My dad always says the dictionary is your best friend. Offering information you can use. Available anytime. Trustworthy. So I reached over to my bookshelf recently, grabbed the big volume and flipped pages until I arrived at the word delegation. I read, “to commit or entrust to another.” A few things struck me upon examining this brief definition. The first was the presence of the word trust, and the second was the definition’s implied opposite: to keep something to yourself.
Delegation is one of the best ways to help employees succeed. It builds strength and capability through expanded job responsibilities and challenges. What’s in it for you? It buys you more time to work on the things that you value and are important to the business. And yet I see managers avoid delegation all the time. Why? Rationalization, such as the following:
- I can do it a whole lot faster.
- I can do it a whole lot better.
- I don’t have time to coach.
- I don’t have time to give feedback.
So tell me—if you can do it faster and more effectively, then why do you bother to hire and pay employees? And if you don’t have time to coach and give feedback, why are you a manager of people? Guess what—if you’re a manager, your number one job is to develop your employees so they can succeed. You benefit, the company benefits and those employees are set up for success. If you don’t trust your employees, then don’t delegate. But maybe you’re not sure what you can thoughtfully pass on to others. Here’s a partial list of what can be delegated:
- Duties for which you don’t have time to complete yourself
- Routine tasks (but not grunt work)
- Problem solving
- Skill-building opportunities
- Current duties that should no longer be emphasized in your own role
How do you do it? A small amount of investment time up front can pay big dividends later, so it pays to plan carefully.
Step 1: Analyze your employees. What are their strengths, development areas and opportunities to take on additional responsibilities?
Step 2: Once you have matched up the right employee with an appropriate delegation opportunity, sit down with the employee and explain the what, the why and the outcome you’re looking for. Then provide some training or coaching, and express the boundaries of the assignment and levels of support to be expected from you and others.
Step 3: Set appropriate authority levels for the employee. Do you want the person to make recommendations and then act? Or will the employee make decisions, act and then provide you with updates?
Step 4: Follow up and provide additional coaching and feedback.
Expect a performance dip in the early stages of activity, as the employee is likely to have a learning curve and be operating in unfamiliar territory. If you’ve prepared the person well, you should see a nice payoff in confidence, knowledge and skill. Plus, you’ve provided the employee with breadth of experience.
Sometimes, the best way to get power is to give it away. That’s what delegation is about. You trust someone enough to take care of something on your behalf. By providing the necessary information, training and support—and offering help without removing responsibility—delegation provides a wonderful opportunity to develop employees. Think of delegation as your best friend, and you might find that your time gets freed up for the really important work, like running your business.