As managers complain more and more about being so busy, it is important for the manager to delegate greater responsibility and accountability.
A: Why Don’t Manager’s Delegate More?
There are two primary excuses for not delegating – First – If you want something done right do it yourself. This of course indicates a high need for control, perhaps some perfectionism and a lack of confidence and trust in others.
Second, a feeling of not wanting to dump work on others which is demonstrated by a manager who wants people to like them most of all.
A manager who delegates grows the capability of the people who work toward them.
Q. How can managers become better at delegating?
A. It is the same as when a parent wants to help their children become more independent and make good decisions for themselves. You have to stop solving problems and making decisions that others should be making for themselves and become more of a coach.
Most managers do not take enough time to explain what they are delegating:
– People need to know the background of the assignment, why it’s important, why they have been selected, how much authority they have and what reporting and follow up us required.
A good delegation works well when the manager describes the outcome or result that is expected and asks the employee to describe how they intend to approach the project.
Authority can be limited at first and then be expanded as the employee demonstrates their competence.
Follow up is important – one manager told me recently how he discovered that his boss tended to dump work on him and never follow up – so he just stopped doing those tasks until his boss noticed. So if the manager really wants to see it happen they need to follow-up – at least long enough to show the employee that it is important.
A great resource for this is my book Employees Not Doing What You Expect which people can purchase through my web site – LeadershipWizard.com. And I work with managers and supervisors to teach them how to be more effective leaders.
