Keys to Delegating
Good delegation is a key to sharing responsibility and completing tasks that are larger that one person can accomplish. Your ability to delegate and then to make sure that the employee does the job is the key determinant of your success as a manager. With delegation, your potential is unlimited. Without the ability to delegate, you will have to do everything yourself. When you delegate:
Match person and task. Don’t give someone something that is so far beyond their capabilities they will have no chance of success. Challenging is good but impossible is not. At the same time, deal effectively with incompetency. If the wrong person is in a role and simply can’t complete the job, you must be willing to move or replace them. Admitting the mistake of placing the wrong individual in a role in the end is better for them and better for you.
Give the whole task. Delegating 100% of the task means giving away all the responsibility. When a report completes the assignment they receive confidence and build their competency and self-esteem. Let others own what you give them, empower them to complete their work, and hold them responsible. They’ll respond with greater loyalty, trust and dedication to the organization when they have a strong sense of ownership.
Start slow. Build up the confidence of a new person. Lots of small tasks are great at the beginning, and then slowly build up to larger tasks that are of greater importance. It’s a biblical way to lead. Scripture says in Luke 16:10, “Whoever can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot, and whoever is dishonest with a little is dishonest with a lot.” Let the employee demonstrate to you over a period of time that he has the capability to manage ever-larger assignments and tasks. Otherwise, less than competent individuals can feel overwhelmed and create far more problems than they solve.
Leave the person alone. Once you have delegated a task, leave the subordinate alone. Don’t take the job back. You can inadvertently “take it back” by continually checking on the person, asking for too much feedback, and then giving comments and recommending changes in processes or procedures. Some managers have a terrible habit of literally taking over activities and assignments after they had been delegated. This leaves employees feeling that the responsibility is no longer theirs.