The Art of Delegation

 

The word delegation comes from the Latin verb legare, which means “to send with a commission or charge” or “to appoint one’s representative”. It then morphed into the English term legate, “an official emissary of any kind”. In whichever language is used, one can readily grasp the importance of the delegation process and the responsibility it entails from both the delegator and the delegate. During my career, I have observed situations in which delegation has not been properly managed leading to unsuccessful results and, in the worst-case scenario, a toxic situation amongst colleagues. Read on to learn more about the three most relevant characteristics of a successful delegation.

Delegation ≠ assigning to do’s

In a previous company, there was a manager that made extensive use of an IT tool to send to-dos to colleagues. The program had some degree of gamification; the more he used the platform, the more positions he moved up in the virtual hall of fame; you can easily imagine that he shot out to-dos like if there was no tomorrow… In his view, he was delegating work but in reality he was assigning owners to a list of activities, two very different things. In short, one can’t delegate what he can’t do himself. For example, an IT developer can’t delegate coding to an HR specialist or an engineer can’t delegate the qualification of new equipment to a quality control specialist. In the case of the manager, he did not have the knowledge to carry out the activities he assigned to his colleagues. He failed to understand, apply and optimize the difference between these two concepts!

Set the right expectations right

Delegation requires a big dose of trust. If I can’t attend a meeting and request someone to fill in, I must have full trust in this person. However, trust is necessary but not enough for an effective delegation. Just as important is setting the right expectations. Taking the ABC approach (Assume nothing, Believe no one, Check everything), the degree of success of delegation will  ultimately depend on whether it has fulfilled the set expectations. Do not assume that the delegate and you have the same expectations or success acceptance criteria. A pre-delegation alignment between parties is required to put everyone on the same page and anchor the delegation boat on a safe port.

Avoid micromanagement

Micromanagement hinders the personal and professional development of individuals and leads to a poor relationship between colleagues. Micromanagers are insecure individuals who tend to fail miserably at delegating (and also at assigning tasks). Once the trust is built and the expectations are set, it is time to let the delegate carry out the work. There is no point in constantly checking on the status of delegated work because it will likely lead to frustration from both sides and could put in jeopardy the circle of trust that took so much time to build. Not to forget, empowerment and independence are what almost one third of professionals (27%) value the most in their jobs, according to a poll I recently published. Delegation and empowerment are moving parts that, if they are well oiled, fuel each other leading to an effective and productive working environment.