Successful Delegation

Do you feel stressed and overloaded? Or that your career seems stalled? If so, then you may need to brush up your delegation skills!

If you work on your own, there's only a limited amount that you can do, however hard you work. You can only work so many hours in a day. There are only so many tasks you can complete in these hours. There are only so many people you can help by doing these tasks. And, because the number of people you can help is limited, your success is limited.

However, if you're good at your job, people will want much more than this from you. This can lead to a real sense of pressure and work overload: You can't do everything that everyone wants, and this can leave you stressed, unhappy, and feeling that you're letting people down. On the positive side, however, you're being given a tremendous opportunity if you can find a way around this limitation. If you can realize this opportunity, you can be genuinely successful!

One of the most common ways of overcoming this limitation is to learn how to delegate your work to other people. If you do this well, you can quickly build a strong and successful team of people, well able to meet the demands that others place.This is why delegation is such an important skill, and is one that you absolutely have to learn!

Why People Don't Delegate :


To figure out how to delegate properly, it's important to understand why people avoid it. Quite simply, people don't delegate because it takes a lot of up-front effort.  After all, which is easier: designing and writing content for a brochure that promotes a new service you helped spearhead, or having other members of your team do it? You know the content inside and out. You can spew benefit statements in your sleep. It would be relatively straightforward for you to sit down and write it. It would even be fun! The question is, "Would it be a good use of your time?"

While on the surface it's easier to do it yourself than explain the strategy behind the brochure to someone else, there are two key reasons that mean that it's probably better to delegate the task to someone else:
First, if you have the ability to spearhead a new campaign, the chances are that your skills are better used further developing the strategy, and perhaps coming up with other new ideas. By doing the work yourself, you're failing to make best use of your time.

Second, by meaningfully involving other people in the project, you develop those people's skills and abilities. This means that next time a similar project comes along, you can delegate the task with a high degree of confidence that it will be done well, with much less involvement from you.

Delegation allows you to make the best use of your time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organization.


When to Delegate :
Delegation is a win-win when done appropriately, however that does not mean that you can delegate just anything. To determine when delegation is most appropriate there are five key questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Is there someone else who has (or can be given) the necessary information or expertise to complete the task? 
2. Essentially is this a task that someone else can do, or is it critical that you do it yourself?
3. Does the task provide an opportunity to grow and develop another person's skills?
4. Is this a task that will recur, in a similar form, in the future?
5. Do you have enough time to delegate the job effectively? 

Time must be available for adequate training, for questions and answers, for opportunities to check progress, and for rework if that is necessary. Is this a task that I should delegate? Tasks critical for long-term success (for example, recruiting the right people for your team) genuinely do need your attention. If you can answer "yes" to at least some of the above questions, then it could well be worth delegating this job.

Other factors that contribute to the delegability of a task include:

1. The project's timelines/deadlines.

• How much time is there available to do the job?
• Is there time to redo the job if it's not done properly the first time?
• What are the consequences of not completing the job on time?

2. Your expectations or goals for the project or task(s), including:

• How important is it that the results are of the highest possible quality?
• Is an "adequate" result good enough?
• Would a failure be crucial?
• How much would failure impact other things?

The Who and How of Delegating :

Having decided to delegate a task there are some other factors to consider as well. As you think these through you can use our free Delegation Worksheet to keep record of the tasks you choose to delegate and who you want to delegate them to.

To Whom Should You Delegate? The factors to consider here include:

1. The experience, knowledge and skills of the individual as they apply to the delegated task.

• What knowledge, skills and attitude does the person already have?
• Do you have time and resources to provide any training needed?

2. The individual's preferred work style.

• How independent is the person?
• What does he or she want from his or her job?
• What are his or her long-term goals and interest, and how do these align with the work proposed?

3. The current workload of this person.

• Does the person have time to take on more work?
• Will you delegating this task require reshuffling of other responsibilities and workloads?

How Should You Delegate? : Use the following principles to delegate successfully:

1. Clearly articulate the desired outcome. Begin with the end in mind and specify the desired results.

2. Clearly identify constraints and boundaries. Where are the lines of authority, responsibility and accountability? Should the person:

• Wait to be told what to do?
• Ask what to do?
• Recommend what should be done, and then act?
• Act, and then report results immediately?
• Initiate action, and then report periodically?

3. Where possible, include people in the delegation process. Empower them to decide what tasks are to be delegated to them and when.

4. Match the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority. Understand that you can delegate some responsibility, however you can't delegate away ultimate accountability. The buck stops with you!

5. Delegate to the lowest possible organizational level. The people who are closest to the work are best suited for the task, because they have the most intimate knowledge of the detail of everyday work. This also increases workplace efficiency, and helps to develop people.

6. Provide adequate support, and be available to answer questions. Ensure the project's success through ongoing communication and monitoring as well as provision of resources and credit.

7. Focus on results. Concern yourself with what is accomplished, rather than detailing how the work should be done: Your way is not necessarily the only or even the best way! Allow the person to control his or her own methods and processes. This facilitates success and trust.

8. Avoid "upward delegation". If there is a problem, don't allow the person to shift responsibility for the task back to you: ask for recommended solutions; and don't simply provide an answer.

9. Build motivation and commitment. Discuss how success will impact financial rewards, future opportunities, informal recognition, and other desirable consequences. Provide recognition where deserved.

10. Establish and maintain control.

• Discuss timelines and deadlines.
• Agree on a schedule of checkpoints at which you'll review project progress.
• Make adjustments as necessary.
• Take time to review all submitted work.

In thoroughly considering these key points prior to and during the delegation process you will find that you delegate more successfully.

Poor Communication

Conventional wisdom (and research) says that good communication can improve relationships, increasing intimacy, trust and support. The converse is also true: poor communication can weaken bonds, creating mistrust and even contempt! Here are some examples of negative and even destructive attitudes and communication patterns that can exacerbate conflict in a relationship. How many of these sound like something you’d do?

1. Avoiding Conflict Altogether:

Rather than discussing building frustrations in a calm, respectful manner, some people just don't say anything to their partner until they're ready to explode, and then blurt it out in an angry, hurtful way. This seems to be the less stressful route--avoiding an argument altogether--but usually causes more stress to both parties as tensions rise, resentments fester, and a much bigger argument eventually results. It's much healthier to address and resolve conflict. These assertiveness communication skills can help you to say things in a way where you will be more likely to be heard, without being disrespectful to the other person.

2. Being Defensive:

Rather than addressing a partner's complaints with an objective eye and willingness to understand the other person's point of view, defensive people steadfastly deny any wrongdoing and work hard to avoid looking at the possibility that they could be contributing to a problem. Denying responsibility may seem to alleviate stress in the short run, but creates long-term problems when partners don't feel listened to and unresolved conflicts and continue to grow.

3. Overgeneralizing:

When something happens that they don’t like, some blow it out of proportion by making sweeping generalizations. Avoid starting sentences with, "You always," and, "You never," as in, "You always come home late!" or, "You never do what I want to do!" Stop and think about whether or not this is really true. Also, don't bring up past conflicts to throw the discussion off-topic and stir up more negativity. This stands in the way of true conflict resolution, and increases the level of conflict. Sometimes we're not aware of the ways the mind can blow things out of proportion. This list of common cognitive distortions can get in the way of healthy relationships with others, and can exacerbate stress levels. See which ones may be familiar to you.

4. Being Right:

It's damaging to decide that there's a "right" way to look at things and a "wrong" way to look at things, and that your way of seeing things is right. Don't demand that your partner see things the same way, and don't take it as a personal attack if they have a different opinion. Look for a compromise or agreeing to disagree, and remember that there's not always a "right" or a "wrong," and that two points of view can both be valid.

5. "Psychoanalyzing" / Mind-Reading:

Instead of asking about their partner's thoughts and feelings, people sometimes decide that they "know" what their partners are thinking and feeling based only on faulty interpretations of their actions--and always assume it's negative! (For example, deciding a late mate doesn't care enough to be on time, or that a tired partner is denying sex out of passive-aggressiveness.) This creates hostility and misunderstandings. It's important to keep in mind that we all come from a unique perspective, and work hard to assume nothing; really listen to the other person and let them explain where they are coming from.

6. Forgetting to Listen:

Some people interrupt, roll their eyes, and rehearse what they're going to say next instead of truly listening and attempting to understand their partner. This keeps you from seeing their point of view, and keeps your partner from wanting to see yours! Don't underestimate the importance of really listening and empathizing with the other person! These listening skills are important to bear in mind.

7. Playing the Blame Game:

Some people handle conflict by criticizing and blaming the other person for the situation. They see admitting any weakness on their own part as a weakening of their credibility, and avoid it at all costs, and even try to shame them for being "at fault." Instead, try to view conflict as an opportunity to analyze the situation objectively, assess the needs of both parties and come up with a solution that helps you both.

8. Trying to "Win" The Argument:

I love it when Dr. Phil says that if people are focused on "winning" the argument, the relationship loses! The point of a relationship discussion should be mutual understanding and coming to an agreement or resolution that respects everyone’s needs. If you’re making a case for how wrong the other person is, discounting their feelings, and staying stuck in your point of view, your focused in the wrong direction!

9. Making Character Attacks:

Sometimes people take any negative action from a partner and blow it up into a personality flaw. (For example, if a husband leaves his socks lying around, looking it as a character flaw and label him "inconsiderate and lazy," or, if a woman wants to discuss a problem with the relationship, labeling her "needy," "controlling," or "too demanding.") This creates negative perceptions on both sides. Remember to respect the person, even if you don't like the behavior.

10. Stonewalling:

When one partner wants to discuss troubling issues in the relationship, sometimes people defensively stonewall, or refuse to talk or listen to their partner. This shows disrespect and, in certain situations, even contempt, while at the same time letting the underlying conflict grow. Stonewalling solves nothing, but creates hard feelings and damages relationships. It’s much better to listen and discuss things in a respectful manner.