Everyone Delegates. Delegation is a routine part of everyone’s life. Every day, in countless human interactions we share information, results and work. You do this and I’ll do that. We routinely collaborate and so responsibilities are moved from one person to another.
Parents delegate to their children and vice versa. Students that are old enough might take on their own school transportation responsibilities; in return parents could maintain and insure them a vehicle. There are both written and unwritten contracts and expectations in play.
It’s the same in the workplace. Whether you’re collaborating on a brief two-person project or managing a large team of professionals, responsibilities are being assigned and expectations of required results are established.
So, what is delegating, other than sharing responsibilities and achieving results through others? There are certainly some universal principles we can consider that will send us in the right direction.
The traditional pointers seen every day in the workplace (where a manager delegates work to employees) are typically very relevant in all the diverse instances mentioned above. And, these are:
Delegate or Die
Start by recognizing the need to Delegate or Die. And, in doing so, be sure you trust people. Rely on your experiences with them or insights provided by others. Leverage employees’ strengths and avoid their weaknesses; above all, set folks up to succeed and give them sufficient rope to do so, but not enough to hang themselves! Select the best people available for the job and ensure they have time for the work entailed.
Effective Delegation Retains Control
Maintain only the level of control required to keep things on track; basic reviews and scheduling might be appropriate. Use triggers to highlight warning signs of problems and if personnel weaknesses emerge, install support mechanisms and/or corrective actions to get back and stay on track.
A Team Should Generally Accomplish More Than You Alone
A Team should have better collective insight and move more productively than you alone. Empower team/project leaders and clearly define goals and desired results. Be sure all essential resources are allocated: time, materials, manpower etc.
Invest in the Kickoff
Before the action begins, invest in a suitably motivating kickoff event. This is essential to set positive expectation, provide guidance, insight and advise of available resources. Commission the team (or individual) and make clear your own availability for troubleshooting and guidance so good momentum will be maintained.
Establishing Commitment
Be sure individuals and teams clearly confirm (and play back) their understanding of goals and agreed results before activity is underway. These are commitments and should be unambiguous; once serious action begins, it’s tough to make course corrections.
Extending Your Reach
Well delegated and deftly monitored work accentuates your influence and the results you can accomplish. At the same time this frees you to take on more challenging objectives and lets you further magnify accomplishments for yourself and organization.
Empowering Others Grows Your Organization
This point it speaks for itself and is another benefit of Delegating. Success breeds success and teams (or individuals) who get results are available for expanded challenges. Welcome their success and enjoy how it reflects on you, too! Empowered teams with well-managed responsibilities are motivated to accomplish even more.
Almost Everything Can Be Delegated
This is a principal to be embraced by every wise Manager/Delegator. Keep only, “must do” work assignments or politically sensitive projects for yourself. Allow projects and assignments to grow and develop individuals and teams.
Failure to Delegate Is Career Limiting
Consider this a warning to the insecure or inhibited Delegator. Not sharing/delegating can be a demotivation for key employees and simultaneously limit your own credentials for promotion. The better you work through others the more profound the results you obtain and impressive your personal case for promotion.
Celebrating Successes
When goals are achieved, celebrate! Ensure that personal acknowledgments occur and rewards are plentiful and appropriate to those involved. Be sure all affected groups and people are informed of any resulting new tools, practices and/or procedures that affect workflows and interactions elsewhere.
When Delegating Goes Wrong
Sometimes things don’t work out. Avoid blame; take personal responsibility for your assignees and teams. Keep errors small and detect them early by having simple triggers or reviews that are not burdensome to work activity. If the problem was your own oversight/management, then accept, learn, correct and move on.
These pointers should work for you, regardless of the environment in which you delegate, collaborate or share. So, are you delegating enough? Should you delegate and share more responsibilities? Can you improve the way you share and delegate? Certainly there are lots of benefits to delegating effectively.
Consider the ways you interact and work with others. Maybe it’s time to sharpen your skills!
Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh