Technical Paper on

Effective Delegation - An attribute of a successful manager

By Mugdha Nalawade Ankita Shirsat Shalmali Kale

Abstract
The discussion talks about Delegation as a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal development - and seeking and encouraging promotion. It's how we grow in the job delegation enables us to gain experience to take on higher responsibilities. The case study on delegation puts light on problems faced by a manager who at the end of the day tries to analyze the amount of job that is left incomplete for the day since he was busy whole day with lot of work. We have further discussed about the logical rules and techniques that will help manager to delegate well and also help the subordinate help the manager when he is being delegated a task or new responsibility, since delegation is a two-way process.

Introduction
Delegation (or deputation) is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work. Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shift of decision-making authority from one organizational level to a lower one. Delegation, if properly done, is not abdication. The opposite of effective delegation is micromanagement, where a manager provides too much input, direction, and review of delegated work. In general, delegation is good and can save money and time, help in building skills, and motivate people. Poor delegation, on the other hand, might cause frustration, and confusion to all the involved parties

Keywords : Need for Delegation

Even "Super-You" needs help and support. There is no shame in asking for assistance. Push aside the pride and show respect for the talent others can bring to the table. And, remember that there is no such thing as a single-handed success: When you include and acknowledge all those in your corner, you propel yourself, your teammates and your supporters to greater heights. - Author Unknown.

Effective delegation is actually crucial for effective succession. For the successor, and for the manager too: the main task of a manager in a growing thriving organization is ultimately to develop a successor. When this happens everyone can move on to higher things. When it fails to happen the succession and progression becomes dependent on bringing in new people from outside. Delegation can be used to develop your people and yourself - delegation is not just a management technique for freeing up the boss's time. Of course there is a right way to do it. These delegation tips and techniques are useful for bosses - and for anyone seeking or being given delegated responsibilities. Even a one person business can get so busy that there's no way that a single person can do all that needs to be done. And even the smallest of small businesses can take over a person's life to a degree that causes personal unhappiness and friction within the family. If you work on your own, there's only a limited amount that you can do, however hard you work. You can only work so many hours in a day. There are only

so many tasks you can complete in these hours. There are only so many people you can help by doing these tasks. And, because the number of people you can help is limited, your success is limited. However, if you're good at your job, people will want much more than this from you. This can lead to a real sense of pressure and work overload: You can't do everything that everyone wants, and this can leave you stressed, unhappy, and feeling that you're letting people down. On the positive side, however, you're being given a tremendous opportunity if you can find a way around this limitation. If you can realize this opportunity, you can be genuinely successful! One of the most common ways of overcoming this limitation is to learn how to delegate your work to other people. If you do this well, you can quickly build a strong and successful team of people, well able to meet the demands that others place.

Case Study
Situation 1 I was asked to organize a spiritual development weekend to be led by an international guest speaker. The weekend had a particular structure according to a standard format as established by the organization I was working with in the States. I was given clear guidelines on the structure and what would be required. I did all the marketing, advertising and confirming the reservations of the participants myself. I arranged the venue, and made all the other pre-weekend arrangements. I did organize that my sister-in-law led the times of worship which included morning devotional times as well as daily communion sessions. However, she understood that she would only provide the music and I would organize the theme and structure and lead these sessions! Over the weekend I took on the roles of registrar, bursar, bookseller, counselor, worship leader, entertainer (I organized an evening of games and an ice-cream party for the Saturday night) and logistics co-coordinator, which included shopping for the participants incidentals. On top of this our guest speaker came down with a virus which slowly over the course of the weekend prevented her from speaking so I did her final days talk! Needless to say by the end of the weekend I was so exhausted I myself got sick!

Situatiom 2

I was appointed regional co-coordinator in Gauteng of an organization called Christian Listeners. It was based in UK but was being established in South Africa with regions also in Cape Town and Kwazulu-Natal. My job was to establish Christian Listeners in the region by running CL training courses that would lead to the training of CL tutors. I was part of an initial group of 10 trained by the overseas mother organization, of which 7 said they would continue to offer their time and resources to the growing of CL in Gauteng. Over the course of five years we ran over 40 listening courses and three tutor training events. I initiated a committee to assist in the running of the organization and I met with the other regional co-coordinators annually. By the end of these five years there were two of us still keeping the organization going? It now no longer exists in Gauteng. There were external factors to consider such as the fact that the kind of person required to be a CL tutor is the kind of person who is already very involved and in high demand and has little time and energy to give to another volunteer organization. Offering these courses involved a lot of preparation and travelling time as well as the course time, and time is a rare commodity in Gauteng. Various unforeseen personal events resulted in several team members leaving. However, the bottom line is that I was not able to fulfil my mandate and this was largely due to a failure in delegating.

What I learnt
From these experiences I learnt the following: 1. As competent as I may be I cannot do everything myself. I need others. 2. Trying to do everything myself is detrimental to my health and relationships as I suffer all the symptoms of exhaustion and stress. 3. I need to communicate my expectations clearly, as well as negotiate well enough in advance exactly what people are prepared to do and what they understand their role to be. 4. Even seemingly small tasks are important and can take more time than you think, so finding someone else willing to do them is worth it. 5. You have to work within the priorities people have in their lives. 6. Failure to delegate effectively results in a lack of strength, energy and continuity in your organization.

The steps of successful delegation

1. Define the task: Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating? 2. Select the individual or team What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it? 3. Assess ability and training needs

Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If not, you can't delegate. 4. Explain the reasons You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated. And why to that person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things? 5. State required results What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done. 6. Consider resources required Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services. 7. Agree deadlines When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? When are the reports due? And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities? 8. Support and communicate Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of sufficient profile. 9. Feedback on results It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success.

Tips for Successful Delegation

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Be as specific as possible about what you want done. It's no good hiring someone, telling them you need some help around the office, and then complaining because they haven't done what you wanted them to do. Or expecting an accountant to give you good advice when you haven't bothered to sit down with him and talk about where your business is now and where you'd like to see it going. You have to be very clear about what you need done and how you want it done if the delegation is ever going to be successful.

Let the other person get on with it. We smile when we hear about the business person who goes on vacation for a week but phones the shop ten times a day every day she's gone, but weve all been there. You have to realize that when you delegate something, it's literally out of your hands and you need to avoid interfering with the process of getting it done. As hard as it is, wait for the end product before you judge how successful the delegation has been.

Do not delegate many tasks at once.

In fact, if delegation makes you uncomfortable, you should start by delegating one thing only. Your delegation comfort level will build over time as you see the job you've assigned completed successfully. Then you'll be ready to delegate something else.

Do not give up too quickly. My relationship with my first accountant was not a success. He was competent, but I didnt feel that he was willing to give me enough of his attention. Rather than throw up my hands and start to do my own accounting again (or worse, putting up with a relationship I was not happy with), I went and found another accountant that Im much happier with. When youre trying to delegate, youre not necessarily going to find the right person the first time. But you need to persist and find that right person if delegating that task is going to work.

Why People Don't Delegate

To figure out how to delegate properly, it's important to understand why people avoid it. Quite simply, people don't delegate because it takes a lot of up-front effort. After all, which is easier: designing and writing content for a brochure that promotes a new service you helped spearhead, or having other members of your team do it? You know the content inside and out. You can spew benefit statements in your sleep. It would be relatively straightforward for you to sit down and write it. It would even be fun! The question is, "Would it be a good use of your time?" While on the surface it's easier to do it yourself than explain the strategy behind the brochure to someone else, there are two key reasons that mean that it's probably better to delegate the task to someone else: First, if you have the ability to spearhead a new campaign, the chances are that your skills are better used further developing the strategy, and perhaps coming up with other new ideas. By doing the work yourself, you're failing to make best use of your time. Second, by meaningfully involving other people in the project, you develop those people's skills and abilities. This means that next time a similar project comes along, you can delegate the task with a high degree of confidence that it will be done well, with much less involvement from you. Delegation allows you to make the best use of your time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organization.

Conclusion:
There's no question about it; delegation is difficult for most business Organizations. We have to make delegation a priority if we are going to do what we want to do and stay sane and happy. This delegation primer will help you let go and learn how to delegate successfully. At

first sight, delegation can feel like more hassle than it's worth, however by delegating effectively, you can hugely expand the amount of work that you can deliver. When you arrange the workload so that you are working on the tasks that have the highest priority for you, and other people are working on meaningful and challenging assignments, you have a recipe for success. To delegate effectively, choose the right tasks to delegate, identify the right people to delegate to, and delegate in the right way. There's a lot to this, but you'll achieve so much more once you're delegating effectively!

References: Websites
http://www.mindtools.com http://www.about.com

Books Leadership in Organisation- Gary Yukl