BEYOND THE “DO’S AND DON’TS” OF DELEGATION

by Donna M. Genett, Ph.D.

I’ll be honest. While I’m usually excited to get a request to write an article, excitement wasn’t the reaction I had when I was asked to write one on the “Do’s and Don’ts of Delegation.” It seemed to me the six steps outlined in the book addressed these tactical aspects, so I wasn’t sure how to write an article without sounding redundant.

I struggled with the idea so much that I procrastinated writing until my guilt overcame me. As I typically do when I’m stuck with something, I ran the idea through my head while I ran the pavement one morning, then it came to me. If I wanted the message to go beyond the prescriptive, then I needed to give a deeper look into delegation behaviors. In other words, I needed to write about the beliefs that motivate what people do and don’t do when delegating.

Our beliefs are incredibly powerful; they drive our behavior. In fact, they can be so powerful they also affect the behavior of others. All of us have seen examples of this with self-fulfilling prophecies—instances in which people have conformed to our beliefs about them. Since our behaviors flow directly from our beliefs, we must uncover these beliefs in order to change our behaviors. The following are some of the beliefs I’ve heard people express. These beliefs reveal the typical mistakes people make when delegating.

1. If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. This belief leads people to hold on to too much. If they do delegate they often do so in a way that facilitates failure rather than success. This belief, probably more than any other, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unfortunately, people who cling to this belief often become an organizational bottleneck. Everything has to be done by, or through, them.

2. If you’re a manager you know how to delegate. From 18 years of consulting and management experience I can tell you, there are more managers who do not know how to delegate than who do. Many know pieces of what effective delegation is but there are few who know, and actively practice, every step involved in the process.

3. The best reason to delegate is to get something off our desk. The best reason to delegate is to facilitate the growth and contribution of others. The more we use delegation as a tool for professional growth, the more likely it is our delegatee will be motivated to do a good job with what we delegate.

4. People don’t care; they just work for a paycheck. Good performers work to make a contribution. It’s up to the managers and leaders of an organization to create an environment in which people can contribute their utmost. Sure, there are employees who just work for a paycheck. If they’re good performers, maybe that isn’t all bad. The best performers though, work to make a contribution.

5. If I state my expectations, people should just get it. There are many reasons people don’t “get it”. Maybe we didn’t completely or clearly outline our expectations. Maybe their minds were elsewhere. Maybe they were so eager to fulfill our request they didn’t listen to the entire message. The bottom line is unless, and until, we view communication as a two-way street, we’ll continue to have misunderstandings at best and poor performance at worst. Two-way communication means ensuring our expectations were not only clearly stated but fully understood as well.

6. If someone doesn’t understand, they should ask questions. This is one of the beliefs I had when I was new to management. Boy was I wrong. Just as there are many reasons people don’t get it, there are many reasons people don’t ask questions. Often they don’t ask, because they think they get it! Taking the initiative to ask questions and check in with people builds the rapport necessary for people to feel comfortable asking you questions and models the behavior you want from them.

7. People should have the same sense of urgency I have. People do not have the same sense of urgency you have because they are seeing the world through their eyes rather than yours. The trick here is to work with people to prioritize. Priorities shift so rapidly and compete so vigorously, it’s difficult for even the best managers to keep up.  In such a fast-changing environment, how can we expect people who are removed from where priorities are set to know what the current priority is? It’s up to us to either ask them their thoughts (which helps us assess their business acumen) or tell them what the priorities are.

8. People should know when to take initiative and when not to. I find this belief particularly interesting because it is most often asked by those managers who tend to jump in and take over. If you’re a manager with this tendency, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you jump in and take over, people will learn to go to you. On the other hand, if you ask people questions rather than giving them the answer, they’ll be more likely to take initiative. The level of authority you assign also affects the amount of initiative a delegatee will take. If you don’t convey what level of authority people have, some will go further than you want and some will not go far enough, based on their own risk tolerance. If you clarify what level of authority they have, they’ll be more likely to demonstrate the initiative that corresponds to that level of authority.

9. Once I delegate I shouldn’t have to follow-up or “baby-sit” people. Not! Following up with people is not babysitting. Following up, or as I prefer to call it, “checking in with” (versus “checking up on”) people gives them a chance to clarify areas they’re confused about and gives you a chance to ensure what you’ve delegated is getting done right the first time.

10. People should just know whether or not they did a good job. Sometimes they do, often times they don’t. People have varying degrees of self-confidence. Those who are very confident tend to believe they did a good job (whether or not that’s true). Those who are not so confident tend to believe they didn’t do a good job (whether or not that’s true). Providing feedback about what your delegatee did well and what they could have done better will provide them with an accurate appraisal of their performance and allow you to either applaud their success or outline your expectations for improvement.

11. If people work longer hours, they’re more committed and more productive. This belief really gets me. I’ve seen people who are masters at looking busy but never accomplish a thing. Hours worked is not a direct correlation to productivity. In fact, it sometimes is an inverse correlation. For example, studies have demonstrated that with burnout, people spend more time being less productive. Focusing on results versus hours is the way to ensure employees are committed and productive.

These are just a few of the beliefs that get in the way of effective delegation. Which of these do you hold and how do they affect your behavior? How could you change your beliefs and how would that affect your delegation practices? What beliefs do you hold that aren’t listed here? Uncovering and challenging our beliefs is the key to understanding and modifying our behaviors. When we change what we do, others will change what they do. As Gandhi so aptly put it, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Share your beliefs! If there’s a belief you have that isn’t listed here and you would like some feedback on it, email me at Donna@WantItDoneRight.com

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