The Fine Art of Delegation

"What separates those who achieve from those who do not

is in direct proportion to one's ability to ask for help."
--Donald Keough, former President of Coca-Cola
The most fundamental of all management skills is delegation -- getting things done through others.
If you are committed to living a satisfying and fulfilling life, both personally and professionally,
delegation is essential. By delegating some things to others, you ill free up physical and emotional
energy to pursue the things that matter most to you.
A couple years ago one of my clients !I"ll call him #ike$ took on a huge professional responsibility.
%e as nominated by his colleagues to preside over a poerful and influential group in his
profession. This as an &opportunity of a lifetime,' although it ould re(uire a lot of e)tra ork over
the ne)t four years -- the length of the term of office for this position. %e came to a coaching call
ondering ho he ould manage it all, given his already-full plate.
I asked #ike to look at all of his current responsibilities and see hat he could delegate, offering the
folloing three steps as a tool to assist him in this process*
+. Identify everything that you are responsible for at ork and at home.
,. -f those responsibilities, identify hat you are most passionate about and hat you are best at
doing.
.. For all the things that are left on the list after you complete step to, identify hat you say no to
and hat you can delegate/
-ver the ne)t several coaching sessions, #ike discovered that even if he could do some things really
ell, he could leverage his time better by handing some things off to others. %e learned that 0ust
because he as capable of or even really good at doing something, that didn"t mean that %1 needed
to be the one to do it2
#ike as surprised at ho ell this three-step identification process ent. The actual delegation
as a little more challenging. At first, he struggled ith the typical reasons that people give for not
delegating*
+. It ould be (uicker to do it myself -- the short-term vie.
,. I can do it better myself -- the perfectionist"s vie.
.. I don"t have anyone I can trust to delegate this to -- re(uires an investment of time to hire
or train others.
-nce #ike took the leap and began delegating, he as ama3ed at ho those around him rose to the
occasion and eagerly took on the ne challenges. #ike discovered another great benefit to
delegating. By being illing to let others take charge and by trusting others ith important
responsibilities, he generated some incredible opportunities for team building. %is staff felt more
important and needed, and over time this cut don on turnover and sick days. -thers around him
felt more valued.
At home, #ike chose to hire out for help ith yard ork and household maintenance chores 4
something that he had never en0oyed doing anyay2 This freed up more time for family activities.
#ike discovered that, despite the fact that his leadership position re(uired some out-of-ton travel,
he as able to spend more time ith the family than he ever had before.
Letting Go
Winners can tell you where they are going,
what they plan to do along the way,
and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
--Denis Waitley
5uccess in delegation is not measured by ho you go about delegating, to hom you delegate, or
ho often you delegate. 6our success ill be 0udged by the results you achieve through
delegation. 1ffective delegation does not 0ust add to your achievements7it multiplies them. In most
cases, the absence of effective delegation ill slo don your progress faster than anything else. If
you ant to leverage your time, delegation is essential.
Delegation is more than 0ust assigning ork. It means making others accountable for the results. It
means giving someone else the latitude to make decisions about ho to go about reaching those
results. It means letting go.
I kno someone ho used to bring ork home every night. 1ach night after dinner ith his family,
he ould go into the den and ork for several more hours. -ne night his si)-year-old daughter
asked her mother, &8hy does Daddy alays go into the den every night after dinner/' The mother
e)plained that Daddy had a lot of ork to do that he asn"t able to finish during the day. The
daughter replied, &Then hy don"t they put daddy in a sloer class/' 8hen his ife told him hat
their daughter had said, it 0olted him into reality. %e decided from that point on that he ould not
take ork home ith him anymore. The only ay he could get all the ork done as to delegate
some of it to others. As he learned to delegate, he dramatically improved his management skills and
as eventually promoted to president of the company.
Do you need to let go of some tasks and delegate them to others/ Take this (ui3 to find out.
Anser 615 or 9- to these (uestions*
: #ost nights and eekends you take your ork home.
: It alays seems as if you have more ork to do than your subordinates.
: 6ou don"t have time to do much planning.
: Fre(uently you end up doing your subordinates" ork for them.
: 6ou have problems meeting deadlines.
: 6ou are a perfectionist, and you pride yourself on doing everything perfectly.
: 6ou ish you had more time for family, recreation, and vacations.
: 6ou cannot immediately name your top three ork goals.
: 6ou rarely elicit the opinions of your subordinates.
: 6ou issue orders fre(uently.
: 6ou have difficulty trusting your subordinates to do things right.
: It"s hard for you to accept ideas offered by someone else.
If you ansered 615 to several (uestions above, I guarantee you"ll find tremendous benefits from
improving your delegation skills.
!o"s and !on"ts of !elegation
#o man will make a great leader who wants to
do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.
--Andrew Carnagie
I"ll share some of my on ideas about effective delegation, along ith some tips I picked up at a
seminar I attended years ago, presented by Dr. ;ary Fellos.
$. %elect the right person for the &ob. 6ou select the delegatee for one of to reasons* This
individual is best (ualified and can deliver the best results7-<7This individual ill most benefit from
the learning e)perience of taking on this 0ob. This pro0ect ill contribute to his=her e)perience and
development, hich the company ill dra on at a later time.
'. (rovide enough information. >rovide the &big picture' so the delegatee can see ho the ork
fits into the overall operation. Don"t hoard information or keep them in the dark. Determine hat
success looks like so he=she has a clear picture of hat you ant to accomplish.
>oint out the in-in. 8hat"s in it for him=her. &%aving you take this responsibility ill allo me
more time to focus on ?6@, and you"ll have the opportunity to learn more about hat"s going on
outside of our department, hich ill better position you for that promotion you are orking
toards.'
). !elegate the entire &ob to one person and give them full authority. This ill heighten the
individual"s interest in the pro0ect and provide a deeper sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
hen the task is completed. Although the ultimate responsibility lies ith you, hen you delegate
something to someone, be sure that others kno that you"ve given the responsibility and authority
to that individual, and that they area accountable for producing the results.
-ne manager brings little plastic footballs to his staff meetings. 8hen he delegates a pro0ect to
someone, he rites the pro0ect name on the football. Then he tosses the ball to the delegatee and
says, &6ou"re responsible for the ?6@ >ro0ect. Don"t drop it.' -- a dramatic ay to let the delegatee
and other staff kno that he=she has been given responsibility, authority, and onership for the
pro0ect2
*. +ocus on results, not on process. Delegate responsibility, not ork. Too many managers
confuse delegating responsibility ith offloading ork onto someone else. 8hen assigning a pro0ect,
allo the delegatee the freedom to e)ercise some personal initiative. Focus on hat you ant, not
ho to do it. Aet him=her develop the methodology for ho to achieve the goal.
There are e)ceptions to this. For e)ample, if you ork in an industry that re(uires tight control over
certain processes and procedures hich must be folloed, then the how becomes important. !An
e)ample ould be ho to dra blood at a blood bank. 9ot folloing sanitation procedures could
create disastrous results.$
,. !elegate through dialogue. Don"t do all the talking, and don"t delegate in the hall. Delegate in
an environment that is conducive to fully e)plaining the pro0ect. #inimi3e interruptions and allo
plenty of time for dialogue. Involve the delegatee in the discussion and encourage his=her
suggestions and comments. Instead of asking &Do you understand/', ask (uestions such as, &Any
ideas as to ho you"ll proceed/' 6ou"ll get a better sense of hether or not your re(uest as clear.
-. .stablish deadlines and build in accountability. Don"t leave due dates uncertain or open-
ended. Don"t say, &Ban you get this to me as soon as possible/' or &>lease do this henever you can
get around to it.' Be specific about hen you ant it done by. &I trust you to take full responsibility
for getting this done. If you foresee any problems or need help, you kno ho to reach me. Do you
see any problem in getting this done by #ay .+/'
/. .stablish check0in dates. Be aare of the status of the pro0ect, but don"t hover. 8ithout
checking on progress, you have not delegated 4 you"ve abandoned2 Ceep a Delegation Aog to help
you track each task you delegate. Ask the delegatee to report progress on specific check-in dates
you"ve negotiated.
1. Give positive and corrective feedback. Do not focus on hat is rong, but rather on hat can
be done to make it better. &It looks like thereDs a problem here. 8hat do you need to do to get back
on track/'
2. (rovide the necessary resources. >oint delegatee in the right direction if the ork involves
other people or resources needed to get the 0ob done. &5ee Eim in Accounting. 5ue in >urchasing
can provide you ith the necessary forms you"ll need.'
$3. 4ffer guidance and advice without interfering. >oint out the roadblocks they may
encounter. &Eames in >urchasing never checks his e-mail, so it"s best to call him for anything you
need back in a hurry. 6ou may need to light a fire under <ick in #arketing to keep this pro0ect
moving forard.'
$$. .stablish the parameters, conditions and terms before you delegate. Don"t impose
controls after you"ve delegated. 5tate those up front.
$'. 5eep the monkey on their back. Don"t let them delegate back to you. If someone brings a
problem to you, you can listen ithout assuming responsibility for solving the problem. The
delegatee may stop you in the hall and ask, &8hat do you think/' Turn the (uestion around and say,
&8hat do 6-F think/' -r the delegatee may ask if it is possible to delay the deadline for another
eek. Again, turn the (uestion around and say, &Is it/ 8ill that help us reach our goals/' -r you
can ask (uestions like*
: 8hat recommendations do you have for ho to handle this situation/
: 8hat are some feasible alternatives/
: 8hich move do you suggest e go ith/
In other ords, don"t rescue2 In your dialogue, keep the focus on the delegatee and don"t let them
put the monkey back on you.
$). (rovide back0up and support when necessary. There"s a difference beteen rescuing and
supporting. If something is not going ell, provide support from behind the scenes, such as placing
a discreet phone call to someone involved ho is not cooperating ith the delegatee. Aet them kno
they don"t have to fight their battles alone.
$*. Give full credit and recognition to the person who gets the &ob done. Don"t take the
credit yourself. If the delegatee is unsuccessful, take the brunt of the blame yourself rather than
using him=her as a scapegoat. If the delegatee has not developed their skills fully enough to
accomplish the task, you as the manager can assume the responsibility for that. Aearn from the
e)perience so you can more effectively delegate the ne)t time.
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