Delegation is a skill, and a learnable skill but one that for a lot of owners and managers is a major challenge. Why is this?
I think to be fair to most business owners this happens almost by stealth. The role of owner initially does involve being a supreme multi-tasker and does require a lot of intervention to ensure things get done. This however then quickly turns in to a habit.
As the organisation grows and new people come on board old habits die hard and the temptation to withhold tasks and /or intervene constantly in other peoples work grows.
The effect of this over time is predictable.
Picture this typical scene played out in every business on a daily basis.
The owner /manager is as usual up to his or her eyes in just trying to get things done. The desire to delegate takes over and quickly a team member is given the task of taking on a key project.
Typically the discussion is brief, the outline of what is required is even briefer. The end goal is not defined correctly. The recipient of the delegated task appears to have a clear grasp of the manager’s requirements and accepts the job. The manager is sure he/she made it clear what was required also and so is happy to pass the responsibility on.
At this stage if we were to get both parties to write out what it was one communicated and the other heard, it would be almost laughable if it wasn’t so serious. Just how different their respective understanding of what needs to be done is can be striking.
The outcome is obvious. When the report is presented to the manager it is clearly wrong.
Each party blames each other. The owner is baffled as to how this happened the subordinate is likewise baffled as to why the manager is so angry. After all he/she did follow the instructions to the letter.
This occurrence over the long term has the destructive outcome of leading to the manager to distrust his teams ability to deliver what is required as required. The team also learn that thinking for themselves is not an option. It is better to wait to be told what to do than be proactive.
This is so avoidable and ultimately so wasteful of the respective talents of both parties. Once trust is broken the typical management mantra is that “nothing gets done around here unless I do it”. Further damaging the trust needed to really fix the problem.
Delegation can be difficult sometimes. It can be difficult to let go, but in order to be a highly effective manager you must let go. But how do solve this ?.
1) Accept that as a manager it is your responsibility and you must take ownership of the issue and resist the temptation to blame others.
2) Accept that it can’t be fixed overnight. It will take a concerted effort to change the habit and this can only be done by working at it day by day, week by week.
3) Slow the process down. Avoid the temptation of getting a task off your desk as quickly as possible. Think through what you want clearly.
- What is the purpose of the task?
- What will the correct outcome look like?
- Who is best suited to deal with the task?
- How do I best communicate my requirements
- What feedback loops do I put in place?
- When do I schedule regular reviews of progress?
4) Get your team member to repeat to you what their understanding of the task is, either verbally but ideally in writing. This will eliminate any divergence of understanding.
5) Ask what they need in order to complete the task
6) Give them space and time to complete the task fully. Trust that they will do this to your standard.
7) Always give clear feedback when the task is completed on what worked and what needs to be improved upon. If it isn’t 100% avoid the temptation to re do this yourself.
8) Be patient and persist with this approach and it will yield the desired results.
In summary the ultimate goal here is to free up your time to spend it on higher value tasks that contribute significantly to the business.
By developing a delegation strategy built on trust, but with a robust structure to ensure that success is assured you will gradually be able to reduce that to-do list in to a truly proactive list of goals that massively improve your overall productivity.
Best of luck.
