The Webster definition of delegation is the assignment of responsibility and authority to another.
Among the reasons why we fail to delegate to others is the fear of losing control or that someone else may do a better job or a worse job. Another is impatience and the un- willingness to take the time to teach or coach another person. And yet delegation done in the right way benefits all concerned: The one delegated to grows by handling new responsibility, the larger entity benefits as things are done more efficiently, and the leader is freed up to focus on what only he should be doing. One big error that I am prone to fall into is the failure to empower (provide with authority) others to get done what I give them to do. Without adequate authority people can feel used and frustrated. Another error of which I can be guilty is the tendency to abdicate instead of delegate. In this case, I dump responsibility on to others to get it off my plate rather than passing it on to them for the benefit of them and/or the organization. What lessons have you learned about delegation? How have you determined what things you should delegate to others versus keeping on your plate?
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The worst mistake is the yo-yo effect, i.e giving it to someone to handle then taking it back, then giving it away (especially to yet another). Repeat until everyone is powerless and peeved.
ReplyDeleteSecond, there is a great difference in being empowered versus being dumped on, not necessarily due to the task itself, but due to the person delegating coming off as someone offering an opportunity versus ridding him/herself of an unimportant or thankless task (of course there are none of these if you always say thanks).
So thank you!