Delegation: Reasons and Rules

(adapted from Managing the Staff of the Local Church, by David R. Pollock (Alston-Kline, 2003), p. 86-88.)

True or false?

The administrator or manager who works 60 hours per week, keeps tight control over his/her employees, checks everything twice, rides herd on the operation and knows everything that goes on is the manager who is most likely to succeed.

If you answered “false,” then you recognize this statement as one of the most carefully protected—and misguided—myths in the world of management: that good leadership means doing everything yourself. If you answered “true,” keep reading. Trying to juggle all of your organization’s tasks single-handedly can have damaging consequences to your organization’s staff and to your own performance as a manager.

What happens to employees if management refuses to delegate?

The gradual response from employees is that four areas of personal job performance begin to go downhill:

• Attitude. Employees who are not involved in the processes of the organization can become apathetic and develop a “so what?” attitude.
• Energy. Productivity slows down; employees take all allowable sick days, whether they’re sick or not, and are very reluctant to work overtime to do anything that would be considered over and above the call of duty.
• Talent. If staff members are unable to exercise their talents, those talents atrophy. Without challenge, no new talents are acquired. Management expectations are reduced and there is a general slump.

If an employee is given no responsibility, the unvoiced opinion is, “I’m not good enough to take control of this job.” This leads to lowered self-esteem, and makes the employee less likely to take responsibility at a later date.

What happens to managers who choose not to delegate?

Managers who choose to do everything themselves are forced to work longer during the week, which lowers efficiency. The non-delegation system imposed by the manager creates its own sabotage effect, because no one is trained to stand in for the manager if he or she is unavailable. Managers who believe they are the only ones in the organization who can do things the "right way" often have an autocratic management style that damages the “team” sensibility of the organization, and also destroys the likelihood of staff participation when it is encouraged. On a personal level, managers lose touch with their priorities; families and relationships become an appendage rather than a purpose.

Do you know how to delegate?

Perhaps you’ve followed the reasoning up to this point, but are still facing a challenge: you simply don’t know how to delegate. Delegation is more than just handing a staff member a pile of papers and saying, “Here—take care of this.” Proper delegation involves preparing staff for delegated tasks, providing adequate time for them to accomplish those tasks, and documenting the specific requirements of the task and the progress made toward completion, so that both you and your staff members understand what they need to do. Most importantly, proper delegation means being available to assist and support those staff members whom you choose to assist and support you.

If sharing the workload doesn’t come naturally, follow these few simple guidelines for successful delegation.

• Delegate as early as possible.
  
• Assign complete tasks, not isolated parts of them.
  
• Make it clear whether the delegation of a responsibility is permanent or temporary.
  
• Be sure the person is capable and wants to accept the task.
  
• Entrust authority and responsibility along with the task.
  
• Put extensive and important tasks in writing.
  
• Follow these steps when delegating new and complicated tasks:

1. Prepare the staff member.
2. Explain the task.
3. Demonstrate the work.
4. Have the staff member imitate your work; make corrections if needed.
5. Check what the staff member has done.

 

• Don’t interfere unnecessarily in the performance of the task.
  
• Make it clear that the staff member can come to you for advice and support if needed.
  
• Ask for progress reports at stated intervals.
  
• Monitor the results and inform the staff member of your evaluation.
  
• Praise successful aspects and give constructive criticism when needed.

 

By incorporating delegation into your management practices, you will prime your organization for efficiency, teamwork and job satisfaction.