Leadership - Delegation
Delegation
Leadership is all about values, a vision and trying to achieve it with goals and strategic plans.
Eventually, when you reach a position where strategy is important you must leave behind the practical side of ‘doing the job’. This can be very hard.
A key technique to enable you to do this will be delegation.
How far do you delegate? How far do you want to delegate?
Delegation is all about empowerment.
Some people will say that if you can delegate a task then do it.
It is all very well delegating but if the person is not ready then it can cause problems.
A few tips when delegating are given below. This is covered in more detail in ‘The Complete Time management package’.
Person
If you can find the right person with the right skills delegation is likely to be more successful. However, skills are not only technical but also include the drive, leadership and decision making qualities required in terms of being able to see the task through to completion.
Remember the company culture of not looking for scapegoats and the need to train by delegation.
Delegation could be to another department not only someone in your team.
Instructions
Make it very clear what you expect and agree it. What are the goals, timescales, reporting, budget etc? Before you do this, ask the person how they would tackle the job. You might be surprised and end up with a better outcome.
Authority
You can not delegate responsibility for a task without giving that person the necessary authority to act. You can delegate responsibility but you can’t delegate accountability. This can be in the form of control over a budget limit, personnel etc.
Progress reports
Agree the frequency and the content of the reports.
Coaching
Make sure you are available to advise and answer questions as necessary. However, don’t fall into the trap of ‘reverse delegation’ where the person brings you problems, that you take on board, which they should be solving themselves.
It is hard when you get into a leadership position to move from ‘technical expertise’ to a need for different skills.
There is often a worry that the persons receiving delegation will make a mess of it.
If you do not delegate then you will eventually be unable to cope, strategy thinking will become non existent and the whole managerial process will collapse.
Personal skill gap
It is extremely important to recognise a lack of delegation skills. Don’t wait for senior managers to point it out, by then it may be too late.
If you do not delegate you will not have the spare time to think strategically.
Timing
The amount you decide to delegate is a matter of balance.
The balance of control versus empowerment. For any delegation control measures should be put in place via regular reports etc.
When you delegate a task is also important. Don’t delegate just because it is a task you don’t particularly like.