Serious damage to morale and performance is a natural by-product of poorly executed delegation. There is a significant difference between delegation and dumping menial, unpleasant tasks on others. As with most worthwhile endeavors, delegation is not something to take casually.

When a person is given the responsibility for making a contribution to your organization, he has an opportunity to increase his stature and improve his career potential within the organization. As each individual within the organization is able to handle increasingly more significant responsibility the power of the total team will increase. Properly done, delegation will empower your people, dramatically increase productivity and increase profits. 

As you decide to pass a task on to someone else take a moment to verify that it is a worthwhile task. One of the best ways to do this is to seek candid feedback from people connected to this area. Do they believe it is necessary and worthwhile? One of our clients, a major accounting firm, was generating a report to the main office every week. The report took nearly half a day to compile. When we suggested they ask if the report is really necessary the main office said: “You know, we don’t use that report anymore. Why do you continue to send it?”

Next, you must design a way to train the person how to do the new task. This process should take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the personal style (D,I,S,C*) of the individual. Focus on the results you desire more than the method. Obviously, we all do things differently. The outcome is usually more important than the actual process. When you delegate something you get a guarantee: they will not do it exactly the way you would do it. Hopefully, they will do it better.

Timing is also very important. Be sure you choose the right time to do the training and the delegation. One person will need time to think and process the new responsibility while another may like the challenge of proving how good they are. Everyone is different. Be sensitive to the uniqueness of each person.

It will do no good to overload another person. The results created from the whole team working together should be the primary goal. Some people are capable of handling more than others, in other words, don’t set them up for failure. You must figure out ways to help your people win by using their strengths.

The manner you use to notify, train, and monitor the person you have chosen to delegate to will help establish TRUST between you and the other person. The art of delegation is really a sharing of responsibility and authority with another. There must be a benefit to be gained by both of you for this sharing to be successful. Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus is their book, “Leaders,” tell us that “trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.” Without trust between the leader and the people, your efforts to change will produce disaster.

The last step is to develop a simple way to track and receive feedback on performance. Write down the specific results you are looking for and develop a simple system to monitor those results. One of the best ways to follow this is by using a chart. Charts show you where you have been, where you are now and where you plan to go. This creates a picture. It also allows for emotional involvement. Get input from the delegatee for the design of your follow up system.

Authority & Responsibility

Authority and responsibility go together. One of the most frustrating situations in any person’s life is when there is confusion between authority and responsibility. This can be very a subtle problem yet sometimes it is blatant.

The manager cannot just tell an employee what to do. It is best when the manager asks the employee what has to be done to reach a desired result. The manager knows and is expert on what the goals and vision of the company are. The employee is the expert on how a particular job needs to be done. When this sharing takes place you have the beginning of communication.

When a leader has the courage to sincerely ask an employee, “How is the best way to do this or that?” it creates an opportunity to reward and praise the employee for their creativity. This builds trust and enthusiasm. It also encourages initiative. By contrast, the boss who tells people what to do creates low morale, lack of initiative and limited results.

The manager has the authority and responsibility to set the company goals and establish the vision. The employee has the authority and responsibility to provide a specific amount of work, product or service. Only when the two people have SHARED their experience, expectations and needs will they be able to establish realistic goals.

The Levels

There are five commonly used levels of delegation. They are progressive levels of responsibility and authority. Gradually an individual demonstrates more knowledge, ability and value to the organization and moves higher on the following scale. 

This will give scheduled opportunities to meet one on one and: 

It takes practice to learn to let go and delegate well. Be patient with yourself and the delegatee. Be sure you praise the person who has accepted a delegated task and done a good job. If it is necessary to make corrections, do it in private, preferably during your one on one meeting.