“Before delegating, get to know the specific job responsibilities for each person and have a good feel for their performance.”
1. All effective supervisors and managers have learned to delegate effectively. They have learned that delegation is a tool that both leverages their time and their influence, and develops employees.
2. However, before delegating, the manager needs to go slowly – getting to know the specific job responsibilities for each person – and have a good feel for their performance.
3. Managers should adapt their delegation practices according to the experience, performance, and attitude of the direct report. Effective diagnosing of these elements in each situation is a critical skill in any management practice.
4. By using a Performance Level Scale, a manager can determine the amount of delegation to be used.
- Level 1 is for employees with low ability/experience and low confidence or commitment. This employee can be delegated to, but will need structure and should advise the manager or supervisor before taking specific actions. This ensures that decisions, initiative and performance move in a positive direction.
- Level 2 is for an employee with moderate ability/experience and moderate confidence/commitment. Managers can delegate in this situation by requiring the employee to initiate the action and requiring immediate briefing of the action taken.
- Level 3 is for employees with excellent ability/experience and high confidence/commitment. Managers can delegate by providing the autonomy and control over action and decisions – requiring periodic updates from the direct report to keep in the loop.
Tasks to delegate include:
- Routine tasks and assignments that swallow up a manager’s or supervisor’s time
- Tasks and assignments that develop direct reports and allow them upward mobility
- Tasks and assignment that provide effective cross training of direct reports – enabling the manager to gain more flexibility
Things not to delegate:
- Critical managerial or supervisor job responsibilities
- Only the unpleasant duties and tasks
- Poor workers’ duties to good workers
When thinking of whom to delegate to, consider the following:
- Everyone – for purposes of cross training
- Those who desire development opportunities
- For the purpose of developing a particular competency in the group
- Everyone on a rotational basis for routine duties and tasks
- Anyone being groomed for other positions
While delegating, follow this process:
- Provide clarity about what you want done. Be specific and provide any needed instructions – in writing if lengthy.
- Provide clarity about deadlines for completion. Try to match the work with the capabilities of the employee. Don’t hesitate to provide challenging assignments.
- Provide any necessary authority required to get the assignment done.
- Ensure the employee has access to you for assistance.
- Provide specific checkpoints when the assignment is lengthy.
- Be specific in your follow-up. Progress reports need to be about specific progress related to results– not a summation of tasks and assignments being worked on.
- Provide feedback on performance when assignment is completed
Key Takeaways
When it comes to job responsibilities, a manager’s ability to delegate work and get the most from employees is a hallmark of being a great leader. Effective delegation builds personal responsibility and initiative in employees; poor delegation can stall their development while overburdening leaders with added work. Once a manager has a good understanding of employees’ job requirements and skill sets, he or she can prevent upward delegation and effectively delegate appropriate tasks and assignments based on employee performance level.