Why don’t managers delegate more?

Words of Wisdom / By

Words of wisdom for this week

“Men learn while they teach.”
~ Seneca

One of the biggest weaknesses of poor managers is their inability or unwillingness to delegate tasks, responsibilities or outcomes to employees or other departments. In order to be an effective manager, you need to know what you can delegate, when you can delegate it and whom you can delegate it to. The role of a manager is not to do everything but to get other people to take on some of the tasks that free them up to spend time on some of the critical responsibilities like planning and coaching that often are left undone because managers have too much on their plates. They might have less on their plates if they would give some of this stuff to qualified and motivated employees.

There are some exceptions to this, such as personal producing managers and self-employed business owners who have a small or no staff at all. Even these people can delegate some things to someone else. You can use subcontractors, cottage help or temporary employees.

Here are a few of the keys to effective delegation.

First, why don’t managers delegate more? Here are just a few of the reasons.

  1. By the time they show someone else how to do it they feel they could have done it themselves.
  2. They don’t trust their employees.
  3. They feel like they will lose control if they give up some of their tasks or responsibilities…
  4. Doing all of this stuff helps them justify their job.
  5. They use the lack of delegation as a manipulative tool.
  6. They are afraid their subordinates might show them up.
  7. They are insecure in their position.

Here are a few simple rules to follow when it comes to effective delegation.

  1. Delegate it – if someone else can do it, wants to do it, needs to do it or likes to do it or can grow in their position with this new role or responsibility.
  2. When you delegate responsibility, also delegate the authority to use the resources to get it done.
  3. Delegate results, not necessarily the methods.
  4. When you delegate something, don’t take it back.
  5. Ensure the person understands what and why you have delegated to them.
  6. Set benchmarks or checkpoints and then leave them alone.
  7. Reinforce positive results and give feedback on negative results.
  8. Communicate clear instructions, expectations and guidelines in advance.
  9. Recognize and accept it won’t be done the way you would do it.
  10. Use delegation as an employee development tool.
  11. Resist the tendency to over inspect.
  12. Put your expectations in writing, if necessary.
  13. Ask for regular written or verbal reports.
  14. Remember what you delegated and to whom.
  15. See failure not as a negative, but necessary if people are to be willing to stretch, learn and grow.

One of the biggest frustrations of many managers is the lack of time to perform all of the work required of them in their role as a manager. Think of delegation as nothing more than giving yourself the opportunity to spend more time in the vital areas of your job such as: planning, organizing, inspecting, innovating, coaching and developing people.

Why not take a serious look at how you are spending your time and what tasks you are involved in that could be delegated to someone else. Track your use of time for a week, logging all of the repetitive activities, problem solving routines, crisis management issues and routine stuff. Ask yourself at the end of the week: Could someone else (or some other department) have done this? What did I not complete because of these actions?

I personally guarantee that you can free up at least an hour a day if you will find creative ways to delegate something – anything.