case they need it.
• Keep a regular status check! Be the effective guide when the task seems to be in trouble; but let the individual complete it.
• Is there a incentives for success? What is motivation for someone to do this task, and do it well?