#favouritemodel No. 31 – The art of delegating

One of the main reasons for delegating tasks is to “set people up for success”, i.e. to empower employees. The focus here is on learning. Of course, there are many other reasons for delegating, e.g. the other person is better at it, enjoys the task more or simply has more time to take care of it. On the other hand, I also find reasons every day not to delegate. Delegating “cleanly” means an investment in time, especially if I hand over the task in a dialog. Often I don’t think I have this time, I have “just done the task quickly myself”, I particularly enjoy doing this task or I simply lack trust in my counterpart. However, this is exactly where “The ART of delegation” comes in.

Delegating something means handing over three things in addition to the actual task:

I. Authority
When I delegate a task to my counterpart, it is important that this is an official step. The person may need support or information from third parties. In order for him or her to remain capable of acting here, it is not only necessary that authority has been transferred to him or her, but also that this has been communicated to all others involved.

II. responsibility
In order to work on a task in a solution-oriented manner, the freedom to decide which path he or she wants to take and which steps are the right ones and when is of great importance. It is important that he or she takes responsibility for the process of working on the task and for its outcome. At the same time, this does NOT release me as the delegator from bearing overall responsibility (accountability) if, for example, something goes wrong.

III Trust
Handing over a task that is actually on my desk, coupled with authority and responsibility, requires trust. Trust in the other person, trust in their abilities and trust in their reliability. I place the process and the possible outcome in the hands of others, but may have to take the rap if something doesn’t work out.

How does my #favoritemodel help you?

The temptation to “just throw a task over the fence” or “just stick your head in the door” and hand over a task in two sentences seems great at first and in view of your own time constraints. In my view, however, it is not only sensible and helpful to delegate, it is actually a manager’s duty to ensure that employees learn and develop. The often-mentioned challenge or hurdle of investing time also represents a “trap”. Because the less I delegate, the less I can actually hand over in an emergency and the less my employees are well positioned for their own success.

My clear recommendation is therefore: actually take the time to sit down with your employees and explicitly discuss the task to be delegated together: By when should it be completed, what is already in place, who else can provide support and answer questions and what exactly should the result look like?

In the end, it’s a great feeling to have one less task on your plate and at the same time more motivated, empowered employees in the team.

Author

Katrin Aust
Consultant